This is my journey of translating theoretical concepts into effective teaching skills. Along the way, I've faced both challenges and successes as I’ve adapted to the realities of the classroom. From designing engaging lessons to quickly adjusting to unexpected situations, I've come to understand the importance of creating an environment where growth, creativity, and learning can flourish. Each moment in the classroom holds the potential to create something truly magical, whether you're a novice or a seasoned teacher.
Procedures of Teaching
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Planning Lessons: Preparing for a lesson is no easy task. It starts with thoroughly studying the topic, which allows me to understand the material from every angle. The goal is to make the content accessible while also providing enough challenge to keep students engaged. One of the key principles I follow is ensuring that the lesson is aligned with the learning objectives—this helps me stay focused on what the students need to learn.
Materials are equally important. I make sure the resources I use are relevant to the topic, convenient for the students, and reliable. Whether it’s handouts, digital resources, or textbooks, everything must serve the purpose of enhancing the lesson. Activities also need to tie into the learning objectives and the curriculum. By choosing the right activities, I aim to provide students with opportunities to actively engage with the content and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.
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Delivering Content: Engaging students in the classroom today can be challenging, especially with the growing concern over short attention spans. Many students struggle to stay focused, especially during discussions. To combat this, I start my lessons with a game related to the topic. This not only grabs their attention right from the beginning, but it also sets a participatory tone for the rest of the lesson. The game provides an interactive and fun way for students to connect with the material while staying energized.
Inquiry-based learning is another approach I incorporate. By encouraging students to ask questions and explore ideas on their own, I make them active participants in their own learning. This strategy empowers students and helps them feel invested in the lesson, which, in turn, boosts their engagement.
Assessment: is crucial in understanding whether students have mastered the material. Since many of my lessons focus on writing skills, I assess students through written exercises. I ask them to write essays, sentences, stories, or even news articles. This approach allows me to gauge their understanding, as well as their ability to craft coherent narratives.
Through their writing, I can assess not just their grammar and sentence structure, but also their ability to organize thoughts and express ideas clearly. This process also gives me valuable insights into areas where they might need additional support, helping me to adjust my teaching strategy for future lessons.
Time management and organizing activities
Lesson Pacing: Allocating time for each activity is crucial for lesson pacing because it may or may not be followed as planned. It’s a challenge for me when the lesson moves at a slow pace, especially since we have limited time and the lessons need to be completed on schedule. To ensure the lesson is well-paced, I make sure to engage students in pre-activities that help activate their prior knowledge.
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Variety of Activities: I allow my students to work in pairs so they can help each other. At times, I also let them work on their own, so they can master the lesson independently.
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Classroom management
Setting Expectations: My expectation was that I would have a hard time communicating with the students since English is a foreign language for them. However, this expectation was debunked by my own experience. The students at SMAK Sint Carolus can communicate with me, and some of them are even fluent in English.
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Engaging All Students: Ensuring that all students remain engaged can be a bit challenging. However, by making the lesson interactive and creating a light environment, I am able to keep the students focused and engaged throughout the lesson.
Problem-solving while teaching and staying in the designated school
Challenges Faced: One issue I faced during my teaching was the internet connection, which required me to ensure that my presentations were saved offline. Some projectors weren’t working, while others had wiring issues. Despite these challenges, they were not a hindrance to delivering the lesson effectively.
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Solutions Implemented: Challenges are a part of life, and they are meant to be solved, not avoided, as they help us grow stronger, wiser, and more resilient with each step forward. Facing these challenges made me better prepared for future classes, as I learned to anticipate that problems could arise at any time.
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Learning from Experience: I learned from these challenges the importance of being prepared and always having a backup plan. Having encountered these difficulties, I now ensure that I am ready for any situation and equipped with alternatives to handle unexpected issues in the future.
Building relationships with the students at SMAK Sint Carolus was remarkably easy because they are friendly, kind, and approachable. In every class I attended, I always formed new connections. We had a routine where every student in the class was encouraged to ask us a question to practice their English communication skills. This activity ensured that everyone had a chance to speak and engage. For classes that were shy or less motivated, we introduced a game called “Pass the Coin.” A twenty-peso coin would be passed around while music played, and when the music stopped, the student holding the coin would ask us a question. This simple yet effective activity helped shy students find their confidence and motivation, gradually becoming more active participants.
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With this type of interaction, students began to look forward to our classes, actively participating and enjoying the learning process. They had fun asking questions and learning new lessons, as every day brought a new game that combined fun with learning.
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Collaboration with Colleagues: SMAK Sint Carolus has two English teachers. One of them, Ibu Nelly, was our cooperating teacher. After her class, we would join the other English teacher, Pak Ibnu. Both teachers had unique teaching styles and strategies for capturing the students’ attention. Working with them transformed and improved my teaching. I learned that every class is different, with students possessing their own strengths and weaknesses. I also realized the importance of involving students in the learning process. Teaching and learning are a two-way exchange, and fostering that connection is key to effective education.
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Personal Growth: My teaching practice has greatly influenced my professional development. It taught me how to adapt to new environments and embrace the understanding that, despite differences in race or culture, the learning process is universal.
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This experience deepened my understanding of teaching as a continuous journey. Learning doesn’t stop after graduating, earning a diploma, or completing a master’s degree. Teaching and learning are inseparable twins: when you learn, you teach, and when you teach, you also learn.
