The Last Day of My Teaching Practice

Group work

I sit with my classmates to discus and negotiate what we have learnt for two weeks. I consider many aspects and ideas after our discussion. Also, they help and scaffold me when I ask them some questions. In my view, the group work facilitates sharing ideas, solving problems and thinking critically. I believe that applying group work or pair work in the classroom help the students to collaborate and co-operate together. I believe that construct on their prior knowledge. Moreover, I think that will be more constructivist if they use a mindtool like a computer which eases meaningful learning. In my opinion, the students can use the computer as a collaborative tool when they use blogs, discussion board,..etc to discuss and solve a problem or a task.

My experience

I enjoyed my time in the school because when I saw something I remembered the theories and what I had studied in the college. In my view, when I see and apply what I have learnt, I don’t forget them forever. As a beginner teacher I enjoyed practicing lesson planning, teaching children and dealing with teaching staff. I learnt many good aspects and new thing that I don’t know them before. Moreover, I am delighted because I have a chance to deal with different nationality of the teachers and that gives me more and different teaching ideas. I am really interested because each teacher has her unique teaching style and methods. I appreciate their hard working with the students and their welcoming for us.

My Lesson

I am happy because I finish my lesson today. I prepared well for my lesson the day before it but I am confused because the students are grade one and there are 25 students. I am delighted because the students are motivated and enjoyed. Also, I am pleased to see the students like the car rewarding poster (I use this poster to manage the behaviour and reinforce the students at the same time. I give each group a numbered card and a car on the poster to see who will arrive firstly). I am pleased when the students ask me to move the car that shows me how they are interest in it. Also, they love the sticker and the gifts. Moreover, I think it’s important to set rules before begin explaining the lesson for instance I tell them about the car rewarding poster and I tell them that Miss. Reem will choose the best boy and girl at the end of the class and I will give them a gift. As Arends (2007, p. 182) believe “Effective classroom managers are consistent in their enforcement of rules and their application of procedures”. So, I try to keep moving the car back and in front to make them excited and keep quiet directly.
I am delighted because I use body language through my teaching. However, I am upset because the Intelliboard’s pen doesn’t work but I begin my lesson while the teacher tries to fix that. In my view, I think that the teacher should be flexible during the classroom to fix any problems immediately and try to don’t interrupt students’ attention. I am disappointed because some students interrupt me many times while I am teaching and then I lose my attention. I consider that the teacher should vary her activities and be creative to keep the students motivated and excited. I don’t know the level of the students but It’s important for the teacher to consider the level of the students before giving any task or activity. As a result I ask the teacher of English if they can read write or pronounce the words. So, I try hard to keep the task and activity easy for them. I enjoyed my lesson and my classmates’ lesson. I am happy because my classmates help me during my teaching.

The Library

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I have been in the library for many days but really I am surprised because many shelves are empty and there aren’t enough resources for the students. I notice that there are some of English and Arabic books but not enough books for the school which has four sections: kindergarten, primary, preparatory and secondary. There are three computers in the library which are connected to the Internet. In my view, the library should be developed and provided with variety of resources. I think it should have around ten computers to fit the students and it should be there different hardware resources like printer, photocopier and scanner. I believe that will help the students to finish their projects and homework in the school. In addition, I think the library should give lectures to the students and introduces them to resources that it has and how to borrow books. Moreover, I consider that if the library has an online website which provides online search that will help the students to find the books easily. I am delighted to see that the tables are divided to many sections which help the students to focus and work individually. I am happy because the librarian is very helpful and friendly. I notice that the library is quiet and helps the students to work hard. I am happy because at the end of the day I prepare my lesson plan and all my materials for the lessons. Ms. Andria sits with us and gives us many tips which I think help me to be confident and well prepared for my lesson.

Girls Section

Today I have been in the girls section. I am delighted to see the girls listen carefully to the teacher and they are more quite. Also, I am happy when I attended the economic class because this is the first time for me to know this information about the economic. I am really surprised because there are only four girls in the class. In my view, I think that this small number of students is not effective because it can’t facilitate motivation and group work. Then, the students will be bored and not interested because they always have the same ideas and thinking. However, if there are around fifteen students, they can work in different group and share ideas together. So, they will be more creative and motivated. I enjoy the examples that the teacher gives to the students, they clarify the lesson and make it understood. Moreover, I notice the teacher is friendly with the students. I think the effective teacher should be friendly to make the students love the subject. Also, I am delighted because the teacher encourages the critical thinking during the class by asking the students some questions.
Tomorrow I will have all the day to discuss the lesson with my SST and prepare everything for it.. I am looking forward to planning my lesson will.

Classroom Environment

Today I focused on how to make the classroom more attractive and suitable for the needs and styles of the learning. I am delighted because all the kindergarten classrooms that I have attended them are very attractive and designed well with posters, pictures and students’ work. Also, I like the bright colors of the chairs and tables and it’s very suitable for the children. I am interested to see small cabinet that the teacher can keep all her staff safety and small table to put the books on it so the children can’t reach them. However, I am upset when I see the children their bags behind the door, I can’t imagine that small space how will fit 20 bags or more!. I suggest that if there will be a special place for their bags, it’ will better for them to take them easily and give a good look at the same time. Moreover, I think the classroom layout is suitable for the children because some of the tables are round and the other has another shapes. In my view, I think the round table its better because it’s doesn’t take a big space. In addition, I believe that the students need different styles of learning because I notice on teacher uses visual and auditory style only. I think the students in this age need more Kinetic activities. For example, I see the teacher draws some picture related for the letter L on the board and asks the students to repeat them. I consider that if the teacher creates an activity like puzzle the students will be more enjoyed because they think that they are playing but I believe that they play and learn at the same time. As a result, the teacher will cover more styles of learning at the same time. In my opinion, teaching children requires more educational games and activities. I believe that one of the strategies of building on intrinsic motivation is: “The use of various games has much to offer.” (Kyriacou, 2001, 68). Also, I think the classroom needs T.V, video, DVD and cassette recorder to vary the activities to keep the students motivated and enjoyed. I recommend that if there will be a section at the corner for a playing time which has many toys and games and another place for sitting on the floor. I think the teacher can teach them on the floor to make them motivated and aren’t bored. In my view, each teacher needs to make an attractive environment for her students. I believe that an effective teacher has many responsibilities and one of them it to create a welcoming room: “establishing an orderly and attractive learning environment” (Kyriacou, 2001, 6). I think this environment will affect the students in many ways for instance in their motivation, attention and discipline.

Technical Experience

Thursday, November, 8th, 2007

Mr. Munair explained for us the basic skills of using the Intelliboard. I believed that the teacher should consider many things before using the Intelliboard or other technology. I thought the teacher should plan when and which technology she would use for the lesson. Then, it was important to arrange the classroom to make the classroom layout suitable for using the technology. I learnt that I had to be prepared before the lesson. For instance, I had to login to the computer and switch on the intelliboard and the Multimedia projector before the class begun to save time during the classroom. One of the disadvantages of using technology was that it’s took time to be prepared so the teacher had to be organizer and well prepared. In addition, it was very important to check that the Intelliboard was clear for the students who sat on the corner or the back of the classroom. I enjoyed using the Intelliboard by adding shapes, changing colors, editing fonts and using the keyboard.
Moreover, Mr. Mohammed explained for us how to use Robotel and Dyned courseware. I liked the way that the teacher could control the students for example she could use the individual or group mode. As a result, that gave a chance for the shy students to work in pairs or groups by the computers. Also, I was interested to see that the teacher could reset audio or video for the students, check the students work and what they did.. I noticed that the Robotel facilitated the interaction between the teacher and the students. For instance, if any students wanted to ask the teacher, he would click on the sign on the Robotel. Then, a red sign would appear on the teacher’s computer and the teacher would reset an audio conversation between her and the students to know what he wanted without interrupting the others. I think that the teacher would control the students well and avoid any behaviour problems because they were busy working and she was checking them all the time. Also, if she had a big number of the students she would have difficulty to check their work in one period. So, this software would ease that job for the teacher. I think using this hardware and software was very significant for the teacher because it was a good tool of communication and collaboration between the students and the teacher. I noticed that one Arabic teacher attended with us because they trained the teacher how to use these software and hardware in their lesson. In my opinion, it was very important to train teacher how to use the hardware and software resources which were available in the schools.

Kindergarten & Technology

I am pleased to attended classes with children and have different teaching experience. I think it’s different than the primary classes. I attend two classes without any technology but I enjoy both of them. I like the ways that the teacher uses to sing songs for the children and praises them. Also, I like the face expression of the children while they are singing. I think the classes are brilliant but if there will be any kind of technology, the children will be interested more. For example, I believe that if the teacher varies her activities between the tradition ways and technology the lesson will be a mixture of teaching strategies and the students will be more motivated.
On the other hand, I am happy when I attend two classes applying technology. I notice there are many advantages and disadvantages of using technology in these classrooms. Firs of all, I see that the students are enjoyed when the teacher writes on the smart board the numbers with different colors and draws apples, circles, triangles and pizzas. I notice the students saying the different shapes, numbers and colors. In addition, I think they also like writing the number on the board. However, there are some students have difficulty to write on the smart board. Also, I am upset because the teacher wastes some time to fix the pen of the smart board. In my view, it’s difficult for her to get the students paying attention again after interrupting them many times. So, I think each teacher wants to use the technology software or hardware she has to check them before beginning the class to avoid any technical problems. One of the most things to avoid any problem during the lesson is that the teacher should be well prepared and plan her lesson well. Moreover, I interested in attending a class of math in the computer lab. I like seeing the students practicing the numbers by using learning.com. I think it’s helpful because this website (task) enhances their learning on both math and ICT and builds on their prior knowledge. I enjoy helping some students to do the tasks. I am surprised because some students work without any help and they already know how to press on the numbers. It’s a good experience to know how to use technology with children but the most part that the teacher has to be careful about it is that how to be well prepared to save through the lesson.

An Exciting Experience

Today I attend four classes: Islamic, Science and two classes of ICT. I am delighted in helping the students to finish the Science worksheet. I think that the students like the way that the teacher uses to enhance their learning in the parts of the plants because she mixes between coloring and the job of each part of the plant. In addition, I wonder to see the students reading and speaking English.
I enjoyed my time when I attend the ICT classroom. First of all, I am surprised that the teacher uses learning.com with grade one. They know how to open the computer and login to the website. I am pleased to see that the teacher glues some small paper on the table of each child with their username and password of the website. I think this is a helpful idea because that encourages the students to be independent. I notice the students are familiar with the website and don’t have any difficulty but some of them don’t understand some English words. I see that all of them are interested in the games and the task that they do on the learning.com. I am interested in the way that the teacher can print tasks, students’ grades and report of the students’ progress from the website. I think this website is useful because that saves time for the teacher to be well prepared and organized because the teacher can also choose the lesson that she wants to teach. Then, she doesn’t need any book and the students don’t too. Also, the students can revise the lesson at home if the teacher activates that from the website. I notice the students like using the website and don’t want to stop working on it because when the bell rings they still stay at computer. That reminds me of: “When a student found an experience so enjoyable it felt like they were being carried away by a current, like being in a flow” (Arends, 2004, 144). Moreover, there is an exciting thing which when a student finish a task, it shows hem/her a thankful certificate of his/her hard work with their names. Really, I believe that it is important for us to observe classes because that helps us to notice many things related to our studying at college.

Technology and Traditional methods

Today I am really pleased when I attend a science class (G 1). I see the teaching using some educational websites to illustrate the plants and animals. I am happy to see the students motivated and curios about the content of the website. I am surprised when one student asks the teacher to open more links to see more images. I think when the teacher use an effective method of teaching that helps the students to think critically. So, I believe that the teacher should vary her activities to change the routine and stay away from traditional ways of teaching.
On the other hand, I am glad to see the teacher of Islamic subject uses different activities through one lesson. Also, I am interested in her friendly characteristic with the students. I notice the students enjoy the lesson and do the work quickly that because the teacher gives them hint and praise them when they answer correctly. I like the way that the teacher uses when she notices a bad behaviour. She changes the students’ places without interrupting the lesson. I notice there is no use of the technology in this lesson. Moreover, in my view if the teacher uses technology in this lesson, it will be more effective and interesting. I think there many interesting ideas to improve this lesson. In my view, the teacher can use a video to show the students a prayer time. Also, she can use the paint program to ask the students to draw the pictures rather than draw it on the whiteboard (Sunset, Sunrise, moon and stars). I believe that the students will be more motivated and creative. In addition, she can use MS Word to do matching exercise. I think there are many and many creative ideas the teacher can do it by the technology. However, I reflect on how the teacher can use them in an effective way through the lesson.

My First Day in the Primary Section

Today I attended five classes: Arabic, English, Math and Science. I notice there are smart board, multimedia projector, hard desk, mouse, keyboard and white board in each classroom. I am interested when I see all the teachers are qualified to use the smart board well. Also, I am happy to see one teacher illustrates the story from the book using a PowerPoint show. I think that are more interesting than reading from the book. Moreover, I wonder when the teacher uses a color pen by smart board to highlight and circle around some letter to help the students pronounce the word correctly. Then, I see the students are motivated when the teacher uses a sound (clapping) for the students who answer correctly. I am upset when I notice most of the teacher can’t control the students well. Also, I am sad when the teacher punishes one student by standing and turning his face to the wall. I think the teacher can use different activities or strategies during the period to manage and monitor the students’ behaviour. I am happy to see one of the teachers gets the students outside the classroom to see the plants, sand, air and water. I believe that one of the most successful aspects is that using reialia through the lesson. Also, I am interested when the teacher draws on the smart board some shapes such as plant and animal. I think the smart board is the tool which eases the teaching. In addition, I consider all the teachers are helpful and friendly with the students while they are explaining. I think each teacher should be “helper (provides guidance for pupil difficulties)” (Hoyle, 2006).

About Me

My name is Fatma Rashed. I am studying at Sharjah Women College. My major is Bachelor of Education Technology. I studied four subjects in this semester: EDUC 210, EDUC218, EDUC 249 and EDUC 205. For the next two week, I have to be in AL Wahda Private School for my teaching practice. So, I will reflect on my observation in the school daily.