TEACHING PRACTICE

The SEA – Teacher Student Exchange Program opened the opportunity for me to be an international practice teacher at Sekolah Quantum Inti Indonesia for one month. During the four-week program, I had the chance to teach Descriptive texts in the English class to students from Grade 10 section two. This class is under the Senior High School which consists of 16 students, 7 males and 9 females. Before the actual practice teaching, I was given the opportunity to have them observed first. So, I used the data I gained as the basis of the suitable learning activities for them.

 In the teaching procedure, the teachers follow the lesson plan format ordered as Enroll, Experience, Label, Demonstrate, Review, and Celebrate (abbreviated as EELDRC). The Enroll part is where a teacher evaluates the prior knowledge of students about a certain topic. Then, the topic is introduced to the students through an activity in the Experience part. The teachers can give small discussions or preferably let the students discover the lesson through a series of example activities. Right after that, individual worksheets and group activities can either be put on Label and Demonstrate as long as the teacher manages to hit the objective by the activities he or she implements. In conclusion of the lesson, the teacher must review the learning of the students and must celebrate it because Quantum learning highlights the idea that “what is worth learning is worth celebrating.”

Having that idea in mind, I meticulously planned for my teaching procedure. I formulated the lesson plan containing various activities that I found interesting for students and were anchored to the learning objectives of the class session. In order to make sure that the activities would be effective in meeting the learning objectives, discussions with my cooperating teachers and principal were done. Attached in the appendices are examples of lesson plans, including objectives, instructional materials, and assessments. 

I was given 90 minutes to implement each of my classes and organize the activities that I prepared. In order to manage the time that I have, I made sure that there is effective classroom management. First, we had small greetings, prayer, and ice-breaking games to ensure that they would be motivated to learn. I also gave positive reinforcements such as prizes for the winner of the game and also established clear instructions like keeping away from gadgets before the lesson began. In the lecture proper, I asked questions to promote students' analysis and provided hands-on activities to authentically assess their learning.

 The students were quite mature and actively participated in class. I observed that there was no space for unhealthy competition because students were helping each other so no one would be left behind, even those who seemed to have a slower pace of learning. Despite that, there were still challenges that I faced during the practice teaching. Not all students could understand the words that I used during the discussion so in order to cope with that, I did my best to find the simplest synonyms that I could think about and asked them if they understood. The other challenge that I also encountered was the inefficiency of time allotment. The time was not enough to finish all the activities in the lesson plan so there was an activity that I gave as an assignment. In that way, I was able to achieve the objectives of the lesson.

 I also used a range of assessment methods, such as formative and summative assessments, to measure students’ learning progress. In formative assessments, I used the art of questioning during the discussion. I considered asking about their prior knowledge and used that as a benchmark of how they progress. Then, I implemented worksheets and group performances for the summative assessment which were done after the lesson discussion. Sample assessments and student work samples are provided in the appendices.

 Upon reflection, I recognized several strengths in my teaching, including the confidence when I speak, the time management, the implementation of engaging activities, and the way I connect to the students' learning styles. On the other hand, I also identified areas for growth such as time management and proper choice of words. Through this teaching experience at Sekolah Quantum Inti Indonesia, I intend to continue enhancing my pedagogical and technological skills and knowledge so I can be a quality teacher in the near future.

Practice Teaching

 Upon reflection, I recognized several strengths in my teaching, including the confidence when I speak, the time management, the implementation of engaging activities, and the way I connect to the students' learning styles. On the other hand, I also identified areas for growth such as time management and proper choice of words. Through this teaching experience at Sekolah Quantum Inti Indonesia, I intend to continue enhancing my pedagogical and technological skills and knowledge so I can be a quality teacher in the near future.