I observed 16 classes from February 27 until March 12. Some of these were repeated classes, and they came from different subjects and academic areas. Even before conducting classroom observations, I was also given the opportunity to observe a reading comprehension session. This session functioned as an assessment to measure students’ reading comprehension skills in understanding English texts. Through these two kinds of observations, I was exposed to many valuable insights and inspiring experiences. They gave me a clearer picture of how to conduct my own teaching practice and broadened my understanding of English language learning in the Philippines, which I believe is worth sharing with a wider audience.
PREPARING LESSONS AND THE MATERIALS
We had less than one week to prepare the lessons and teaching materials, which was quite a short amount of time. However, I later realized that the teachers there usually prepare weekly lesson plans instead of daily lesson plans, so most of the learning materials had actually been prepared well in advance. Fortunately, my mentor teacher had already prepared the materials for the classes I would teach, and I was given the freedom to use and modify them according to my teaching style and classroom needs.
In preparing the materials, I added many examples that were closely related to real-life situations because I saw that the topics were very relevant to students everyday lives and could provide practical benefits for them. I also used authentic texts from real life contexts as examples for the students to analyze and understand, so they could clearly see the actual purpose and application of the materials they were learning in class.
TEACHING IN THE CLASS
The students at Ateneo de Naga University Senior High School are highly intelligent, so it was not very difficult for me to help them understand the material. Because of this, the main challenge for teachers there is more about how to maintain students focus and engagement throughout the lesson.
I noticed that the teachers frequently encouraged students to participate by reading materials aloud in class, which served as a preventive strategy to keep students attentive and involved in the learning process. In addition, teachers often integrated gamification components into formative assessments, making students more enthusiastic and motivated to participate and answer questions. The teachers were also very flexible and communicative when responding to students’ opinions, ideas, and suggestions, creating a more open and interactive classroom environment
MEASUREMENT & EVALUATION
Most of the summative assessments were project based, which meant that they could not be completed within a short period of time. Because of this, the teachers regularly monitored the students progress and checked for updates on their work while also providing suggestions and guidance whenever students encountered difficulties during the process.
In every assessment, the teachers were also very open and transparent about the grading components and evaluation criteria of the tasks. This helped students understand what was expected from them, allowing them to perform more confidently, stay focused, and maximize the quality of their work.