third reflection

During the school experience in SMA 44, I taught students with different characteristics. I came to the class and assured myself that everything will be alright. At first I came to the class, I greet them and did roll call. I asked my students feeling in the beginning of the class. Most of them said that they feel flat and sleepy because they just had exam of math.

                In the beginning of teaching, I told my students about the learning goal for that day. Hopefully, students’ awareness will increase by knowing the learning goal of that day. I also let students know about the agenda and the activities of that day in purpose they would understand the purpose of that activity which was conducted in learning.

                My students and I made some agreements to not eat during learning and respecting to the person who perform in the classroom. I could see students’ anxiety to perform in front of class. As one of students said that they rarely performed in front of the class and they were afraid of their friends’ mocking during performing. However, after making agreement about respecting each other, Students felt more relax and safe to perform.

                Seeing the climate in the class, I noticed there was one student who avoided the crowd of students. I tried to ask one student privately about that solitary student. Finally, I found out that student was a center of bully. Students in that class often tease and bullied her. At the end of learning, I asked to watch a video and grasp the meaning behind that video. Actually, the video tells about the impact of words for life and others. I told them to avoid bully as it has big impact for the victim mentally and bodily. Many Students seemed curious and interested with this intermezzo. Hopefully, they did not take it as a “blowingwind” but apply it in their life.

                I found the students had intrinsic motivation to learn English.They asked me the way how to practice English. There are many ways to learn English, I said that. For example, joining a course, playing games which has many vocabularies and spoken text as Instructions, listening English song by finding the meaning of new vocabularies and practice English with friends. However, I emphasis on the self-confidency to them. Mistake is a way to improve the ability. 

The Opening of My SEP (School Experience Program) Class

In my previous SEP I teach in an elementary school, SD Negeri Selong 01 Pagi. At the beginning of my class I usually inform my students about the objective of the lesson and hook them toward what we will learn during the session. Sometimes even I have tried to guide them slowly toward the lesson. However it is not succeed although I put the hook in children world based on my experience with children. Sometimes the class becomes krik-krik in the beginning but not in activity. I give them group movement activity and 27 students in a class will be very noisy, just like in a traditional market a few days before a great day (lebaran).

Suddenly become a teacher in a short time, sometimes an observation is not valid enough to know what their interest, what they know and something close to their life that will be a good hook for a teacher. It is not easy to find the link of the lesson and children’s life because every school has students with different background.

In grade 5, I teach about daily activities and timing. It is not too hard to hook the students. I tell the students what I do before going to school since waking up and the time in Bahasa and English. Then I ask them what they do before going to school. All the students answering so the class becomes noisy. Then I choose one student each row. Each student answers my question in Bahasa so together we translate it. I think I succeed to activate students in the opening.

3rd reflection: Motivating environment, gear up the students to get success

During I conducted teaching and learning process at Regina Pacis Senior High School, I had a lot of new experiences.  One of them is how to motivate the students by creating an environment which is support them to learn. This environment was able to make them feel cozy, safety, and security to learn. They would feel that their classroom had positive climate.  To create positive classroom climate, teachers and students should take part to reach the goal of teaching and learning process as a community of learners (Palincsar, 1998; Rogoff, 1998).

Different class is different strategy to create motivating environment. The strategy was adjusted by students’ interest and students’ classes. I had four classes when I taught the students. It consisted of three topics namely narrative text, gerund and to-infinitive, and spoof text. I taught Narrative text was for first grade, while gerund and to infinitive and spoof text was for second grade majoring science class.

There are some steps to create motivating environment. I reflect these steps to what I have done when I conducted teaching and learning process. The first one is order and safety. This step reminded me to build rules and activity when I taught the students. I created the rules together with students as the agreement. They made agreement by themselves. At that time, the rule was the percentage to speak English was 50% and the rest percentage was they wanted to speak Bahasa Indonesia. Regarding to the activities, I created activities which had variation. It would begin from grabbing their attention in the first time, showing video, and showing pictures, games, and until lecturing and evaluation as closing of the class.

The second one is success. Through this step, I introduced the goal of learning process to them, gave their spirit by telling how important learning English for their life, and told them that to be able to speak English was not as difficult as they thought as long as they wanted to practice to speak, they would be able to speak English well. Again, it would help them to be respectful enough and made them to be more motivated to learn.

 The third one is challenge. I found some students who were naughty in my class and seemed ignoring my class. At that time, I gave them challenge to help me to spread the hand out to their friends or to take the speakers and cable to plug to overhead projector. They were not stupid, but in fact they were smart, since I knew that they had known what their friends did not know. Besides, I asked the others to be self-directed learners by doing exercise and group or pair discussion to challenge them. It would avoid them from spoon-fed learners.

 The last one is task comprehension. I explained them why they needed to the exercise in order to give them spirit and motivation to learn. They would get the exercise in writing essay either in individual or in pair, even they would make essay in group.

Jajang Fauzan Muhafidh-2010120045

Section C-MMSEL

Reflection 4: Multi Talented Teacher

Can anything be more challenging than grabbing students' interest in the subjects and try to keep them to focus during learning process?

            Grab students’ attention in the beginning of the class is one of the challenges that should be faced by teacher. There are some strategies to make students focus in the early of lesson; by using question or example of case problem, concrete example and the information of the objective of lesson. Roehler and Duffy (1991) said the activities that teacher do in the beginning of the class should integrate students’ focus and prior knowledge of students to build a schemata of lesson. In the other say, what we do in the beginning of the class should represent the knowledge that will be taught. I tried to use some pictures which related with the subject. For example, I taught causative and modal verb words which used in rules or regulation and relate it with current topic of reality show. I show some pictures of reality show that students’ know and then ask them to mention the rules of the game in reality show. After that we analyze each of rule and tell them that in make rules commonly we use causative or modal verb.

            The activity should run step by step. Building schemata by using prior knowledge, analyze the example and then the explanation or additional knowledge to improve their cognitive development. In my opinion as a teacher we should be follow the trend that popular in students but we should have good control in class. It is use for help teacher in deliver the information or grabs students’ attention. The weakness is our plan will be ruined if we cannot control the students in using trending topic for learning. 

            In guide students in learning, teacher should provide clear instruction and explanation which is contextual. The level of instruction and opportunity for learning which teacher provide affect Students achievement in comprehending knowledge (Tuttle, 1991). The activity should involve the participation from students and give good feedback for the improvement of students’ level. It is as scaffolding from teacher because teachers try to help students to relate the basic knowledge with the knowledge or activity to make new meaning in learning process (Resenshine & Meister, 1992). Based on my experiences I prefer to ask my students to work in group. They can share the knowledge and more involve in learning process. I do not feed them all of the material because my role here as a guide, so I should control the students understanding from outside the group. Cooperative learning will improve students in socializing (Knapp, Turnbull & Shields, 1990) so I choose it to develop their social skill.  I usually give feedback in orally by ask the other students to analyze the question if there is a students who make wrong answer. The feedback style is according to the activity. To tell students about what should be improved it will be better deliver by face to face or paper feedback for the confidentiality of students. 

            Try to combine all of aspects in instructional variable and become multi talented teacher which have different roles in different situation are the way to create focus learning and teaching. That is my strategy to develop my teaching and help my students in learning. How about you friend?

Reference:

 An article Instructional Variables in Meeting Individual Needs. Retrieved November 21, 2012 from  http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/meet2.html.

Confusing Reflection about Classroom Opening

               First impresion is the most important thing for a teacher. It could ruin all your days a whole semester if you as a teacher and open up your first time teaching in a “silly” way. It should be noted that bad first impression happened with some of teacher, especially a new experienced teacher.

                In this reflection actually I want to state my confusion of how we should act out in a classroom opening especially in our first time teaching. Should we act out like a strict teacher? Or should we act out as a friendly teacher?

                Actually I have several thinking that push me to ask those questions. First, in my experience when teacher comes up in their first time teaching in the class as a strict teacher, there will be some student that will hate you most a whole semester, But in other side they will obey your direction, tasks, and rules. And the second,  when teacher comes up in their first time teaching in the class as a friendly teacher, there will be some student that will like you most a whole semester, but in other side they will easily played or cheated on you, because they think that you are friendly and will not get anger at them.

                It actually happen for sure in several clasess that I have been taught. And it makes e confuse how and what should I act out as a teacher in my class.

Reflection 3: I want to be a Teacher who is like a Gardener

That was my first opportunity to teaching individually for two weeks during School Experience Program. It was incredible and amazing. I learned a lot of things from my school, master teacher and students. For the first, I want to ask you friend. Have you ever met students with messy classroom situation but the students are smart and active?

            This is the story of my teaching. I was shocked because I thought Science class and the condition of the class was unforgettable. The students like to make jokes, screaming and loud laughing during the learning process. In fact they cannot face 100% serious atmosphere in learning. In my imagination, it will be hard to raise their motivation in learning and to make them follow all of my plans. I just naïf at that time until I read that effective teaching is not about the success of all activities but the experiential learning that guide student become self regulated learners who have motivation, belief and values (Smith & Ragan, 1999).

            I tried to struggle with the big challenge that is my students’ unique characteristics. Create a plan with the concern of active students in classroom and positive situation that can empower students’ motivation in learning were my strategy. First, I tend to be teacher who is not strict but still firm. The purpose is to make positive feeling in classroom because it can influence the process of learning; the students who scared of the teacher or disappointed because the teachers do not respect to the students will limit them in comprehending the knowledge (Cole, 1991; Dobson & Dobson, 1981).

            I applied classroom rules to create order and safety environment in learning. Marzano & Marzano (2003) stated that invite students to make fair, clear, logic and promote affective development (feeling and behavior) rules in class is effective to build the positive learning. it is also as the control for classroom climate (Jones & Jones, 2000). This thing helps me a lot in controlling the class. My great students become more polite and actively follow the activities.

            After made classroom rules the activity was continue to the explanation session. I ask them a question and they should imagine the cases to answer my question. I taught conditional sentence so I tried to build the schemata by using simple cases. I explain each of conditional sentence by analyze the pattern and function from each case. That is to increase self confidence of students, practices and focus to the way to motivate them to get condusif classroom (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). I tried to avoid judge students if they did mistake because it can decrease the

            The students did the task after they get explanation. The task is making a story which includes all of conditional. They can combine exist narrative story such as Twilight or Harry Potter with their own idea. I give the decision to the students to do the task. I want to be as a gardener (Sir William Robinson, 2012) which cannot make the plant grow but can help it to grow by give fertilized and water. The gardener cannot decide the plant will grow if the plant itself does not want to grow. Teacher and gardener provide the condition and opportunity for students or plants to grow. We tend to create environments where students feel motivated, interested and excited in learning (Brokofsky, 2012).

            Students should face challenging task to make them excited in learning process. I gave my students task and I want them to work in group, so they can improve their excitement in doing the task (Schmuck & Schmuck, 2001). Many of them said that the task was difficult but they were not giving up. I tried to guide them but not as a key answer who help them solve the problem. By support from environment, students will try finish the task even it was difficult and develop their skills (Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde& Whalen 42). Finally my students finish their story and presented it in front of the class. The stories were creative, imaginative and contextual.

            In the end of learning they said some sentence for me using right conditional pattern. Actually, it was not a part of my planning. I feel touched and know that they acquiring the knowledge well. I realized that as a teacher we cannot assume our students as a robot. We just let the final decision to the students whether they want to learn or not. We only can give opportunity to them by provide motivating environment in learning, support and session for them to show their ability. That is why I want to be like gardener which helps the plants to grow well.

References:

Philips, Susan. G. n.d. Affective education and experiential learning. City University of Hongkong. Retrieved: October 28, 2012 from sganop@umflint.edu.

Dorney, Zoltan. n.d. Creating a motivating classroom environment. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved: November 15, 2012

Daniels, Erika. 2010. Creating motivating learning environments: what we can learn from researchers and students. English journal.