Summary & Suggestions

Purpose of the Practicum

I consider the SEA Teacher Exchange Program a great source of learning experience in the field of teaching, especially to Pre-Service Teachers like myself. The moment that I heard about this prestigious program, I really thought of applying no matter what. Luckily, I got accepted and I was even grateful that I got to be accepted in the partner institution of my choice - Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University in Thailand. This kind of program is once in a lifetime opportunity and I believe that it was meant for me, perhaps I was destined to experience this kind of blessing in order for me to expand my knowledge and be able to share and inspire other people.

Because of this program, I was able to meet a lot of people that I'll surely treasure for all eternity. These wonderful group of people has helped, inspired, and encouraged me to bring out the best in me while being grateful and humble. Moreover, I was also able to view life in general in a different perspective, thanks to the mentors and teachers that I have met in this journey. It was truly one of the most exciting experiences - being able to expand horizons through breaking barriers, that I'll forever keep in my heart.

Procedures of the Practicum

Observation

The first step is having our observations, where in we get to see and observe the teaching and learning process between the students and the teacher. As I believe that this process does not only begin and end inside the classroom, I also observed them even before the start of the class. I make sure to take down all the observations - from the students' behavior, the teacher's strategies in teaching, and the connection between the teacher and the students.

Teaching Assistantship

The second step is the teaching assistantship, where I got the chance to help and assist the cooperating teacher. I had the opportunity to look around and see if there is a student in need of help in understanding the lesson or in answering the given worksheet to them. However, I wasn't given enough time to do this as there were days that our schedule has conflict with the class schedule at the Demonstration School.

Practice Teaching

The third step was the teaching practice, where I got to actually teach Thai grade 7 students. Never did I even imagine doing this and I was even nervous the first time I did, although I already have a teaching experience back in the Philippines. In this step, I was given the opportunity to apply all the learning and strategies that I got from observing and assisting. Once in a while, I try to incorporate some fun things in between the discussion to ensure that the students are still paying attention and made the lesson easier for them to understand even though the language was quite a challenge itself.

Evaluation and Reflection

Lastly is the evaluation and reflection, where I even applied the practice we've had in the Philippines - making sure that my cooperating teacher knows and has his own copy of my lesson plan, which includes the entire flow of my discussion. For my evaluation, I had my teaching demonstration in 1/3 which was observed by my supervising teacher, cooperating teacher, and some fellow students in the Mathematics-English Program of VRU. During the reflection part, I was able to see and appreciate my strengths which was pointed out by my supervising teacher. I was also glad to know the things that I still need to improve.

Challenges of Practicum

One thing that I consider as a challenge was when my cooperating teacher did not gave me a clear instruction on the things that I need to discuss for my first lesson. He gave me a pdf file, probably consisting of information about the topic. However, the file was in Thai and of course, I lack the skill and knowledge of understanding writing in Thai. It would've been better if there were other materials given. However, I just research and did what I had to do in order to pull off my discussion to the class.

The second challenge for me is whenever the students is class is being too noisy and rude with the me, an exchange teacher, but the cooperating teacher is not doing anything about it. Sadly, I didn't get the help I need during those times since I got a bad experience from one of my classes because of their behavior.

Luckily, I was still able to overcome these challenges, always try to rise up to the occasion, and keep pushing myself to become better.

Overall Impression

This program has been considered as a redemption for myself and will forever be deeply rooted in my heart and mind. Through this, I was able to discover a lot, not just about in the field of education, but also about culture, people, and myself. This program might have ended for our batch, but surely, I will bring all the lessons and memories that we've made here and try to apply it in life whenever possible. Being part of the SEA Teacher Exchange Program is something that I'll always be proud of and I'll always be grateful for all the lessons that I've learned, for the amazing group of people that I've met, and for the inspiring life-lessons that I got from this experience.

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