Practicum Week One
Weekly Reflection (24 Feb - 28 Feb)
The first
week in school had been a good start for me despite having very few lessons to
observe due to the fact that the school is having Common Tests for this and the
following week. I still did manage to observe at least 5 lessons conducted by
different teachers whom I have learnt plenty from. The teachers have different
ways of managing the classrooms and I realized that it is of utmost importance
for beginning teachers like us to try out various ways before we know which
method works best for us.
I had a
chance to conduct lessons for the Secondary Two Normal Academic class and the
Secondary Two Express class, although it was only a relief duty but I have
gained valuable experience interacting with the students. I realized that the
Express class’s students were very well-behaved and were very on-task. However,
the Normal Academic students require more help and motivation from me as they
could not understand much of the content of the text given to them. And because
of some problems with the projector, it made things difficult for them to
follow through the lesson as I told them the answers verbally. I manage to
write some of the answers down on the board, but due to time constraint, I
decided to make copies of the answers for them and intend to give it to them
next Monday.
Therefore,
it is very important for me to be well-prepared for class, even in terms of the
anticipation for something to go wrong technologically. Thus, it would be good
for me to print out hard copies of what I want to do, and bring a Visualizer to
class, just in case my laptop fails on me.
Practicum Week Two
Weekly Reflection (3 Mar - 7 Mar)
I taught my
first content-heavy lesson on Monday to the 3E2 Chinese class. The class was
cooperative, however I think that I might have gone too fast as I realized that
not everyone in the class could understand the content of the chapter. I would
need to pace myself better to ensure that the class could follow what is being
taught.
This week
was also my second time observing the Drama CCA, I really like the passion and
exuberance the students display. I feel that this is exactly how a CCA should
be: that students do not drag themselves to attend something which is
compulsory but instead, should be looking forward to be participating in
activities which they like and learn something from.
In addition,
I had a Chinese class with Secondary Three Normal Academic students. Although
most of them were very cooperative but I did not plan the lesson very well as I
did not have enough time to thoroughly go through all the activities which I
have planned. As the students still have to attend CCAs after class, they
appeared to be pretty restless. However, they could not finish the assigned
tasks promptly as they could not write many words and had to spend a lot time
checking on their dictionaries. In the end, I ended the lesson on time, but
failed to go through the assignment which I have assigned. In addition, I realized
that the assignment I designed for them might not be very suitable for their
standard. Nonetheless, it was a valuable learning point for me as it allowed me
to understand my students better and I believe that it would be a great help to
my lesson planning in the future.
Practicum Week Three
Weekly Reflection (10 Mar - 14 Mar)
I had my first informal observation
on Monday with 3E2, and my CT, Ms. Liew has given me a lot of support and
advice. The students were cooperative and the lesson went on smoothly except
for the technological errors which occurred. I realized that the charger of my
laptop is faulty and I was really worried as the laptop could not ‘survive’ for
more than 15 minutes if without the charger. Luckily, my charger worked
miraculously after several tries and the students were just about to settle
down. In addition, the sound system in the classroom was not functioning very
well and the students spent some time to help me fix it. I was fortunate that
both incidents were resolved promptly without much disruption to the lesson. I
would have to be prepared for the worst scenario if such things happen again
and attempt to resolve them immediately.
This week is the sabbatical week for
the entire Zhenghua Secondary School. Although there's no classroom teaching
for the whole week, the teachers had been organizing the events for the entire
week and they had really put in a lot of effort for the students to have a good
break, recharge and get ready for the coming challenges.
I was very fortunate to be able to be
involved in the activities. On Tuesday,
it was the Urban Challenge day, the entire school had a run at Japanese
and Chinese garden. The Secondary Two students went to Malacca on Wednesday and
Thursday.
On Thursday, I was allocated to go to Forest Adventure
with the 4N students and I was very lucky to be able to join in the activities!
The challenging and physically demanding activities really pushed our minds to
the limits and were a test to our courage. I was glad to have gone through the
entire course with the students and I felt that such activities are great
avenues for teachers to foster positive relationship with students.
On Friday, it was the sandcastle
building day! It was really a fun event! It was held at East Coast Park and
there are professional sandcastle builders who coached us in building solid
aandcastles. It was really about teamwork and cooperation and I hope that the
students have learnt something while having fun.
All in all, I believe that the
different activities held for the students have benefited them in a way or
another, and that the memories created would be their precious shared memories.
Practicum Week Four
Weekly Reflection (24 Mar - 28 Mar)
On Monday I
had a formal observation for a lesson with the Secondary Three Express students
with my CT and NIE Supervisor. The lesson went on smoothly and both my CT and
NIES have given me valuable feedback on the lesson. The content of the lesson
could be better delivered if I had restructure the paragraphs of the text which
I was teaching and that if I had made the lesson content more interesting by
varying the lesson activities. The students were very cooperative and
interacted with me very well. I hope that by fostering a good relationship with
the students, they would be more interested in the subject and seek further
improvement.
This week
has been rather hectic as I have taken over all the lessons. Majority of the
students were cooperative and seemed interested, however, there were a few
students who seemed to be disengaged from the class and appeared to be
uninterested. Despite my encouragement to get them participate in class, they
still seemed reluctant to participate in group work. Therefore I have to think
about the different approaches which I can adopt to involve the students in the
classroomclassroom activities.
I was very
grateful to the fact that my CTs gave me a lot of freedom in deciding the
lessons' content. On Tuesday, I did a revision class for the Secondary Three
Express class students through a simple quiz which required them to hold up
different colour cards corresponding to the correct answers as responses to the
questioquestions flashed on the Powerpoint slides. Seeing the students enjoy
the game as they revise made me feel that all the hardwork was worth it. In
addition, I realized that I really needed to brush up on my questioning skills
in order to probe and guide the students into deriving at the answers for
themselves. I have to bear in mind that students have to be prompted to think
and teachers should not be the ones who simply spoon-feed the students with
answers. In order to do so, it is crucial for me to encourage the students who
are more reserved to speak more and give students more opportunities to think
about various issues and give them longer time to think.
On Friday
and Saturday, I brought some students out to a learning journey at the
Chinatown Heritage Centre and a Chinese Riddle Workshop at Jurong Junior
College respectively. For the learning journey at Chinatown, the students had
the opportunity to know more about the struggles of our ancestors and the early
immigrants. Although they complained that it was not interesting, I believe
they have still gained an insight to our history and heritage. I have enjoyed
my interactions with the students as I got to know more about their lives and
interests. The students who went to the workshop were Secondary Two Higher Mother
Tongue students. Together, we explored the world of Chinese riddles. They were
very overwhelmed by the content and felt inferior when other students managed
to derive the answers before they do. However, I told them that it all comes
with practice, and that regardles of whether they win or lose, it is still a
great exposure for them, and the fact that they feel overwhelmed means that
they have gained new knowledge.
Finally, I
hope to conduct more meaningful lessons which could evoke the learning interests
in my students and optimize the teaching time I could have with them.
Practicum Week Five
Weekly Reflection (31 Mar - 4 Apr)
This had
been a great learning week for me! Out of the lessons which I have conducted
this week, I could feel the negative effects of me being too lenient with them
happening. And this propelled me to revise and think deeper into the classroom
management measures which I should have adopted.
I could not
stand noise in class, so I would always pause when I hear noises and give the
students who are talking warning glances. However in my recent lessons with the
Normal Academic students, they did not stop talking as I glance at then and
even carried on talking. Thus, I had to mete out punishments such as making
them stand up in class or standing beside the windows outside of the classroom.
I talked to one of the trouble makers after class and he seemed to be
apologetic. As for the Secondary Three students, I would have to talk to them
as class to understand more about their needs and the expectations I have of
then. Since these instances happened on Wednesday and Thursday, I could only
review the effectiveness next week.
In addition,
my time management is quite poor, especially when conducting group work. I
failed to gauge the timing and did not set a strict time limit for students to
adhere to, and thus, the class activities dragged on. Therefore I am starting
to use electronic timer for all activities that I ask the students to do with a
limited time. This would also ensure that the students would have a sense of
urgency and be more on task.
All in all,
I hope that next week would be a better week and that I would be able to manage
the class better with a stricter approach.
Practicum Week Six
Weekly Reflection (7 Apr – 11 Apr)
On Monday I second (and last)
observation with my NIE Supervisor. The lesson did not meet its objectives very
well as the main activity of the lesson – group work was not completed
properly. My NIES and Cooperating Teachers have given me valuable feedback as
to how I can better manage the activity, for example, I should be more flexible
when managing the time allocated for group activities, and to just pick up the
main problems as points of discussion for the class.
Although observations do make me feel
nervous, I feel that I learn the most out of them as I would get to know more
about my weaknesses and strengths and better improve on them to provide
students with better learning experiences. In addition, I really appreciate the
fact that my CTs give me a lot of freedom in deciding the lessons’ content. It
allows me to properly plan my lessons and create my own lesson materials. Most
importantly, I was able to try out different teaching methods and approaches
during lessons to find out which suits me better.
I also had my second focused
conversation with my School Coordinating Mentor and my CT, Ms. Liew. Through
the focused conversation, I shared with them what I have learnt and what
problems I have faced so far. They gave me suggestions as to how I can tackle
the issues on students not handing in homework, and not taking me seriously. I
really felt that I have to work on putting on a straight face and be stricter
with the students. Although it is not my personality to be like that, I would
change myself for the students if it would improve their attitudes towards
learning. There is still a long way to go but I am glad that I have met
wonderful mentors who are very helpful and provide me with valuable guidance.
All in all, it would take a while
before I would be able to find a teaching style which is effective and suitable
for me. In the meantime, I will keep trying to improve myself.
Practicum Week Seven
Weekly Reflection (14 Apr – 18 Apr)
I had two formal observations this
week with the Secondary Two Normal Academic students. Honestly, I was really
nervous about them because the class could be a little difficult to handle.
Surprising, they have cooperated very well, but I think it could be due to my
CT, Ms. Liew, being around. Nonetheless, I would try my best to ensure that
they would be under control even if Ms. Liew is not around.
On Monday, I asked six students to
act out a skit based on the text that they are supposed to study on while the
rest of the class filled in the blanks in the script which I have provided. To
my relief, the students were cooperative and they seemed to have enjoyed
themselves while learning about the text. I felt really encouraged by the class
and my CT that I hope that I could think of similar activities for the
Secondary Two students to be engaged in learning while having fun.
Since the first day of practicum, we
(the teachers on practicum) have been assigned at least two relief periods
every day. It is understandable as many teachers in Zhenghua Secondary are on
course. It was during these relief periods that I realized that I can be
stricter with the class when I speak in English, so I never really had any
classroom management issue when doing relief duties.
However, I realized that sometimes I
am too strict with the class that I have meted out punishments on impulse that
I may have gone overboard. Although I have rectified my mistake, I felt that I
really stay calm and always bear in mind the importance of being professional.
As teachers, it is important for us to behave responsibly and make wise
decisions. Therefore, I am thankful that I have learnt important lessons within
my course of practicum and they will definitely shape me into a better teacher.
Practicum Week Eight
Weekly Reflection (21 Apr – 25 Apr)
This week had been a roller coaster
ride for me. I have encountered some problems while managing the classroom, but
at the same time, I felt that I have gained a stronger rapport with my
students.
Two girls in the Secondary Three
Express class had not been submitting assignments on time and I always had to
remind them to hand in their assignments to me. Despite the repeated reminders,
they failed to turn up when I asked them to see me after school, neither did
they complete their work. I approached the girls in class one day and one of
them gave me an excuse which I have heard from her countless times. I
reproached her and she was rather defiant and talked back to me. I was taken
aback and scolded her for being insolent. However, I failed to resolve the
problem because at the end of the day, she was unhappy with me and I failed to
receive the piece of assignment from her. I felt really dejected and my CT
stepped in to help me with it. Thus, I was very thankful to her.
However, the lessons in my Normal
Academic classes went on very smoothly. Most of the students handed in their
work on time, and showed great interest during lessons. Therefore, I was really
pleased and felt very encouraged. I hope to be able to have made a difference
and increase their interest in the Chinese language a little bit more.
This had been also been a very busy
week for me as I tried to finish all my marking as soon as possible so that the
students would be able to receive their assignments back in time to revise for
the examinations. I also had the opportunity to prepare revision materials for
the students. I hope that the materials would be a great help for them as they
prepare for exams.
Finally, it had been a pretty tough week
for me, but it was also a great learning week as I learnt
to control my anger better, and be more careful when dealing with problematic
students.
Practicum Week Nine
Weekly Reflection (28 Apr – 2 May)
It had been a pretty hectic week for
me as I struggled to finish marking all the assignments for all the three
classes as their Mid Year Examinations will commence next week. Furthermore, I
had also been busy preparing revision materials for the different classes.
Firstly, for all my three classes, I
have conducted spelling tests for the students to ensure that they are
familiarised with the new words learnt in this semester and went through the
workbook's revision questions with them to make sure that they are able to
comprehend the meanings behind the words and are able to use the words learnt
appropriately.
However, I found myself struggling
for time as I had too much content to cover and could not manage to cover all
the revision materials in time with my Secondary Three Express class. It really
means that I should plan my lessons better and plan for revision way ahead of
time so as to ensure that the students are given sufficient time to 'digest' what
has been taught in the semester.
Secondly, as I returned the
assignments to the students, I reminded them of the common mistakes made and
hope that they would not repeat the same mistakes. For the students who did not
produce quality work or did not hand in their work, they were made to stay back
after school on Wednesday to complete their assignments or re-do their
assignments. Fortunately, most of them did it dutifully and were able to submit
their assignments to me. I was thus able to give them feedback on their
assignments on Friday, just in time for them to look through over the weekend.
To the few students who still failed
to submit their assignments to me on time despite repeated reminders, I felt
pretty disappointed and I should think hard about the strategies to adopt to
get them to be responsible for their own learning, and be motivated to attain
knowledge.
All these incidents make me reflect
and help me to shape better motivational strategies to stimulate and enhance
students' learning.
