Professional Practice 4: Lesson Preparation

Description

According to Ms. Marina, the teaching strategies applied in different classes may not be the same. The reason behind it is that students in different classes may have different learning needs and styles. She often refered to class Utarid (LINUS program) when she explained about the teaching strategies that she uses during her lessons. Most of the time, she will use simple instruction to instruct the class. For example, she would say "cut the picture". She stated that it is hard for her to differentiate her instruction in such a big class. She also mentioned that this could benefit all students including higher-ability, intermediate, and lower-ability students. Although the students are separated based on their academic performances, the class will still have students with different levels of abilities.

 

She  uses simple instruction that higher-ability students (more knowledgeable others (MKO)) can understand easily. With this full understanding, MKOs can provide help to the weaker students. If that particular student is still unable to comprehend what is being taught, the teacher will help to enhance the student's experience by providing a range of easy activities for him or her. However, due to time constraint, it is still difficult for teachers to carry out the activities to engage the weaker students in class. There are a lot of challenges that teachers in SKKL are dealing with. 

 

 

Feelings and Evaluation

I am impressed with the idea of peer to peer teaching that I think can surely help every student in the classroom. I agreed with how Ms. Marina thinks that this is the best solution for a situation like this. This is because the teacher alone cannot do everything at once and thus, MKOs in the classroom play an important role in assisting the teacher and their peers. Despite all the constraints and hurdles described, the obstacles can be seen as an opportunity for all of us to not lose hope in making things better for the teachers and most importantly, the students.

 

 

Analysis

The conversation that I had with Ms. Marina had me looking into questions that are worth pondering. “What is the best teaching strategy for a teacher?” My answer to it is: "your best is not my best, and best does not involve solely one thing". There are many times we look for the best theories to support our selected teaching strategies but we tend to forget the reason why we need those “effective” strategies in our teaching. The most effective strategies will always fall back to our students’ learning needs. There is no point implementing the “best” teaching strategy in the eye of everyone if your students do not react to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From what I saw in class Utarid, I understood that it was difficult for the teacher to provide a one-to-one teaching due to the large groups. In fact, peer teaching is often implemented to help solve this problem.  Peer teaching is beneficial because it provides direct interaction between peers. This helps to promote active learning and communication. Besides that, peer teachers can reinforce their own learning by instructing their friends. It also makes students feel more comfortable and open when they are interacting with their peers. Thus, peer teaching can help  improve learning experiences as well as  relationships with peers. Peer relationships are important because it prepares them for real world interactions. When students get used to explaining knowledge to their friends, they reinforce their learning and develop communication skills. 

 

However, traditional teaching methods are still widely used in the school until today. The reason being that the teachers  feel the need to impart as much important knowledge to student as possible. Students are expected to master the content knowledge through drilling and practice. An example is rote memorization and worksheets. From the conversation, I learnt that Ms. Marina will teach the students five vocabulary every week. The five vocabulary will be drilled and repeated throughout the week. It is sometimes necessary to drill students with basic information. As is often said, “Memorisation is the frontage road”. This also explains the first stage of Bloom’s Taxonomy, "remembering". Teachers can make use of this memorized knowledge as a basis for teaching more complicated concepts.   However, if a teacher promotes rote learning excessively, the students will be trained to be passive in their learning. Therefore, we must balance our teaching strategies. 

 

 

Conclusion

“The middle path is the way to wisdom”- Rumi. This quote explains my thoughts on teaching strategies. I learnt that the need for balancing teaching styles, learning styles, and teaching methods are equally important. If I were to stick to solely one particular teaching method throughout the year, it may not be as effective as it was before. By researching new and various teaching strategies, I can have more interesting choices that suit my students' learning needs.   

 

 

 

 

References

Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How Peer Teaching Improves Student Learning and 10 Ways To Encourage It - InformED. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/peer-teaching/