Fern Green Primary School (Teaching Practice 1)

What is Teaching Practice 1?

Teaching Practice 1 is a 5-weeks teaching opportunity where we get to go into schools, observe how lessons are conducted and start conducting lessons on our own. Different from Teaching Assistantship, we would have more opportunities to conduct lessons independently.

4 Integrity (4CL2)

For TP1, I was assigned to teaching 4CL2 and it was a very fruitful experience for me. Different from my class in TA, this class consisted of students with varying learning progress. Hence, it was important for me to ensure that students with diverse needs can be well taken care of. This also gave me an opportunity to implement Differentiated Instructions in class. With the time I had with the class, I was also able to implement lessons using technology. One of my favourite lessons with the class was also one where I incorporated technology. With the help of Nearpod, I set up a Virtual Tour for the students to visit Botanic Gardens (in line with textbook's content). Also using Nearpod, students were able to record their responses after taking a "tour" around Botanic Gardens. In the lesson package, it was also possible to modify it such that students of lower learning progress can follow the lesson better. This lesson helped me to see that the use of technology can help to monitor and enhance students' learning experiences, as well as to differentiate my lessons more effectively to cater to students of diverse needs.

In the future, I would definitely explore more uses of technology to enhance my lessons meaningfully to better engage my students.

2 Harmony (2CL4)

Other than 4CL2, I was also assigned to 2CL4. This was more challenging for me as I have not taught a class of students this young, and I did not know how I could manage or engage them. At the start, I was afraid to raise my voice in class, fearing that this might scare the children. However, after several conversations and exchanges with my Cooperating Teacher (CT), I had a better understanding of how classroom management should be like in a lower primary class. I must always be firm in enforcing rules and use a mixture of soft and hard approaches in class. Students this age also have lower attention span and this is a key consideration when planning lessons. My CT guided me to switch between textbooks and activity books in class, especially during long periods to ensure that students stay engaged and do not drift off during lesson time. With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, more group work was also implemented to ensure that the students were able to be engaged more meaningfully in class.

With this experience, I am more equipped with the skills to handle a Primary 2 class, and will be able to do better in terms of classroom management and lessons execution in the future.

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