Thursday, January 31, 2008

Another Microteaching DONE!!!

Yup, another of my microteaching is completed! The math one, in particular, the one on Percentages, remember? Can say tat it went on quite fine, 80% of wat i expected of myself lah. Once again, i realised while rehearsing for it, tat my weakness in planning lessons is tat i tend to over-plan, and once again, i was only able to carry out 3/4 of wat i planned within tat time frame...really need more practice on tat to ensure tat everything can be completed even w/o rehearsing b4hand.. and anyway, this time i rehearsed when i was alone at home...haha!

I guess the 20% which i'm not satisfied with myself was during one part of my lesson when i kinda "lost myself" and ended up laughing wif the class for awhile at the "joke" i created. Well, the "joke" came frm one of my slides which was supposed to intro to em wat GST is, and it basically looks like the pic below, with the heading of "GST (Goods and Services Tax)", and a scanned pic of a receipt below. My original pic only had de red circles, no blue ones. I meant it to focus the students' attention on the part of the receipt tat mentions the GST to be paid, BUT, instead, they were paying greater attention to the stuff bought even though it was nt completely scanned, as shown by the blue circle. Since it wrote "Anti-wrinkles", "Blemish control mask", they were like asking "Cher, why u buy anti-wrinkles stuff?" and the whole class started giggling.... and ME TOO!!!LOL!! I kinda expected such a reaction from them lah, but din expect it to be so extreme..LOL..haha, my peers really noe how to pretend to be real sec sch students sia!!! And cuz of that, i started laughing wif em for a few seconds in between words too, which sounds bad..haha...lost of composure as a teacher! But nvm, at least i now noe tat i'll hav to learn how to not laugh too heartily when i hear a joke in class while teaching...HAHA! (Bottling up one's tears is unhealthy, hope bottling up one's laughter wun be..haha!)

But on the whole, I felt tat my math microteaching class did a great job in pretending to be real students to mimick real classroom situations...at least compared to my chem microteaching class who always give correct ans and quite quiet one, the math class is much better..haha! At least it not only gives us a feel of doin teaching in class, but it oso gives us the chance to perform classroom management. Great job guys!

Anyway, microteaching does hav it's limitations too. Like when i teach in real classrooms, i'll hav to speak at a much louder voicer than during microteaching. And in real classrooms, we'll hav to battle wif a higher surrounding temp than in the air-conditioned microteaching classroom. When teaching in real classrooms, i'll hav to handle cold sweat and warm sweat too (LOL!), but in the air-conditioned microT classroom, it's abit hard to sweat ya.... During microT, ur peers tend to "give u face" more (so tat they dun get sabo-ed by u during their turn to mictoteach..haha), but in real classes, students can't wait to see u make mistakes and crumble..(well, maybe nt all students r lidat lah, but i prefer to prepare myself for the WORST-CASE SCENARIO..) but having microT is still better than nothing at all b4 putting u in the real test in schools.

Today oso had a "Teaching in the social context" lesson, and we discussed on the teacher appraisal system used by MOE. Muz admit tat i came out of class rather disoriented (but not disillusioned, thankfully) upon knowing better what is in stalled for me in terms of teacher appraisal. But nevertheless, a good mental preparation for what is to come. The EPMS (Enhanced Performance Management System) does tend to promote politics among tchers to ensure tat u get a reasonable grade for appraisal, which is bad...wats more, the size of ur bonus and capacity for promotions will be affected by it too..oh wells, tats life i guess...Not to mention, there'll be more work on documentation of de stuff u've done for de year oso... apparently, a teacher's job isn't only to teach and teach well, he/she has to be all-roundedly proficient too (juz like students) in terms of management skills, teamwork, administrative skills, and any other skills u can think of.

But i guess at times, whether one gets to shine or not depends quite alot on the oppotunities he is given (some call it luck) and not merely on one's abilities. True to a certain extent i guess, but i'll call it God's provision instead of luck =) Just like in microteaching, i feel tat the topic u get to teach does play a part in how much room for creativity and innovation in teaching u have.

In any case, I believe that the Lord who has helped me through 19 years of stressful Singapore education system will be able to also help me thru seemingly minute matters like staff appraisal =) "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." - Psalm 121:1-2 Pray that i do not get disillusioned in my purpose of teaching bcuz of things like appraisal and politics. NOTHING should make you crumble and fall when you know that you have God as your 24/7 helpmate. Honour God, and He will honour you too. Lord, please help me to be the teacher You want me to be.

Lyna

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Ms Loh Feels Liberated!!!

Yeah, i noe NIE does a great job in preventing me frm blogging at regular intervals, but for now, there's a few reasons which makes me feel LIBERATED!!!

1) MY QED523 GROUP PRESENTATION IS OVER!!!
Yup, that's the grp proj where we hav to facilitate a class discussion for AN HOUR!!! First time doin such a proj apart frm the usual presentation ones. But it din turn out tat bad, cuz afterall, de facilitators are not the ones who do most of the talking, active participation shd come from the participants. The social issue we chose was on primary sch streaming - the hoohaa of EM1, 2, 3. At the end of the day, i still feel that i agree wif streaming, mainly cuz it helps in the long term to fill the rice bowls of academically-less-inclined students. Even though the problem of "branding" or "labelling" will surface, i feel that they shd take tis oppotunity to cope wif it and be exposed to it frm a young age. It's a cruel world, we cant escape frm labelling in Singapore since ranking, which inevitably gives room for labelling, is done so often, such that we always hav the mentality to be number 1. Even without EM1, 2, 3 and ranking of schools, the labelling of "academically-good schools" and "neighbourhood schools" inevitably still exist. So, one should learn to cope wif it since it's likely to be here to stay. If dealt with positively and properly, the academically-less-inclined students not only will find themselves not dropping out of school so easily but having their rice bowls filled, they'll also learn to deal with their social labelling in life. Or maybe i'm being too optimistic considering that i'm not a parent of a kid in EM3. Perhaps. But i still feel that it's better to "suffer" labelling than to hav an empty rice bowl in the long run. Who knows? Perhaps suffering frm being labelled might just be the impetus for them to prove their worth, which was pretty much the source of my motivation as someone who grew up in neighbourhood schools.

2) MY TRIAL CHEMISTRY MICROTEACHING IS OVER!!!
Yup, trial chem microteaching is done, and it went on relatively smoothly lah. Microteaching is basically treating your peers in your tutorial grp of 12 as students, and teaching them as if u're in school. I taught on the topic of percentage yield. Basically after my teaching and after the class gave comments, the tcher was like saying, "So, besides the good comments, wat bout some criticisms?" (hee...i din mean to boast or anything lah) And the criticism I received from him was on the definition on "Actual Yield" on one of my ppt slides. Can say that he's quite sharp for his age..haha...the mistake was tat i completely followed the textbook definition, which was nt wrong, but the way I applied tat definition to the activity i was doin wif the class made it somewhat incorrect, and incomplete, maybe. So i shd be more careful when it comes to the words and definitions, that i dun end up explaining concepts which clash wif scientific principles. Other comments i received from my fren was tat my handwriting on the whiteboard needs improvement (which i totally agree!), i tend to use fillers like "ok", "right" in teaching (yup, agreed!), and i seem more suited to teach in JC cuz i tend to ask thought-provoking questions which are indirect(do I?) haha... And my preparation for this microteaching was quite funny. I wanted to rehearse the day before, but my sis was in the room too, den i malu to rehearse and talk to the wall in front of her..haha..cuz she'll laugh at me!!! LOL!! So wat she did was listen to music using earphones at the loudest volume, while i talk to the wall and my students - bolster, pillow, fan, blanket, minnie mouse, twinkle, lion, and door. LOL!!! And i realise that i tend to overplan my lessons only after i actually practise teaching it out. I tend to plan too many activities in my lesson, such that i actually can only teach about 3/4 of wat i plan within that time frame. Have to practise more on this. =)

3) CNY!!!
I realised that this year, CNY falls on a thur and fri!! Which means a long long weekend from thurs to sun!!! (Wah those wif mon as free day even better lor! hav holiday frm thurs to mon!!)

4) EVERY FRIDAY IS MY FREE DAY!!!
Yup, i hav 4-day week for this short semester in NIE! And fri free = long 3-day weekend! muz start planning how to enjoy tis period b4 the dreaded practicum begins! So if wan to go out can ask me out on Fridays!!

5) I DRANK ANDERSONS ICE-CREAM'S MILKSHAKE FOR 2 CONSECUTIVE DAYS!!
Yeah! I realized that buying milkshakes frm Anderson's is more worth it than buying ice-cream! Double scoop ice-cream costs $6, milkshakes (milk + 3 scoops of ice-cream blended tog) costs $5.80! And the portion is quite large too! somewhere like the medium size of McDonald's drinks. Rum & Raisin is still my all-time fav! And of course, it has to be part of my milkshake too! Yummy! Another "delicacy" to be added to my list of fav foods!! haha...

6) 2-DAY WEEK FOR THE WEEK TO COME!!!
For some reason due to efficiency, i wont be having chem microteaching classes next week! And maths lecture juz ended too! So for next week, only hav to go to NIE on mon and wed!! YAY!

And now, for some reasons which make me feel less liberated... =(

1) MICROTEACHING LESSON PLANS TO BE DONE
Math lesson plan in particular, to be done by this monday...and hav to start thinking of the chem assessment microteaching too...

2) PLAYING ORGAN FOR SERVICE THIS SUNDAY
So it's back to practising my organ again since the period of intense practice for Christmas. BUT MUST SERVE GOD WIF JOY IN MY HEART!!!

3) GESL WORK TO BE DONE
Just when i tot it was almost over, it's not! More gesl work to be done...seems to spoil my beautiful thurs ya...oh wells, i need to put more positive thinking into place...

4) PRACTICUM MIGHT COME SOONER THAN I'M READY FOR IT
25th Feb is the day i return to schools to teach and interact wif students. To me, interacting with students is more enjoyable than the teaching part of it, but not when they start climbing over your head...hopefully i can prepare myself well for it when the time comes...

Okie, tats it for now...but overall, still feel more liberated than un-liberated lah...haha! Gd-Nitey!

Lyna

Sunday, January 6, 2008

A Beautiful Fullstop to my Holiday!!!

Yup, my holiday's ending soon, and it ended with lots of organ practices for christmas and year-end service, choir practices, and a sumptous dinner in celebration of our church's 35th anniversary!!! And i tot it was a nice way to end my holiday, because, through these events, i saw and appreciated church unity better. Could sense that we were all united in gratitude to God for preserving our church for 35 years =))

Firstly, I was kinda surprised tat most of the choir members turned up for the extra choir practices for church anniversary =)) Thank God for the sense of commitment He has given to us in our service to Him! Despite the late hours of extra practices, we still made an effort to attend them. Thank God for preserving our voices too. (Got once i ate laksa juz b4 a choir prac...haha) Hope that our items sounded fine, but more importantly, hope that we have sung with the right heart to praise and glorify God, that He may find our service acceptable and glorifying in His sight. 1 Corinthians 10:31 =))

On top of that, the 35th anniversary celebrations were even more meaningful as it was also for Rev Chan's retirement from pastoring the church to do mission work in Thailand. Last Tuesday during prayer meeting, when Rev Chan went up to request prayer for his travels to Thailand for a month, it somehow felt different to me frm the times before when he requested prayer for safety in his travels. This time, although it's only for a month, it felt like he's goin to be gone for a long time before we can meet him again...Maybe it's juz a psychological effect on knowing that he's retiring from being our pastor... His "last words" as our pastor during his sermon at year-end service was especially meaningful, particularly the part where he advised Sunday School teachers. (I guess one's "last words" are usually meaningful and impressionable...) He was saying that bible teachers should dig deep into the Bible to search for quality materials like gold, silver and precious stones to use as the materials to build the foundation based on God's word in the children's lives, instead of using only wood, hay and stubble which can be easily found anywhere (metaphorically). It made me realise that more often than not, I do not spend enough time searching the Scriptures when I prepare to teach in Awana. It's rather last min, and i tend to use a "quick-fix" of juz reading the teaching materials given, instead of looking into the Bible. Perhaps I shd make it one of my resolutions tis year to be more focused in preparing for Awana story-telling, such that the children may learn of the life-changing truths frm God's word, to build the foundation of their lives and character based on God's standards.

As a teacher-to-be in NIE, I have been taught the importance of treating and preparing each lesson seriously (like writing a very super detailed lesson plan). Since school textbook teaching has to be dealt with seriously, what more the teaching of God's truths in the Bible which can change lives? Consider the amount of time and effort that goes into preparing a single 35 min classroon lesson in school, should the preparation in teaching children from the Word of Life and it's far more precious and unchanging truths be any lesser? Furthermore, a lecturer in NIE likes to talk bout this thing called the "multiplier effect". It goes something like, "Every year, about 240 chemistry students go thru you, and if u teach a concept wrongly, 240 students will live in misconception. And what will happen if these 240 students become teachers in future too? How many ppl will now live in misconception? The multiplier effect will apply in the propagation of the misconception....." Since, it is a rather serious matter to teach wrong concepts in school, what more in the teaching of the Bible? Tis might just give heresies the chance to creep in subtly. So, I should dig deeper into the Bible each time instead of juz relying solely on the teaching materials given to prevent myself frm teaching wrong things. Afterall, the teaching materials are written by man and subject to fallibility, but the Bible is written by God, who is infallible! Psalm 19:7, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 =))

Okay, and the anniversary dinner was great too! Had yummy food to end the day of our church's birthday. I remembered someone once preaching on what is the best birthday present to give to the church. And it's undeniably bringing in lost souls since the purpose of starting a church is to win souls to Christ. And if x people each bring a lost soul to Christ as an anniversary bday present for the church, then there'll now be 2x ppl. And during the anniversary next year, if each of the 2x ppl bring a lost soul to Christ as their present to the church, there'll be 4x ppl... and so on.. and the multiplier effect will now apply too, but in a good way. =))

Yup, and it's not impossible to accomplish, if only we all try. Ok, and it's time to sleep now, so good nitey!

Lyna