Reflect on your teaching practicum so far: What have you learned from your experience during TP? What kinds of challenges do you foresee as you develop as a Literature teacher in your specific school context?
I currently teach the lower secondary Express classes (since the school does not offer Literature for upper Secondary classes). A major problem is that students only have one hour of Literature class each week. This makes it rather challenging to cover both skills and content in-depth.
From my TP experience, it is unwise to assume that students have read the text. I don't really blame them, since they only use this text once a week, and since Literature is the only non-examinable Humanities subject (as I'd mentioned in my previous post).
But this means that curriculum time is spent on checking that students know the plot. To motivate them to read their text before lessons, I'd decided to use some good ol' fashioned reward systems. They seem to love group work, so they've come up with group names, and I'm instilling some competitive element whenever there is group work. Groups have to answer plot questions, and each correct answer gains them a certain number of points. The first group to reach XX number of points receive....urm, we have not decided what they will receive. This competitive element seems to be working quite well, honestly!
I am finding it much more challenging to teach the skills though. The students have already been taught the PEE structure, but their work doesn't reflect that they understand the difference between Evidence and Elaboration/ Explanation. I had a look at their class test (which my CT is marking), and students tend to just copy out entire chunks of the set text without any Explanation. My CT and I have provided students with models of how to apply the PEE structure, but despite constant reminders, majority of the students are unable to (a) select relevant quotes, (b) explain how these quotes support their point. I think one reason might be that they lack the vocabulary to explain and elaborate. For instance, when discussing adjectives that can be used to describe a certain character's personality, students do not understand words like "passive", "unforgiving", "unaggressive" (This happened in the lesson today with a Sec 2 class). Reflecting on that particular lesson, I think I should have anticipated this problem and allocated some time to eliciting the meanings of these terms from students.
I've learnt that questioning techniques are so important. During the initial lessons, I tended to ask broader questions like, "So what does this tell us about this character?". That kind of answers drew blank looks. The questions need to be really specific ie "Can you give me TWO adjectives to describe this character's personality?" I've learnt that thinking through how to phrase questions is pretty important. Another useful technique is to ask questions that draws on students' personal responses ie "if you were this character, what would you do in this situation?" For the more responsive classes, such questions can generate pretty lively class discussions.
This school isn't my final posting, but I think that the major challenge for Literature teachers in this school is the lack of curriculum time. The once-a-week classes mean that it is not possible to give students timely feedback, whilst what they have learnt is still fresh in their memory. After one week's worth of Science, Math, Geograghy etc., the Lit teachers have to recap the previous week's lesson before starting lesson proper. The other challenge would be students' lack of school activities and CCAs that promote interest in Literature - I'm thinking of CCAs like Drama societies, Debating societies or activities like Poetry or drama workshops. Just some thoughts!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Back to School
b. Reflect on your
teaching practicum so far: What have you learned from your experience
during TP? What kinds of challenges do you foresee as you develop as a
Literature teacher in your specific school context?
Practicum has been an interesting and challenging experience so far. There are many (different) challenges each day, and I am thankful for encouraging CTs and for peers who can sympathise/empathise/are going through the same thing as I am.
There seem to be quite a few learning points from practicum, but the key points that I have taken away are
1) The need to rationalise and provide reasons for the lesson through telling the students your objectives for doing this lesson.
Students in my school tend to be more cooperative when they see the point of doing something. By stating the achievable lesson objectives at the start of the lesson, students will be able to see what the teacher hopes to achieve through this lesson, and how achieving the objectives would benefit them. In addition to stating these objectives, the objectives have to be achievable, if not the students would give up entirely and not try to listen at all.
2) The need to engage students.
Without engagement, students will be bored and will start to do other things, tuning out of the lesson. This, in turn, causes disruptions in class as the students who are bored will start to talk and distract their classmates. Hence, there is a need to engage the students so as to manage the class properly. In addition, engaging the students will get them interested and facilitate learning, thereby achieving the lesson objectives.
3) The need for routines and discipline in class.
All the classes that I take are N(A) classes. In these classes, there has to be a fixed pre-lesson routine or routines to follow, in order to let students get used to the order of events in class and to lessen the time taken for them to settle down. The routine also prepares the students for the lesson, and signals to both student and teacher that the student is ready for class. With fixed routines, it becomes much easier to carry out lesson, which in turn facilitates students' learning.
Possible challenges in the future:
1) Voice Projection
My voice is soft, and the people at the back of the class have problems hearing what I say. I have borrowed a mic to help with this problem, but I hope to be able to improve and work on my voice projection.
2) Discipline
Discipline is a key issue - once the students are settled down and behaving well, the lesson can be carried out very easily. However, it does not seem easy for me to reinforce discipline, and I have to work on being firm and fair, emphasizing my routines and rationalizing the concept behind this.
3) Homework submissions
I foresee that there will be many people who do not hand in their homework on time. However, there is a need to collect the homework and mark it properly, so that the teacher can check on students' learning and give feedback accordingly. I will need to think more about the different strategies that can be used in class and how to make it more interesting.
4) Getting students to read their texts
Most of the students in my classes do not like to read and this is a problem because they need to know the text in order to know what is going on in class. I have tried enticing them, rewarding them, and even 'punishing' them to get them to read, but these strategies have limited success. There needs to be more work and thought on this issue, as with issue 3, on how to deal with it.
Practicum has been an interesting and challenging experience so far. There are many (different) challenges each day, and I am thankful for encouraging CTs and for peers who can sympathise/empathise/are going through the same thing as I am.
There seem to be quite a few learning points from practicum, but the key points that I have taken away are
1) The need to rationalise and provide reasons for the lesson through telling the students your objectives for doing this lesson.
Students in my school tend to be more cooperative when they see the point of doing something. By stating the achievable lesson objectives at the start of the lesson, students will be able to see what the teacher hopes to achieve through this lesson, and how achieving the objectives would benefit them. In addition to stating these objectives, the objectives have to be achievable, if not the students would give up entirely and not try to listen at all.
2) The need to engage students.
Without engagement, students will be bored and will start to do other things, tuning out of the lesson. This, in turn, causes disruptions in class as the students who are bored will start to talk and distract their classmates. Hence, there is a need to engage the students so as to manage the class properly. In addition, engaging the students will get them interested and facilitate learning, thereby achieving the lesson objectives.
3) The need for routines and discipline in class.
All the classes that I take are N(A) classes. In these classes, there has to be a fixed pre-lesson routine or routines to follow, in order to let students get used to the order of events in class and to lessen the time taken for them to settle down. The routine also prepares the students for the lesson, and signals to both student and teacher that the student is ready for class. With fixed routines, it becomes much easier to carry out lesson, which in turn facilitates students' learning.
Possible challenges in the future:
1) Voice Projection
My voice is soft, and the people at the back of the class have problems hearing what I say. I have borrowed a mic to help with this problem, but I hope to be able to improve and work on my voice projection.
2) Discipline
Discipline is a key issue - once the students are settled down and behaving well, the lesson can be carried out very easily. However, it does not seem easy for me to reinforce discipline, and I have to work on being firm and fair, emphasizing my routines and rationalizing the concept behind this.
3) Homework submissions
I foresee that there will be many people who do not hand in their homework on time. However, there is a need to collect the homework and mark it properly, so that the teacher can check on students' learning and give feedback accordingly. I will need to think more about the different strategies that can be used in class and how to make it more interesting.
4) Getting students to read their texts
Most of the students in my classes do not like to read and this is a problem because they need to know the text in order to know what is going on in class. I have tried enticing them, rewarding them, and even 'punishing' them to get them to read, but these strategies have limited success. There needs to be more work and thought on this issue, as with issue 3, on how to deal with it.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Thoughts on Practicum
B) Reflect on your teaching practicum so far: What have you learned from your experience during TP? What kinds of challenges do you foresee as you develop as a Literature teacher in your specific school context?
The learning curve in Practicum has been steep, but I'm thankful for peers and colleagues who provide a lot of help and advice. I have been thinking and rethinking various beliefs about education, and so far these are the main lessons that I have been mulling over.
1) Engaging lessons make it easier for students to stay awake. One problem that I have been facing is perennial 'sleepers' in my classes. There are always one or two students who doze off ten minutes into my lesson and remain firmly asleep throughout. It has been a challenge thinking of exciting activities to do every day, and there were a few days when I just fell back on my default comfortable mode -- which is to do teacher-talk and write on the whiteboard. However, this has led to even more sleeping students. Last week, I decided to do a drawing activity with my Sec 3 Lit class. I just provided them with colour pencils and blank pieces of paper and asked them to draw their impression of a poem. They thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, I enjoyed myself too, and at the end of the lesson when I reviewed their drawings and notes I realised that they had actually picked up the learning points for the lesson although it was not explicitly stated. Hence, this experience has led me to rethink my dependence on direct teacher instruction. I must admit that teacher-talk is the easiest and most comfortable mode for me because that was how I was educated as a student, and this mode conveys the most information in the shortest period of time (versus doing activities that take up more time than expected). However, activity-based lessons might end up being the ones that help students to really learn. It's definitely still a challenge to think of activities for the students to do (as my NIE supervisor advised me -- "make them work"), but I think I shall try to continue with this practice for now.
2) When I was in NIE the idea that resonated most with me was the notion of "essential questions". I really liked how it brought coherence to a series of lessons and it was something that I really wanted to carry out during my Practicum. However, I am finding it difficult to actualise this due to several reasons. Firstly, there is often a Scheme of Work already set in place and so my role is simply to execute it. Secondly, the Schemes of Work that I have been given tend to be phrased in terms of coverage, e.g. cover Chapter 1 in Week 1 etc. Hence, that's what I've been doing so far. . . covering the assigned chapters in the assigned weeks. Unfortunately my lofty aims of structuring a unit around an essential question have been put on the backburner for now. I think I will revisit this idea in future, perhaps if/when I am given greater autonomy over what I plan to teach?
I foresee that in the near future my greatest challenge as a Literature teacher is helping students broaden their cultural understanding and helping them to "see what I see". For example, when I read a text I instinctively know what to look out for, which words to take note of etc. But I'm currently struggling to figure out how to bring my students to that point (in terms of their reading ability, sensitivity to the language etc.) Hence, I often find myself recalling what I did as a student and how my teachers taught me all those years ago, and trying to think: "If I am a student learning Literature now what would I want to know? How would I want my teacher to teach me?" I'm not sure if this is the right pedagogical strategy but for now this has been my thought process whenever I craft a new lesson plan. I'm also continually caught off-guard about what students know (or don't know) and so it is sometimes difficult to know whether the lesson is being pitched at a level that is too low or too high.
Overall, though, I am enjoying my Practicum experience although there are good days and bad days. The students make it worthwhile, really, especially when I see them progress in their studies and attitude. So yup I'm thankful and I really hope that my short presence here has taught them some lessons, whether big or small. :)
The learning curve in Practicum has been steep, but I'm thankful for peers and colleagues who provide a lot of help and advice. I have been thinking and rethinking various beliefs about education, and so far these are the main lessons that I have been mulling over.
1) Engaging lessons make it easier for students to stay awake. One problem that I have been facing is perennial 'sleepers' in my classes. There are always one or two students who doze off ten minutes into my lesson and remain firmly asleep throughout. It has been a challenge thinking of exciting activities to do every day, and there were a few days when I just fell back on my default comfortable mode -- which is to do teacher-talk and write on the whiteboard. However, this has led to even more sleeping students. Last week, I decided to do a drawing activity with my Sec 3 Lit class. I just provided them with colour pencils and blank pieces of paper and asked them to draw their impression of a poem. They thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, I enjoyed myself too, and at the end of the lesson when I reviewed their drawings and notes I realised that they had actually picked up the learning points for the lesson although it was not explicitly stated. Hence, this experience has led me to rethink my dependence on direct teacher instruction. I must admit that teacher-talk is the easiest and most comfortable mode for me because that was how I was educated as a student, and this mode conveys the most information in the shortest period of time (versus doing activities that take up more time than expected). However, activity-based lessons might end up being the ones that help students to really learn. It's definitely still a challenge to think of activities for the students to do (as my NIE supervisor advised me -- "make them work"), but I think I shall try to continue with this practice for now.
2) When I was in NIE the idea that resonated most with me was the notion of "essential questions". I really liked how it brought coherence to a series of lessons and it was something that I really wanted to carry out during my Practicum. However, I am finding it difficult to actualise this due to several reasons. Firstly, there is often a Scheme of Work already set in place and so my role is simply to execute it. Secondly, the Schemes of Work that I have been given tend to be phrased in terms of coverage, e.g. cover Chapter 1 in Week 1 etc. Hence, that's what I've been doing so far. . . covering the assigned chapters in the assigned weeks. Unfortunately my lofty aims of structuring a unit around an essential question have been put on the backburner for now. I think I will revisit this idea in future, perhaps if/when I am given greater autonomy over what I plan to teach?
I foresee that in the near future my greatest challenge as a Literature teacher is helping students broaden their cultural understanding and helping them to "see what I see". For example, when I read a text I instinctively know what to look out for, which words to take note of etc. But I'm currently struggling to figure out how to bring my students to that point (in terms of their reading ability, sensitivity to the language etc.) Hence, I often find myself recalling what I did as a student and how my teachers taught me all those years ago, and trying to think: "If I am a student learning Literature now what would I want to know? How would I want my teacher to teach me?" I'm not sure if this is the right pedagogical strategy but for now this has been my thought process whenever I craft a new lesson plan. I'm also continually caught off-guard about what students know (or don't know) and so it is sometimes difficult to know whether the lesson is being pitched at a level that is too low or too high.
Overall, though, I am enjoying my Practicum experience although there are good days and bad days. The students make it worthwhile, really, especially when I see them progress in their studies and attitude. So yup I'm thankful and I really hope that my short presence here has taught them some lessons, whether big or small. :)
So much feels about Practicum.
B) Reflect on your teaching practicum so far: What have you learned from your experience during TP? What kinds of challenges do you foresee as you develop as a Literature teacher in your specific school context?
To describe my TP experience so far as a roller coaster ride is perhaps understating it a little bit. It's kinda like being thrown on the Cylon over and over again, and each time you get thrown on it, you have some sort of amnesia and you forget just how scary the experience is. Yeah.
But one thing I really have to say is, this TP pushed me so far out of my comfort zone I'm not quite sure what my comfort zone really is anymore. To be honest, I was quite sure I am ill-suited for this job - I'm not quite adaptable, I don't like change, and I'm not the most confident speaker (haha so many understatements here) - and that is just to name a few of my "flaws". Unfortunately, I also signed on the dotted line and I guess I knew I just had to learn.
And learn I did.
After my first (informal) lesson observation, my CT asked me if I was lit-trained. Imagine how horrified I was to be asked that, after 4 years of "lit-training" - something I'm insanely proud of. She said that my content mastery wasn't so good and I really have to brush up on that. Of course I was rather offended, at first. Then I thought about it and realized that she is right: I've never been the most eloquent speaker (I'm passable in writing, but speaking? Blah.) and if I can't express myself well in a classroom, of course I'm going to look like an incompetent teacher, right? So one of the first things I learnt is to pre-empt the things I need to define in class and prepare long lists of definitions so that, in the event I have to explain a concept or a word, I don't have to rely on my incoherence but can proudly show the class a definition on the slide - and then explain (as clearly as I could) what it means contextually.
I was also told from the start that I pitch my lessons too low for my high-ability students, so I took it up a notch too many and ended up confusing my students a lot more than I meant to. Fortunately for me, I don't have much problems (I think) building rapport with my students so, although the first few classes were rather frustrating for everyone, the students haven't actually given up on me yet, and I think we're getting quite comfortable with one another now!
Have I also mentioned that my timetable is constantly changing because I'm randomly called upon to relief classes I don't know? That requires a lot of adaptability (which I'm starting to acquire) both in terms of familiarizing myself with the content as well as the various ways to interact with very different student profiles.
Well, as much as I still cannot say that I have a passion for teaching (hopefully I will develop this along the way, soon), I have my good days, and good days remind me that there is truly a purpose in teaching children, not just a subject. And bad days, well, bad days remind me that I need to pick myself up and try harder.
As for challenges that I foresee, I'm really rather unsure what is going to happen after practicum. Next week (now that my formal observations are over!), I will be planning to observe some GP lessons (outside our practicum scope) to get a feel of how GP is like. After this practicum experience, I will probably have to decide which section of the school I want to teach in and I guess the challenges in the JH and the SH would be rather different.
In the JH, I think the biggest challenge is probably to convince students that Language Arts is a subject worth doing, even if its practical benefits are not the most obvious at first glance. A lot of students are rather demoralized by the subject because they see it as difficult and not applicable to real life (a kid just asked me on Monday why they have to read between the lines because isn't it better if we just believe in what people say and not be so skeptical) - the good thing is these kids still try because they know a proper education is important, but honestly I don't think that's enough (idealistic, I know).
Over in the SH though, I might never even get to teach lit, but from what I can see, the biggest challenge is likely to be getting (some) students to see that literature is as valid a subject as econs, or math, or physics, and not something to take if and when they can't find anything else to take, or that it's something that is easy to score because it doesn't require studying, or something like that.
To describe my TP experience so far as a roller coaster ride is perhaps understating it a little bit. It's kinda like being thrown on the Cylon over and over again, and each time you get thrown on it, you have some sort of amnesia and you forget just how scary the experience is. Yeah.
But one thing I really have to say is, this TP pushed me so far out of my comfort zone I'm not quite sure what my comfort zone really is anymore. To be honest, I was quite sure I am ill-suited for this job - I'm not quite adaptable, I don't like change, and I'm not the most confident speaker (haha so many understatements here) - and that is just to name a few of my "flaws". Unfortunately, I also signed on the dotted line and I guess I knew I just had to learn.
And learn I did.
After my first (informal) lesson observation, my CT asked me if I was lit-trained. Imagine how horrified I was to be asked that, after 4 years of "lit-training" - something I'm insanely proud of. She said that my content mastery wasn't so good and I really have to brush up on that. Of course I was rather offended, at first. Then I thought about it and realized that she is right: I've never been the most eloquent speaker (I'm passable in writing, but speaking? Blah.) and if I can't express myself well in a classroom, of course I'm going to look like an incompetent teacher, right? So one of the first things I learnt is to pre-empt the things I need to define in class and prepare long lists of definitions so that, in the event I have to explain a concept or a word, I don't have to rely on my incoherence but can proudly show the class a definition on the slide - and then explain (as clearly as I could) what it means contextually.
I was also told from the start that I pitch my lessons too low for my high-ability students, so I took it up a notch too many and ended up confusing my students a lot more than I meant to. Fortunately for me, I don't have much problems (I think) building rapport with my students so, although the first few classes were rather frustrating for everyone, the students haven't actually given up on me yet, and I think we're getting quite comfortable with one another now!
Have I also mentioned that my timetable is constantly changing because I'm randomly called upon to relief classes I don't know? That requires a lot of adaptability (which I'm starting to acquire) both in terms of familiarizing myself with the content as well as the various ways to interact with very different student profiles.
Well, as much as I still cannot say that I have a passion for teaching (hopefully I will develop this along the way, soon), I have my good days, and good days remind me that there is truly a purpose in teaching children, not just a subject. And bad days, well, bad days remind me that I need to pick myself up and try harder.
As for challenges that I foresee, I'm really rather unsure what is going to happen after practicum. Next week (now that my formal observations are over!), I will be planning to observe some GP lessons (outside our practicum scope) to get a feel of how GP is like. After this practicum experience, I will probably have to decide which section of the school I want to teach in and I guess the challenges in the JH and the SH would be rather different.
In the JH, I think the biggest challenge is probably to convince students that Language Arts is a subject worth doing, even if its practical benefits are not the most obvious at first glance. A lot of students are rather demoralized by the subject because they see it as difficult and not applicable to real life (a kid just asked me on Monday why they have to read between the lines because isn't it better if we just believe in what people say and not be so skeptical) - the good thing is these kids still try because they know a proper education is important, but honestly I don't think that's enough (idealistic, I know).
Over in the SH though, I might never even get to teach lit, but from what I can see, the biggest challenge is likely to be getting (some) students to see that literature is as valid a subject as econs, or math, or physics, and not something to take if and when they can't find anything else to take, or that it's something that is easy to score because it doesn't require studying, or something like that.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
B) Reflect on your teaching practicum so far: What have you learned from your experience during TP? What kinds of challenges do you foresee as you develop as a Literature teacher in your specific school context?
At this halfway point of practicum, I can quite honestly say that it's been an interesting learning experience with many ups and downs. While I have certainly been properly inducted into the life of a teacher in Singapore and comfortably settled into it by the warm, encouraging staff at ACS (Barker) - it has also shown me many aspects of teaching that I have chosen not to acknowledge.
Firstly, my experiences so far have certainly solidified my passion for teaching. Perhaps I have been lucky at this school with its fantastic support system. However, I have found myself caring for the students even more than I thought I would. After these few weeks of seeing these boys almost every day, I have come to know them and care for their welfare very much. Despite this short time, I have been able to get a sense of their personalities and interests and I have volunteered remedial sessions for those who feel they need extra help. I am not a religious person but in this case, I do appreciate the concept of "saving souls" one at a time! I have been assigned to classes at the lower end of the level and especially in the case of Literature, I found that many of them are really struggling with the subject - both in terms of comprehending texts and writing. As such, I had to keep my lessons at a much more simplified level than I would like to. Nonetheless, some of the boys have been very keen on doing well in Lit and I have gotten more satisfaction from helping them than I imagined.
In terms of the challenges, I foresee many ahead. Firstly, after teaching some difficult classes of boys, I have come to realize that many of them are not interested in the subject and at Sec 2 level, realize that they can just drop the subject. As a result, they have treated Lit lessons like a second recess period. They are not invested in doing well in Lit and in some cases, simply refuse to do well just so they can drop it. The boys in general find the high emotions in Lit quite difficult to understand and have difficulty relating to the themes and characters. (I'm currently teaching The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas). This is quite a difficult attitude problem to deal with as these boys really have no reason to do well and treat the subject like a burden (and even a joke in some cases). I'm sure that I will encounter this problem at every level in any school I teach in and will certainly have to address this.
Pedagogically speaking, I have felt that the best way to fix the aforementioned attitude problem would be to make my lessons creative in order to engage the students. I also feel that the assessment methods in schools these days have changed so little since my time and still consists mostly of tests, exams and homework that will put any student off, not just those who already dislike the subject. With this sort of system continuing to persist in schools and rigid SOWs to adhere to, it's almost impossible to even think about being creative in class. Sometimes, I find myself morphing into a boring teacher, going through the motions and drumming the need for them to score well in exams to the boys and I really don't want to be like that.
This issue is quite a big one for me and has caused me many frantic, hand-wringing moments of distress. However, this is a challenge I will have to face and I guess you all will do too... Now I just have to figure out how to deal with it.
At this halfway point of practicum, I can quite honestly say that it's been an interesting learning experience with many ups and downs. While I have certainly been properly inducted into the life of a teacher in Singapore and comfortably settled into it by the warm, encouraging staff at ACS (Barker) - it has also shown me many aspects of teaching that I have chosen not to acknowledge.
Firstly, my experiences so far have certainly solidified my passion for teaching. Perhaps I have been lucky at this school with its fantastic support system. However, I have found myself caring for the students even more than I thought I would. After these few weeks of seeing these boys almost every day, I have come to know them and care for their welfare very much. Despite this short time, I have been able to get a sense of their personalities and interests and I have volunteered remedial sessions for those who feel they need extra help. I am not a religious person but in this case, I do appreciate the concept of "saving souls" one at a time! I have been assigned to classes at the lower end of the level and especially in the case of Literature, I found that many of them are really struggling with the subject - both in terms of comprehending texts and writing. As such, I had to keep my lessons at a much more simplified level than I would like to. Nonetheless, some of the boys have been very keen on doing well in Lit and I have gotten more satisfaction from helping them than I imagined.
In terms of the challenges, I foresee many ahead. Firstly, after teaching some difficult classes of boys, I have come to realize that many of them are not interested in the subject and at Sec 2 level, realize that they can just drop the subject. As a result, they have treated Lit lessons like a second recess period. They are not invested in doing well in Lit and in some cases, simply refuse to do well just so they can drop it. The boys in general find the high emotions in Lit quite difficult to understand and have difficulty relating to the themes and characters. (I'm currently teaching The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas). This is quite a difficult attitude problem to deal with as these boys really have no reason to do well and treat the subject like a burden (and even a joke in some cases). I'm sure that I will encounter this problem at every level in any school I teach in and will certainly have to address this.
Pedagogically speaking, I have felt that the best way to fix the aforementioned attitude problem would be to make my lessons creative in order to engage the students. I also feel that the assessment methods in schools these days have changed so little since my time and still consists mostly of tests, exams and homework that will put any student off, not just those who already dislike the subject. With this sort of system continuing to persist in schools and rigid SOWs to adhere to, it's almost impossible to even think about being creative in class. Sometimes, I find myself morphing into a boring teacher, going through the motions and drumming the need for them to score well in exams to the boys and I really don't want to be like that.
This issue is quite a big one for me and has caused me many frantic, hand-wringing moments of distress. However, this is a challenge I will have to face and I guess you all will do too... Now I just have to figure out how to deal with it.
Friday, April 5, 2013
TP Reflection
b. Reflect on your teaching practicum so far: What have you learned from your experience during TP? What kinds of challenges do you foresee as you develop as a Literature teacher in your specific school context?
As I proposed, set and am still in the midst of marking the first Common Assessment for my Sec1 Express classes (it was a plot overview of the novel to force them to a. read the book; and b. have a handy reference guide for revision. The poor grammar across the board suggests that no one has discovered Sparknotes yet.), and I haven't noticed anything which might be addressed under option C, I'll respond to the question above.
This is probably not the sort of reflection Dr Loh was intending to elicit in the given question, but to begin with an aside, I have learnt that using a microphone doesn't necessarily diminish your power in the classroom. For the longest time I resisted using a microphone because I had always thought that teachers who had to resort to using microphones in class were weak-lunged individuals who should look for other jobs. Cruel but a reasonably common attitude among those of us who were students a decade ago, at least by an informal poll I conducted in whispers. Fortunately, my students appear accustomed to having their teachers plug microphones into the classroom sound system. This probably has something to do with the fact that the school to which I have been posted is right by a park/ road and there is on-going construction a stone's throw away. Somehow using a microphone works particularly well with my NA (English) class, because when I yell at them, the excitability factor in the room increases further, whereas speaking calmly and firmly (with plenty of artificial amplification) seems to lull them into a near-stupor, or at least doesn't result in an all-out power struggle. I should perhaps look into hypnosis at some point, but am currently too busy grading the aforementioned CA.
As for more Lit-specific thoughts: I had a lot of trouble with apparently being "too high-level" initially, and still struggle with that, mainly because I'm not particularly good at reading their facial expressions and so have to rely almost entirely on verbal cues to judge their understanding, when I don't use the KWL method to end classes. Obviously this means the introverts in all my classes might be absolutely lost and I would no idea, which is why I set insane amounts of written work, and will probably be voodoo-ed to death any day now, if the marking itself does not kill me. The being "too high-level" I personally do not see as a problem, since my CT is no longer exasperatedly telling me off about it. Perhaps this is because in every lesson I reassure them that even if the material/ skills seem difficult, we'll keep returning to them and building on them until everyone is at a reasonable level of competence -- and I do do this, of course. Whether or not reasonable competence across the board is actually achievable (for my classes) remains to be seen, but this is what I have learnt: how one frames what one wants to do makes all the difference. It helps if one also simultaneously does a lot of in-class (figurative) head-patting and making of sympathetic noises.
I'm uncertain about foreseeable challenges mainly because the department doesn't really share resources, so I'm uncertain of what the school standards and expectations are like -- I have no idea what previous batches did or were capable of. We all do our own resources, which suits me very well, because I like the flexibility of coming up with my own material (although I am aware of grumbling among other [non-lit]teachers who would rather not come up with their own). My CT has let me plan the unit for my classes (I have no idea what she does with hers, but I do know she has to give them whatever CA I set, for standardisation purposes), and that pleases me very much, particularly because I don't have to "teach to the exam", there being no SA for Sec1 Lit this semester.
My problems with my classes are mainly late/non-submissions of work and the class size. It's quite difficult to engage 40 restless beings, whereas they seem a lot more interested and pick up analytical skills a lot faster when they see me in small groups. The school, as I said in an earlier post, neither ignores nor pays Literature as a subject particular attention, so I suppose as long as the flexibility remains, it should not be too overwhelmingly impossible to just paddle on for the next 2 years. With the help of my trusty microphone and the threat of demerit points for non-submissions/ defiance looming over their heads, my lit classes are mainly bearable, except when they forget themselves, as one student did after class yesterday (he poked the top of my arm to get my attention while I was talking to another student; I swung around, glowered at him, and said, "_____, did you just poke me?" He will, of course, never do that again).
The children are odd, but mostly harmless. So far.
As I proposed, set and am still in the midst of marking the first Common Assessment for my Sec1 Express classes (it was a plot overview of the novel to force them to a. read the book; and b. have a handy reference guide for revision. The poor grammar across the board suggests that no one has discovered Sparknotes yet.), and I haven't noticed anything which might be addressed under option C, I'll respond to the question above.
This is probably not the sort of reflection Dr Loh was intending to elicit in the given question, but to begin with an aside, I have learnt that using a microphone doesn't necessarily diminish your power in the classroom. For the longest time I resisted using a microphone because I had always thought that teachers who had to resort to using microphones in class were weak-lunged individuals who should look for other jobs. Cruel but a reasonably common attitude among those of us who were students a decade ago, at least by an informal poll I conducted in whispers. Fortunately, my students appear accustomed to having their teachers plug microphones into the classroom sound system. This probably has something to do with the fact that the school to which I have been posted is right by a park/ road and there is on-going construction a stone's throw away. Somehow using a microphone works particularly well with my NA (English) class, because when I yell at them, the excitability factor in the room increases further, whereas speaking calmly and firmly (with plenty of artificial amplification) seems to lull them into a near-stupor, or at least doesn't result in an all-out power struggle. I should perhaps look into hypnosis at some point, but am currently too busy grading the aforementioned CA.
As for more Lit-specific thoughts: I had a lot of trouble with apparently being "too high-level" initially, and still struggle with that, mainly because I'm not particularly good at reading their facial expressions and so have to rely almost entirely on verbal cues to judge their understanding, when I don't use the KWL method to end classes. Obviously this means the introverts in all my classes might be absolutely lost and I would no idea, which is why I set insane amounts of written work, and will probably be voodoo-ed to death any day now, if the marking itself does not kill me. The being "too high-level" I personally do not see as a problem, since my CT is no longer exasperatedly telling me off about it. Perhaps this is because in every lesson I reassure them that even if the material/ skills seem difficult, we'll keep returning to them and building on them until everyone is at a reasonable level of competence -- and I do do this, of course. Whether or not reasonable competence across the board is actually achievable (for my classes) remains to be seen, but this is what I have learnt: how one frames what one wants to do makes all the difference. It helps if one also simultaneously does a lot of in-class (figurative) head-patting and making of sympathetic noises.
I'm uncertain about foreseeable challenges mainly because the department doesn't really share resources, so I'm uncertain of what the school standards and expectations are like -- I have no idea what previous batches did or were capable of. We all do our own resources, which suits me very well, because I like the flexibility of coming up with my own material (although I am aware of grumbling among other [non-lit]teachers who would rather not come up with their own). My CT has let me plan the unit for my classes (I have no idea what she does with hers, but I do know she has to give them whatever CA I set, for standardisation purposes), and that pleases me very much, particularly because I don't have to "teach to the exam", there being no SA for Sec1 Lit this semester.
My problems with my classes are mainly late/non-submissions of work and the class size. It's quite difficult to engage 40 restless beings, whereas they seem a lot more interested and pick up analytical skills a lot faster when they see me in small groups. The school, as I said in an earlier post, neither ignores nor pays Literature as a subject particular attention, so I suppose as long as the flexibility remains, it should not be too overwhelmingly impossible to just paddle on for the next 2 years. With the help of my trusty microphone and the threat of demerit points for non-submissions/ defiance looming over their heads, my lit classes are mainly bearable, except when they forget themselves, as one student did after class yesterday (he poked the top of my arm to get my attention while I was talking to another student; I swung around, glowered at him, and said, "_____, did you just poke me?" He will, of course, never do that again).
The children are odd, but mostly harmless. So far.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
a. Focus on a specific assessment task in your school. Describe the assessment and discuss its effectiveness.
The secondary three students were asked to produce a "passion portfolio" last term (abbreviated to "PIP" -- not sure where the "I" is from -- the ego, the assertion of self-hood, interjected into the otherwise documentary term, "Passion-I-Portfolio"? I do not know.)
They were to pick one "passion" of theirs and present it in a "portfolio", which for the most part resulted in A4 papers held together by some simple binding or file. Notable exceptions included one student's professionally bound folio laser printed on what must have been at least 100gsm glossy paper, with appropriate and well arranged pictures, and including two plays he had written, which he attached as proof of his passion, "drama". The rest were rather more budget-styled. His portfolio was passed around in the meeting to synchronise our marking standards. We all wanted to give him 20/15.
They are to be marked for three aspects: language, content, and presentation.
I am still in the process of marking these portfolios for my class, and here are some thoughts:
Yes, some students would give slipshod work, or pick something convenient to write about (some simply chose a curriculum subject and called it their "passion", and the writing did not seem to support the claim). But a good number really identified a passion and wrote about it to the best of their abilities. I like that, even with those whose English sentences were ungrammatical and awkwardly formed, I could sense their enthusiasm and read their rationalisation of their interests. I felt I could better understand some students, especially the quieter ones, and it put more than a face to a name; it gave a character to the face. It also gave me a sense of their workload outside of the classroom, and a way to judge how valid their reasons/excuses are for submitting late work. One student wrote about his passion for travelling, and set out to prove that it was not a mere interest in sightseeing, but a way to encounter the self and broaden one's horizons. Yes yes, everybody says that, but the Facebook albums remain the same, I thought to myself cynically, in more or less those words, or equivalent. His writing, however, proved me wrong. It was very heartfelt, deeply reflective, and the material was well selected to showcase a variety of learning. I would quote a passage if I could, but I suspect there might be some ethical bind akin to, though not commensurate with, the confessional seal, so I had better not.
On the other hand, I feel uncomfortable marking a work of passion. I had to mark for grammatical errors, and already felt guilty intruding into the textual space of their outpouring. Then my CT rightly pointed out that I need to tick every now and then to indicate that I did indeed read their work -- the better written ones had much fewer mistakes, and there would be pages without any marking. So more intrusion. Tick, good that you like helping others. Tick, good that you like heavy-metal-punk-rock-groovy-angry bands. Tick, good that you like to swim. Tick, good that you like to speak. Tick, I approve of your passions -- that makes me feel uncomfortable, even though I agree with my CT's reason. On one hand this is an avenue to know students better, to encourage them to vocalise and record their passions; on the other hand it is also an English assignment, therefore marked like any other piece of writing. These are, of course, not mutually exclusive goals, but I mention it simply to register the occasional or momentary dissonance, felt when one "thinks too much" about it.
An alternative could be to have them present their passion in class, but that would work against those who are shy or who simply do not perform well in public speaking -- and would thus give me less material and occasion to understand their passions more deeply. Also, that would take away a lot of lesson time, a scarce commodity in education. I would choose the written form over the oral presentation form for students, if given the choice.
Thus concludes my final formal blog post, which I hope has sufficiently addressed the question. Now I must return to staring intently at the blank spaces in my lesson plan, of which there are many. If it is in the gaps and ellipses of a text that we discern its meaning, then there is a lot of latent meaning in my lesson plan that I must now excavate.
The secondary three students were asked to produce a "passion portfolio" last term (abbreviated to "PIP" -- not sure where the "I" is from -- the ego, the assertion of self-hood, interjected into the otherwise documentary term, "Passion-I-Portfolio"? I do not know.)
They were to pick one "passion" of theirs and present it in a "portfolio", which for the most part resulted in A4 papers held together by some simple binding or file. Notable exceptions included one student's professionally bound folio laser printed on what must have been at least 100gsm glossy paper, with appropriate and well arranged pictures, and including two plays he had written, which he attached as proof of his passion, "drama". The rest were rather more budget-styled. His portfolio was passed around in the meeting to synchronise our marking standards. We all wanted to give him 20/15.
They are to be marked for three aspects: language, content, and presentation.
I am still in the process of marking these portfolios for my class, and here are some thoughts:
Yes, some students would give slipshod work, or pick something convenient to write about (some simply chose a curriculum subject and called it their "passion", and the writing did not seem to support the claim). But a good number really identified a passion and wrote about it to the best of their abilities. I like that, even with those whose English sentences were ungrammatical and awkwardly formed, I could sense their enthusiasm and read their rationalisation of their interests. I felt I could better understand some students, especially the quieter ones, and it put more than a face to a name; it gave a character to the face. It also gave me a sense of their workload outside of the classroom, and a way to judge how valid their reasons/excuses are for submitting late work. One student wrote about his passion for travelling, and set out to prove that it was not a mere interest in sightseeing, but a way to encounter the self and broaden one's horizons. Yes yes, everybody says that, but the Facebook albums remain the same, I thought to myself cynically, in more or less those words, or equivalent. His writing, however, proved me wrong. It was very heartfelt, deeply reflective, and the material was well selected to showcase a variety of learning. I would quote a passage if I could, but I suspect there might be some ethical bind akin to, though not commensurate with, the confessional seal, so I had better not.
On the other hand, I feel uncomfortable marking a work of passion. I had to mark for grammatical errors, and already felt guilty intruding into the textual space of their outpouring. Then my CT rightly pointed out that I need to tick every now and then to indicate that I did indeed read their work -- the better written ones had much fewer mistakes, and there would be pages without any marking. So more intrusion. Tick, good that you like helping others. Tick, good that you like heavy-metal-punk-rock-groovy-angry bands. Tick, good that you like to swim. Tick, good that you like to speak. Tick, I approve of your passions -- that makes me feel uncomfortable, even though I agree with my CT's reason. On one hand this is an avenue to know students better, to encourage them to vocalise and record their passions; on the other hand it is also an English assignment, therefore marked like any other piece of writing. These are, of course, not mutually exclusive goals, but I mention it simply to register the occasional or momentary dissonance, felt when one "thinks too much" about it.
An alternative could be to have them present their passion in class, but that would work against those who are shy or who simply do not perform well in public speaking -- and would thus give me less material and occasion to understand their passions more deeply. Also, that would take away a lot of lesson time, a scarce commodity in education. I would choose the written form over the oral presentation form for students, if given the choice.
Thus concludes my final formal blog post, which I hope has sufficiently addressed the question. Now I must return to staring intently at the blank spaces in my lesson plan, of which there are many. If it is in the gaps and ellipses of a text that we discern its meaning, then there is a lot of latent meaning in my lesson plan that I must now excavate.
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