2nd week of block teach in term 1 of semester 1, 2021

Recalling back to my second week of block teach, I found it enjoyable and fun as I could work comfortably and confidently with students as well as with my lesson plans and teaching aids. Establishing my lesson plans in English, Healthy living and Maths subjects was much easier than the previous lesson plans because these were again the first time, I started working with them and appeared extremely hard for me. But in the second week of teaching, preparing my teaching sources aids was easy because I have learnt a lot from the first week of preparation. I noticed that I made a lot of improvement in my second week of teaching as I see that I could work with students confidently and deliver my lessons to them very flow.

Furthermore, now looking at classroom management and I see that I could try to manage them in every session and before the session started. Every morning I came, and the last bell rang, I stand at front door and hit the door continuously and when they hear me they all ran and stand in their lines as boys and girls and then they all marched up into the classroom and sit in front in their teams. The noise they always made also disappeared because when they make noise, I would deduct 50 marks from each team on the board. However, some of them were very naughty and they always go against me when I am trying to teach and control them at the same time. But whenever I gave them their extra activity like educational games and activities, I see that they really enjoying it as they were all quiet and just concentrate in doing their work.

From the teaching practical, I encountered during my second week of block teaching probably had weaknesses and failures, but I know that I did my absolute best in teaching them. I also could not forget the help I get from my associate teacher and block teach partner for they always lend a helping hand to me whenever I feel confused or need help. I was very thankful to them that without their support I could not make it to complete my block teaching for I know that in my first week of teaching I was about to quit and walk out from the annoying Year 4 students, but they were always there to encourage and help me to continue with my block teaching.

Overall, this block teaches had helped me to be patient and become a better person though I was once noticed it very tiring and a bit annoying sometime, but most of all it was fun as it was also making me a selfless person. I also found out that students are obedient when the teacher is good in controlling them in ways of strict and firm sometimes and lastly, I am incredibly grateful for the intense experience I achieve during the two weeks of block teaching and I look forward to doing it in the future training.

1st week of block teach in term 1 of semester 1 2021

In my first week of block teaching Year 4X at Sunrise Primary School. I found it incredibly challenging to me as it was again the exhausted time for me to work with student and teach them different types of subjects. I found myself extremely nervous in the first day of teaching as I could hear and feel my shivering voice when I talk to students. Preparing my lesson plan and teaching aids was not at that hard for me because I have been through it last year semester 2. However, when I feel confused in preparing the lesson plan and teaching aids, I always seek help from my colleagues and tutor so that I can do my work accordingly that would meet the level of understanding of the year 4 students.  From their assistance, I could continue working with the rest of my lesson plan.

In addition, as I prepared my lesson using the IDAC format I should always refer to my previous prepared lesson plan to follow the format that I have not familiar yet with the lesson plan format. I just do that twice in preparing my lesson plan while the rest I do it on my own not referring to the prepared lesson plan. This showed that I have learnt how to do lesson plan which is the only path for delivering lessons as without lesson plan, we teachers could not deliver the lesson to students as we did not know what would come first and what next and so forth.

Moreover, classroom management appeared as the big obstacle for me in my lesson delivery because year 4 students always wanted to go in and out of the classroom. Every day in the first week of every session I would have to be upset of them as they like to play, disturb others, and go in and out of the classroom. However, I noticed that most of them are obedient and always paid attention to what I teach them. They always follow what I instruct them to do. Therefore, I notice that in the morning sessions they were all active and enjoyed doing their given task but once it was about to break time, they all wanted to go for a lunch. I also found out that the afternoon sessions seemed very boring and tiring for them because they wanted to go home and take a relaxation.

From my experience, I learnt that dealing with year 4 students was fun and less challenging as students are more capable and much more mature. Though students were calm and obedient at certain times but there will be a time that they will be stubborn and naughty. Therefore, as a teacher trainee I must adopt each different kinds of teaching strategies that could solve the problem of students for being stubborn and troublemakers. Such teaching strategies include inserting games in the lesson that relates to the topic, writing their extra activities for them to do though they finished their given tasks to keep them busy all the time and avoid the noise and such annoying behaviors they could do when they free.

 

Reflective Journal (7th of April 2021)

 

 On the 7^th of April 2021, I was again doing my observation in the same class and school. But during this day, all of the 3 class 4’s was combining together in one classroom to be taught by one teacher only. This was happening because the other 2 teachers did not come to work at that day. I could notice that the classroom was crowded as there were about 80 students in total. The classroom was very noisy as there were so many students having a chance to tease others and playing around. The teacher was tough at that time in which he controlled their misbehavior by scolding and insisting of reporting them to the principal.

Students were very disorganized in the first time but when he started scolding them, they were scared and then acted very disobediently. He delivered his five lessons through noisy and misbehaviors but he made it where most of the students did their work and marked very correctly. He applied many teaching approaches which are strict and firm leadership, pausing the lesson and stare the naughty students, letting them all go out and then come in when they settled, let the misbehaved student sit in the time-out corner and then finally when the mistake was repeated then he has to send them to the principal for punishment and counselling. This was where he succeeds in controlling and teaching them at one time.

Therefore, students in the last time was able to achieved the lesson and the learning outcomes in the end. I could tell this when I helped in marking their work and most of them did very well. I learnt from this associate teacher that teaching that amount of students was not at that hard and challenging, only if you applied and put in to practice any kinds of teaching strategies that I thought it would address the kind of issue it happened. After my observation and I gained some strengths and felt motivated to becoming one of the teacher because I knew how to deal with and taught that amount of students.

Reflective Journal (31st March 2021)

 

It was on this day that I did my observation at class 4x in the same school, Sunrise Primary School. This was my second time visiting and observing this classroom. As I visited this classroom and I could see that there was never a bit change in their behavior as they always behaved very obediently and willingly to do every tasks assigned by their teacher. The classroom is very neat and organized in terms of their seating arrangement and displays.

I only noticed one thing that the teacher only sat down and one of the students organized and lead his mates to marched in into the classroom and then also lead and conduct an opening prayer, 3 songs including the morning talk between themselves. After that, the teacher then continued on with the lessons of that day. I was so fascinated of the students as most of them sat silently and do what the teacher instructed them to do. Therefore, in the end of each lessons and most of the students achieved the learning outcomes, in which I noticed this when they were questioned and they respond very correctly and confidently.

However, there were still only a few misbehaved students that did not bother to do their work but only wanting to go to the toilet and be on their own. In this issue, the teacher was strict to them and put them in the time-out corner to be punished so that later on they would be afraid and did not do that again.

The teacher was so flexible in many ways as he taught, control the misbehaved ones as well as helping in advising me some strategies to adopt and also what I was expected to do when I taught students of those ages. I could not intervene to correct his every step of teaching as he did it well.