Project

During the summer break in 2023, I had the chance to participate in the internship as a student teaching assistant. My participation in the WIS PSSTA provides the students with extra bits of help during each lesson, for instance, helping with spelling and answering questions relating to the assignment. As a student myself, I was able to provide various insights and advice regarding the school environment and system for students who weren’t yet familiar with Wells International School. Additionally, my instructor also provided me with the chance to design an assignment for the students to participate in, during which I tried to construct the assignment to be as enjoyable as possible while retaining the educational values for the students. 

After this experience, my goals when it comes to selecting a college major became more transparent, that is, an education major. With that being said, my choice of subject still remains mathematics after the experience of being a language art teacher assistant. Having tried teaching both younger and older students, I perceived that I’m more suited toward older students so I’m planning to take an education major for teaching high school rather than middle school or primary school. Lastly, I personally don’t believe that I could become a great teacher for international students as I found it difficult to connect with them due to various circumstances so teaching at a Thai school would be preferable.

I’ve learned many lessons from my experience in the WIS PSSTA when supervising students. For starters, each and every student is different and unique which means that each of them requires different approaches in order to get to know them. Especially in an international environment, since some students aren’t able to communicate fluently in English. Observing my instructor also provides me with insights into how someone with experience in the profession runs the class. For instance, my instructor balances the learning process with academics and entertainment. On certain days, the class would focus on learning the curriculum, and on other days, there would be activities for the students to participate in. Additionally, I’ve learned that time management is an important factor when it comes to teaching. My instructor always set clear time periods for each assignment and activity and stopped students from swaying away from the topic at hand.

CAS stages

Investigation: 

The first step before deciding to do something is to identify the purpose of that action. As for me, I have an interest in having a career in the education field, perhaps as a high school or university teacher/professor in the future. For this reason, I decided that I wanted some experience as a teacher in a realistic environment. A friend of mine was the one who introduced me to this particular internship which provided me with an opportunity to follow up on this ambition.

Preparation: 

The preparation stage first involves signing up for the internship. By communicating with teachers through email, I landed myself a position in the student teaching assistant internship at Wells International School Onnut. The next step I took for preparation was to clear out my summer schedule and discuss plans and requirements with my instructor. The preparation went well overall with me only needing to take 2 days off from the internship for a family trip.

Action:

The main part of this experience is, of course, the internship itself. From June 19th to July 21st 2023, I attended classes as a teacher assistant every weekday from morning until lunch. I got to know Ms. Nikki who was my instructor for the internship. Although I didn't agree with some of her opinions, I still have a lot of respect for her. I also got to know the students attending the summer school even though I couldn't establish meaningful communication with some of them. 

Reflection:

I learned many things from this experience. Firstly, I've learned that teaching English doesn't fit me well. For this reason, I've instead decided to pursue mathematics which I excel at to a degree. Additionally, I also learned of ways to interact with students of different personalities and interests as well as how to interact and work under an individual of a higher position, in this case, Ms. Nikki.

Demonstration: 

At the moment, the ways in which I can demonstrate the learning outcomes of this experience are quite limited. For starters, I shifted my academic focus more to math than before and set my desired university major to mathematics. This process also involves taking tests required for the major including the SAT and IELTS. As of now, I have most of the requirements I need to apply to my desired university (Mahidol MUIC Applied Mathematics).

Learning outcomes

• Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

• Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth 

• Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process