Reflection Journal (PETA) : Observation Task 2

PETA Reflection Journal

(Teaching Assistant Week 2)

In the second weeks of my school observation program, I did teaching practice in the class. I taught my student based on my lesson plan that I have made before. I showed my best for my performance in front of the class. I got a lot of input from my master teacher about my method when I taught my students. She told me that there are some effective and ineffective way during I did teaching practice.

There are the effective ways that I have done in the classroom.

I opened my class with ice breaking such as, greeting, introduction, and game. Honestly, I felt nervous for my first class. But I tried to make the class condition comfort by doing something. Firstly, we introduced each other then I gave them post-it and asked them to write their name there. Then they stick it in their chest. I thought its effective, because in can make we became closer to each other. After the classroom became comfort and friendly, I tried to ask them question about the previous lesson (narrative text). So, there is communication between us. Secondly, I explained the material to remain students about the lesson. Then ask them to read the narrative text in form video and answer some questions according to the text. We choose to show the text in form of video is because to make it more interesting to read by the students. I hope it can improve students’ interest to learn English. Why, I said this way is effective? After listen to my explanation, I would the student do practice directly based on their understanding.  So it’s mean that student not only understand but also can produce something (their own text) in the real life. Thirdly, when the students did their task, I went around the class to check the students work and make sure that they have understood about my explanation. I ask student one by one, and did lecture-discussion with them. I thought it’s also effective, because we can make sure whether the student understand or not about the lesson. Beside that we can help them by ask about the difficulties one by one and then gave them the solution. Then the last, I always give them reward like praises or applause for give them intrinsic motivation.

There are the ineffective ways that I have done in the classroom:

 There are some things that ineffective and I should to fix it. Some student said that I explained the lesson too fast. It makes them rather confuse. So I should teach more slowly and leisurely. Then, because I am the beginner, I still do know how to manage my class well. Sometime students didn’t pay the attention to my explanation. According to this condition, I’ll learn more how to manage our class well and make them focus about the lesson. The last is time management. Although I have arranged the lesson plan well, it doesn’t work as well as I hope in the real live. I find difficulty when I try to match the time of learning based on my lesson plan. Sometimes it’s more than our prediction. Finally I lack the time to teach my students.

Ok that’s all about my experience during the second week. I hope I can be better and better. I’ll do my best in the future as the teacher. I will fix some mistaken that I have did in my first teaching practice. I wish I can decrease the ineffective thing and increase the effective thing. Amiin! J

Reflection Journal (PETA) : Observation Task 1

My Reflection for the first week

(Teaching Assistant)

I have done my job as the teacher assistant as well as possible in Senior High School 54 , Jakarta.  In the first week, I found many interesting thing there. I observed about the effective & ineffective teaching & learning in the classroom actually. I did my observation n 3rd grade of saint’s class. Well, I did it and i got many new things that is very useful for me as the prospective teacher in the future. I will explain about everything that I have observed one by one in this reflection. I'll tell the effective way first and then the ineffective.

For the effective teaching and learning process in the class room:

Firstly, Teacher could manage the classroom well. I thought it’s the important key for the teacher in the order to make she teach her students well. By manage the classroom well, she could create a good atmosphere in the classroom, made her students comfort with that condition & enjoy the teaching-learning process in the classroom. She could control every student’s activities to do not too noisy when they learn & make them concentrate with her explanation. Finally, it impact to the student’s understanding. Students understood about the lesson easily.

Secondly, teachers always remind her students about the previous lesson and check their homework together before the new class begins. I though this way is effective to see and to measure the students’ understanding level about every subject. Teacher could know whether her student really understand or not with her explanation and also to ensure that the students be able to continue the next subject.

Thirdly, teacher gave the students some task to do after she explains about the lesson. This way was also effective I guest, because its purpose to make students could apply what they have learned from the explanation before directly.

For the ineffective teaching and learning process in the class room:

Firstly, the teacher used teacher centered learning method when she teaches her students. It made the students passive and not creative in the classroom. There was less communication between teacher and students or student and student. For example, asking-answer question session is less attention. The students just listen to the teacher’s explanation and do something based on their student instruction.

Secondly, the teacher always did the same way when she teaches her student. I mean that, there are not variations in her teaching method. So, sometimes it’s look monotone and boring.

Thirdly, the teacher doesn't have any markers to write the explanation on the white board. Maybe it looks like the simple thing  "'marker", but it could be the problem in teaching and learning process. For the visual students, some explanation in the whiteboard is important actually. I thought the teacher doesn't give attention for that case.

So, I thought that’s all the result for my first week. I hope I could learn more from the effective & also ineffective teaching-learning process in that class. As the prospective teacher I also want to apply the effective one and practice everything that I have learned from my PETA class. I want to be a good teacher and also the effective teacher. Hopefully I can teach my students well. Not only make them interested but also make them easy to understand about my explanation. Hopefully!

Amiin!

Reflection Journal (TLL) : Observation Task

TLL Observation Task

In my school experience program for two weeks, I did my observation about the media that is use in language teaching.  I didn’t find any digital media during teaching and learning process occur in the classroom actually. The teacher only uses whiteboard and marker as the main media for teaching.  I thought, it not because that school didn’t have the facilities but because there is not any chance to use it maximally. In my school that I have observed, there is a projector in some classes, computers in some rooms, and also Internet network. But unfortunately that is not available in English class that I observed there. So, if the English teachers want to use the projector or computer with Internet connection, they should alternate with others teachers. That is why the using of digital media here is not too maximal.

Although the teacher only teach her students by using whiteboard , marker, and some books, the teaching-learning  process in that class room still effective. It happened because the teacher can use the media maximally to teach and deliver her knowledge to the students. She makes the materials easy to understand and still interesting. She used the books as her resource and explained it well by write it in the whiteboard. I thought, the lack of number of digital media in the classroom is not the big problem for the students there. Most of the students have had their own digital media at home.  The have learned about the materials by using their own digital media outside the school hours. It was evident when I asked all students to send their reflections via email.

Based of my experience during my observation, I got some ideas for my teaching method if I teach the same lesson in the same condition. Firstly, I will use the facilities that have already available as can as possible or I will teach my students with my own digital media that I have maximally. Secondly, I will use the books as the resources for the material that is related to the subject. But I also ask the students to get more resources from the Internet outside school hours. Thirdly, although the using of digital media is doesn’t work well in the school, I will invite the students for join online discussion such as using blogger, group in facebook, etc.  

I think that’s all for my reflection about the using of digital media in the classroom. I hope I can learn more from my observation that I have done. As the prospective teacher, it will be my provision for me to be better and better. Hopefully!