Initially, the school only instructed us to conduct one independent teaching practice session. However, my mentor teacher gave me the opportunity to teach more than one class. The challenge was that I originally expected to teach only a single class, but I eventually handled three different classes with increasingly diverse student characteristics and classroom dynamics.
I was able to manage classes that were active and noisy quite well, even though those classes sometimes required more time to finish the material. In those situations, I had to adapt quickly by making several modifications during the lesson, such as shortening some parts of the material, changing assessments from individual tasks into group activities, and replacing the reflective formative assessment session with collaborative answer discussions to save time while still maintaining students’ understanding of the lesson.
Interestingly, my mental resilience was tested even more when teaching a class that was more passive compared to the others. It took several attempts to guide the students’ attention and encourage them to participate actively in the lesson. However, this challenge was eventually addressed through the integration of digital learning tools using the mobile app Educandy, along with gamification elements such as small rewards and interactive activities. Through these strategies, the students became noticeably more enthusiastic and were able to demonstrate a better understanding of the overall materials.