SUMMARY & SUGGESTIONS

The ninth batch of SEA – Teacher Project organized by the South East Asian Ministries of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is an opportunity that brought me to Sekolah Quantum Inti Indonesia and gain international practice teaching experience. The main purpose why I joined this program is to develop my teaching skills and pedagogy, practice my English skills, gain a broader view of education and diversity, and be exposed and flexible to different learning situations and opportunities.

 The student exchange program is held for one month. In the first week, we had the school orientation, classroom observations, and cultural sharing with students. In the second week, we worked on our lesson plan with the help of our cooperating teachers. In the third and fourth weeks, we had our practice teaching and reflection on our performances, significant experiences, and lessons learned. We were also evaluated and congratulated by our mentors for the work we have done. The school also made us join school camps, fun walks, and elections and took us on trips to different places because these are part of experiential learning.

 Given that it is my first time to have my international practice teaching in an actual classroom, the main challenge that I encounter is that I have no prior knowledge of the teaching procedures in my cooperating school, especially if the lesson plan is not totally accomplished due to unwanted events like the inefficiency of time allotment. I, as a student teacher, do not know how to handle things properly if something unwanted happens. Despite that, I was able to cope with them through the guidance and support of my cooperating teacher who by all means, helped me understand the things that I ought to do before, during, and after every class session.

 After the completion of the practicum, we were evaluated by our cooperating teachers based on the SEA – Teachers’ performance evaluation form and gave remarks about our strengths and weaknesses as student teachers. Personally, this teaching experience taught me to achieve much more of the SEA – Teacher Project’s objective. I was able to not just enhance my teaching skills and perspective but also learn to deal with different types of people and cultures outside the school premises. I was able to realize that learning how to understand and deal with diversity is the first and essential step to being able to lead and facilitate students’ diversity inside the classroom.

 Overall, I can say that the SEA – Teacher Project implemented here in Sekolah Quantum Inti Indonesia is a great success. I believe that I was able to meet the objectives of the program because it provided me with more room for improvement. My confidence was really challenged which I think was very helpful because it served as a way to improve my pedagogical, technological, and content knowledge skills. Each experience that I had molded me not just as a future educator but also as an individual who lives in a society where diversity exists.

 Based on the challenges, opportunities, issues, and lived experiences that I had during my practice teaching, I recommend the following:

• Inclusion of student-teacher training programs so they will be able to have more knowledge about teaching in an actual setting.

• Consider getting feedback or comments from the students of the pre-service teacher to gain more insights about teaching skills improvements.

• It is preferable for pre-service teachers to conduct assistantships with their cooperating teachers prior to actual practice teaching so that they are more familiar with how things work when they teach.