Reflections are written weekly and serve as a summary of all the events that took place during the week including teaching strategies used and activities or tasks given to students. This is carried out throughout the whole Teaching Practice duration.
During Week 1, I went to the Business Campus to get introduced to the HOS and programmed leader and have a short tour of the building. Due the situation, physical classes weren’t allowed and all lessons were to be done online following groups assigned, of which I had been given my groups Batch 45 and 46.
During the online lesson phase, a few problems could be noted from the lesson was the problems regarding internet connectivity or faulty in technological devices used such as phone or laptop. There is also a lack of interaction between the students and the teachers causing a deterioration in engagement.
As online lessons still continue, the problem of internet reliability still persist, though there was an improvement in student attendance and participation in class. However, more interaction is necessary for satisfactory engagement.
Normal lessons continued and students worked on their presentation tests. All the works they had done were satisfactory and their communication skill was good. However, due to the internet problem, some difficulties were faced such as lags and disconnections, which could’ve been improved.
Even when student interaction was highly encouraged, there was still a very minimal student-teacher interaction during the online learning session. Creating more engaging activities to urge more interaction during online learning. Allowing students to have more discussion time among themselves to present ideas to the class (utilizing the use of breakout rooms)
Normal lessons resumed through MS Teams. The morning batch (Batch 45) was observed to have better participation and interaction compared to the afternoon batch (Batch 46). This could be concluded to be due to the time factor. Though, overall, both classes did well during their classwork.
As we are nearing the first phase exam, this week was used to finish up the required syllabus to allow more revision time for week 4. Lessons were still conducted online and implementation of quizzes was frequented. Due to the quizzes, there has been a slightly increased interaction from students during correction discussion.
This week was spent on revising all topics to prepare for the first phase test in week 9. Students were emphasized on key points they should remember and more activities were held to see where their knowledge in the subject is weak and focusing on fixing common misconceptions or confusion.
Students sat for their first phase exam during this week as well as revision for their test beforehand and no lessons for syllabus progression were held. After they had completed their tests, their papers were marked and I took note where most students made mistakes to address in my next lesson.
Normal lessons continued and students worked on their presentation tests. All the works they had done were satisfactory and their communication skill was good. However, due to the internet problem, some difficulties were faced such as lags and disconnections, which could’ve been improved.
Semester Break: 18 March 2022 - 26 March 2022
Prepare teaching materials for upcoming lessons.
REFLECTION
Despite the semester break, tasks such as preparing lesson plans and slides, still need to be done.
The lesson held online went smoothly and no technical difficulties were encountered. The lesson was able to be presented clearly and effectively. Student interaction was encouraged as much as possible related YouTube videos were attached to the lesson to strengthen understanding Students continue to have online lessons. This lesson was spent on increasing their understanding of the knowledge and improving application skills in real-life scenarios.
Students are assigned into teams and did collaborative work for their research on traditions to be shared to the class. Through this task, students exhibited excellent teamwork strategies. Points that must be memorized are also highlighted and listed out following students’ opinions with the syllabus as a guide.
Students returned to school for normal lessons through face-to-face learning. A new topic was covered through the physical classroom and an increase in student interaction and engagement was seen as we shifted from online to the physical learning environment. Throughout the week, this session focused more on their recollection of previous lessons to act as a recap session. The students were asked about any difficulties or misconceptions they have come across in their learning along the way
As we were covering a new concept, most of the lessons involved lectures with some discussion with students. Some students were able to give opinions or ideas when prompted based on the topic taught.
Students had a physical presentation of their tasks given before the holiday. The presentation was closely tied to the questions that would always be asked in the exam, making this a kind of revision exercise. Communication relay for the presentation was weak as most students were reading scripts and lacked audience attention. This was pointed out and worked on later in the lesson.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri Public Holiday
Students sat for their second phase exam. during this week as well as revision for their test beforehand and no lessons for syllabus progression were held.
The instructor proceeds to mark papers while students continue their exams for other modules.
One student was asked to be retested and the compilation of test marks and data continued.