Week 2 : MRSM Lenggong Practicum Aug 19th- 23rd
Day 1 : Aug 19th
We started our second week after two weeks of Raya holiday. Today my mentor did not have any Form One class to be taught and thus, she decided that I could have a break to plan or do anything in particular. I was thinking which one of the Form One class would be my home class as it would be difficult to decide. Perhaps I need more time in observing and knowing the students more before this decision could be made. Apart from that, Intan and me had a request from two students to learn more about writing essays. They are Form Three students who will be the final batch to sit for PMR this year.
It is expected that most students are always worried about their writing skills or to be precise, their accuracy and ideas in order to write good essays. I do believe that fluency comes from a lot of practice and thus, to write better you will need to write a lot and learn from the mistakes, and not repeating them in future. However, in order for all these grammar rules to be handy and easily remembered, students will need to master their basic grammar skills. This is to empower them and at the same time giving them confidence to explore more. When the students could not see their improvement in their language skills, it is feared that their learning level would become static or stagnant because they no longer know what to do with their language levels. They will just learn the language for the sake of exam and requirement of the school. It is therefore a challenge for the teachers to make students learn for the sake of own interest and knowledge, to have a purpose and good reasons which could motivate them to continue studying English, even if they will take a long time.
Day 2 : Aug 20th
Today, I had a lesson with the Form 1 Alpha, where we had an introduction session. I had the students to make their own name labels on the table and then I proceed by introducing myself, university and the course. The students were surprised to know that I used to learn in NZ. They were very excited and eager with the lesson. After that I had them all introducing themselves one by one (I did this to prolong the time as I have to change the lesson plan because I was told by the mentor that the students have not read the novel yet). I planned to have the students to arrange the strip stories in a right sequence, but however I later learned that if the students have not finished reading the novel yet, perhaps I could do some prediction or guessing from context of the novel about what the novel is all about. After I had them introducing themselves one by one, I asked the class to know the number of people who might have read the story. Surprisingly, more than half of the class have read the novel and I decided that I could proceed with the lesson plan earlier.
Students were divided to six groups, and they later sit in small circles around their tables to discuss the right sequence of the stories. I did monitor them quite well throughout the process, but there were some groups who finished earlier than the others, and I noticed that I have not prepared any extended task for them. My mentor said, I will need to prepare an extra activity to ensure these students did not stop their learning while the others are finishing. Perhaps another worksheet regarding the synopsis would be helpful for the students, or they will need to find the meaning of the difficult words they found in the story.
Besides, I think the extended task could include materials from the same stories. I have thought that it is probably be good if they could produce some sentences from the vocabulary list that I am going to share with them. Another element that I reflected is that I would need to try out the methods of asking students to clarify the instructions again by repeating them. I should also utilise the use of the whiteboard to have materials written on the board like having flow chart for the instructions, writing LO and success criteria which later revised at the end of the lesson. I think my instructions fot this lesson were quite simple and straight forward which made it easy for them to understand. However, I would need to make sure I did not speak too fast or using complex words or vocabulary in my instructions, to be able to speak the "students' language".
Day 3 : Aug 21st
Today I took over the 102 classroom for the first time and we had a lesson using Just English magazine. I divided them to groups of five and six, for them to read an article chosen and to write a review about the article. Later, I ask for some volunteers to share their review. The problem that I reflected for this lesson is the difficulty to control the classroom, with signals, despite using loud voice to gain their attention. It is difficult when students are not facing you, in groups and talking, not realizing the teacher who is giving instructions at the front. But I do have my cue by putting my finger at lips to signal them for my next instruction or to gain their attention. But some of them, did not notice the signal as they were busy with their friends or doing the work. Perhaps I would need to establish another signal with them to make it work and agree together as a class.
Furthermore, I think that the students had a difficult time to describe the article they read, especially the box describing what they like about the article. Students do not have the vocabulary to describe the article, perhaps I need a lesson prior that gives the students idea how to do the joirnal article review. It is perhaps better to have a model of the review for them to refer as a guide. I think that I would need to put them into pairs instead of groups, to gain more control of the classroom,as suggested by the mentor. She noticed that I struggled to gain the students' attention in the middle of the lesson.
Another element that I reflected was the ability for students to achieve the success criteria. They have shown a good effort in finishing the review by themselves and manage to get it done, even if it was done quite simple and short. The students are able to understand my instruction as I did rephrase my instructions before they start doing their work. I made it simple, like read, fill in and share to help them understand the key words of the instructions.
In future, I would need to maximize the use of the white board to acknowledge my learning objectives and achieve the success criteria. I would need to start introducing my students about what they are going to learn and what they are expected to achieve at the end pf the day.
I also found that the usage of first language in classroom is needed at certain times, especially in lower form classes, when their vocabulary is really limited. Something must be done to help them understand the amount of vicabulary needed to convey simple messages correctly. I do admit that I have to encourage them to use the dual-language dictionary so that it will be easier for them to understand the new words. But in future,I would emphasize them to know the english meanings too, because that would be more effective for their language learning.
Day 4 : Aug 22nd
In this lesson, my students were required to do a role play based on the strip stories vocabulary previously. Students were divided into six groups, where each group is given a simple acting guide for them to act. I have given each group a word each and they will need to act accordingly based on the word's context. I began the lesson by writing out three learning objectives that I wanted to achieve and made it clear why such learning objectives are needed. Students were quite awkward with the stage, but they soon come to understand once we began our lesson. Students later discussed in their groups, while I went around and monitoring how they were doing their role play. I clarified to the group about the context that they need to present. However, the students were not so sure whether a real script is needed, and they were lacking of time and skill to make a script on their own. Only one group managed to do a proper script for their acting, having complete sentences and also the division of role play. Most of the groups were using body gestures, expressions and actions with not so much talking while acting. Some of the groups were quite confident, and some are not. Overall, most of the students participate, but it is their role that differentiated their contribution. In future, I will need to specify more about the roles and the message they need to bring out. The class managed to match the words correctly according to the meaning, but I felt that I have given them too much of spoon fed idea, unfortunately. Some students were not so sure especially when it comes to producing a sentence for the word given. They had the idea, but not enough structure and grammar to make their sentence precise and compact. I realized that the students actually need help in building basic sentences with some basic grammar.
Again, I did wonder whether this task is too high for the students to achieve, and did I have enough preparation for them to participate in the lesson. Perhaps, I need more activation of prior knowledge by giving them pre-task and post-task besides only having the main task. But one improvement that I made during the class was time management and to be able to check back the learning objectives with the students after lesson. It was a good introduction for them of this stage and hopefully that they will soon become familiar with the idea of having learning objectives during lesson.
Day 5 : Aug 23rd
For this date, I have to take over both 101 and 102 classroom. For the 101, I had a lesson about the strip stories with them. I managed to improve this lesson, by having proper learning objectives mentioned at the beginning of the class. Students were quite anticipated with the lesson, and then I divided them to groups. I did a change to this lesson by not revealing the right sequence of the strip stories during monitoring lesson, I have a time gap for them to finish and then to check later. I mentioned a reward for the group who managed to answer it correctly. Students managed to finish the task quite quickly while discussing with group members.
They later checked the answer as a whole class, and I noticed that the students began to lose interest once they checked that their answer is not that right. It was perhaps because students know that they were not getting any reward afterwards. I would need to set task in future that could link to this task and make students more interested in the lesson. Again, post task is crucially needed to make students reflect about the lesson learned.
For the second class, I had 102 for journal review in library. Students were quite excited to be able to choose their own article, however, they were lacking of ideas to fill the review boxes especially the reasons for liking and not liking the article. Students need some knowledge prior to reading the article to help them build knowledge on how to critize a piece of writing and analyse it. Another change that I made to this lesson is that I had the students to present the article they read to their own groups, instead of the whole class. Some of them were confident and I even asked them to rate their friends by giving them stars, maximum of three stars for each group. From this activity, I could see that the students like and enjoy giving feedback to each other, and they could play their role in each group. It is just that I will need to guide what kind of feedback is wanted from their friends and clarify to the students better in future so that they will be able to give beneficial feedback to each other.
What I urgently need to improve is my strategy of controlling and managing the classroom, because Form one is a bit challenging in terms of asking for their responds and to pay attention when needed. My mentor even suggested to me that instead of asking for volunteers to asnwer the questions or by asking them to raise their hands, I could use a paper ball and passing it around the class to give a proper chance for the students to participate equally and efficiently. The use of signals to control the class is improving but I will need to be firm and to talk less over the noise of the students' voices. In the week coming, I planned to have some grammar lesson and tips for the students to write short but precise sentences in order to prepare them to do a bigger task, like writng essay and also speaking task like quickwrite, quickread and fluency programme.
Week 4 : MRSM Lenggong Practicum 2nd Sept- 7 Sept 2013
Day 1 : Sept 2
i think the biggest barrier for students to achieve during this class, is because the lack of preparation for the complex task like role play. i noticed that the students need a sample for them to act, according to the word assigned to them. although i have requested three lines of script from them, it was quite difficult for them to achieve this since the students are all referring to the book, and not quite sure what they need to do.
pre task for this role play should be like a sample video or acting skill to demonstrate to the students what they really need to do. i had not mastered the skill of managing the classroom without having to raise my voice yet, but students are beginning to learn my signals and try to pay attention when they are needed to. however, i had problems with the students who were not actively involved in the group discussion, and caught them sleeping for a short time while other friends are doing the work. i learned that a strategy need to be used to prevent this behavior. i thought of rewarding the students if they are able to give attention during my class time.
apart from that,the students are mostly able to learn the new vocabulary although their acting were quite simple. i noticed that i usually ignore the review of an activity about what they are getting or have learned after each activity is done. time management, especially the part to conclude a lesson and feedback is not yet achieved. i realised that i lack of feedback from students and that they did not have much time about their lesson,or two ways learning and communication.
overall, my mentor said,i need to have a good strategy while monitoring students to do their work, by making sure that the students are also learning. an extended task is crucial for groupwork, esopecially when some groups have finished earlier. i should use the monitoring time to mark the students' group work and also to prepare an extended task if they are able to finish the work earlier.
learning objectives were not always reviewed by the end. need to improve on how i plan to end each task or activity effectively.
for 101, i had the bus stop activity later in which i think the students are able to understand clearly what they need to do. the instructions given were by stage, in which i would wait for the students to finish what they are doing, and then proceed to the next instruction. this is more effective for them to follow.
however, i had a difficult time while monitoring and clarifying the wh questions to each group since there are many groups to go round, i could not ensure that the students are all learning and discussing about the topic. i would need to prepare an alternative work to make sure they are engaged with individual work, after they finish the discussion. this could serve as the extended work to make sure students are always engaged in learning.
Day 2 : Sept 3rd
for this class, i had them for a reading comprehension task to test their understanding regarding the wh questions based on the previous lesson. the passage was compatible with the students' language level, with some new vocabulary to learn. i made a mistake for a past tense word which is crept, i said it was crawl. but the root word is actually creep.
later, the students' did the wh questions, in this activity, i used the paper ball to take turns in class, however i realised that this method is not so polite to be used in class, because it involves throwing things. i think that a better way could be by drawing names from a box, by randomly asking students to pick up names. a race to finish the work sheet seems like a good idea, but i would need to prepare an award for those who finishes early, which quite a burden to be done frequently.
we had language spelling games and later i realised that wh questions technique could be used to brainstorm for an essay in future lesson. students could relate to the previous lesson by brainstorming using the wh questions.
again, a lesson conclusion is not yet to be finished.
Day 3 : Sept 4th
102- wh questions this time i had the bus stop activity with the class, and amazingly the students are able to follow the instructions smoothly without any big problem. i noticed that the students are really trying to make an effort and participate in group discussion when they become the expert group. although i did not manage to control the class very efficiently, but i could see the improvement in their attitude in receiving instructions.
i realised that students need to be given responsible, so that they know they are learning something and also responsible for other students' learning. i think revision of the previous lesson is crucial for students to connect previous knowledge with their current ideas. it is also a refreshment for them and will benefit the students in a long term.
look forward to use wh questions strategy in teaching them how to brainstorm for the essay soon! (:
Day 4 : Sept 5th
102 single lesson - I had the students to do some comprehension questions based on a passage chosen. Students were given chance to volunteer of asking the questions and they managed to do it quite easily. Later I had the students to time themselves for a quick exercise on a dialogue. Students managed to do it effectively. My mentor who came to observe suggested a new idea that I could do to make the teaching much more interactive. I could have the students to look for the six questions at different stations around the classroom and have them to move around the class while answering the questions. Besides, they could also do the running dictation, in which they need to remember the questions' forms so that they will be able to remember the correct structure of building wh questions sentences. I need to improve on how I assign different roles of group members so that they are able to fully participate during the activities. One good idea is by giving each of the group members a role, like writer, timer, reporter and also reader. I managed to conclude the lesson by the end of it and review it with the students, but I need more effective ways in seeking the students' feedback to know what they have really learned at the end of the day.
For class 101, double lesson - I had an induction set in which I encouraged students to brainstorm regarding animal, caring towards society theme. The students managed to come up with different ideas with different animals and thus, I expect that if students are given a set of vocabulary (prep) session prior to this brainstorming activity, they would be able to do better. It is a good pre task activity for the students to have organize their ideas efficiently.
Later I had the students to do the exercise in their workbook, Big Ideas in order to prepare them for the informal letter format which will come up in their test. Students were required to fill in the blanks of a letter, but before that I introduced the students about the format and the right way of beginning the letter. I had a short time preparing for this lesson, it was quite a rushed one. And so, I thought that this lesson could be better by asking the students to match and sequence different sections of the letter to a proper informal letter. I could have a sample of the letter and then let them in groups or pairs to get the right sequence.
Once the students are already familiar with the format, they will need to learn on how they could build their ideas to write a good letter. Therefore, a brainstorming technique using the wh question is also a good strategy for them to use and help in expanding their ideas about a topic, or pictures given. Students could also be exposed to different ideas about a situation, like drowning in river, or real life situations in states like Sarawak to give them a better idea about what to be written. The brainstorming idea could be done in groups, like having a consensus square of different ideas from different people.
The post task would be, the students are able to expand the mind maps on their own using the strategy demonstrated by the teacher. Once they are already familiar with this technique, it would be helpful for the students hopefully to organize their ideas into writing much more effectively.
Day 5 : Sept 6th
Today, since I had no classes, I was involved in a PAMA meeting with the Form Five teachers, including mentor to have a post mortem regarding the pre-trial result spm and compared with their semesters' performances. Students for English are mostly improving, indicated that they have been taught how to get marks in exam, ways to score taught by English teachers, who are mostly exam paper markers. However, there are still a lot of imrovement areas that could be focused on. For example, to teach students the effective way of writing coherently and correctly, where some teaching from context could be done. Students should also be encouraged to learn from their mistakes, and constantly asking for their teachers' feedback if they are not sure how to improve their work especially the grammar part like in essays. Besides, intensive practice is needed for their novels component and thus, the students could master the questions asked regarding the novel itself.