WEEK FOUR: LEAVING MARKS

DAY 19 (JANUARY 28): SMANCA 20th FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY

Trekkin’ inside the forest was the unexpected experience awaits us on the first day of SMANCA founding anniversary. We were called to join the “Fun Walk” of the school as they commemorating its 20th foundation day. It was an exciting part of my SEA Teacher journey discovering the inner part of the Merapi Gulf drenched with apprehension as we went along the gloomy diverse forest which never expected to become part of a “Fun Walk” activity. We nestled back to school wearing smiles while keeping the fun memories off worth treasuring forever.

DAY 20 (JANUARY 29): PERFORMANCE DAY

As part of cross-cultural exchange, we were asked to render performance on the second day of founding anniversary. Together with my fellow Filipino SEA Teachers, we had introduced the Philippine folk songs amidst the visitors of SMANCA. We sang the famous rhymes “Leron-Leron Sinta (My Beloved Leron), Bahay Kubo (Farmhouse) and Tong-tong-tong-tong Pakitong-kitong (Crab song)” and we got all applauded of our short, pride-bearing performance.

DAY 21 (JANUARY 30): NOURISHING PEDAGOGICAL SKILLS

I have called this day a nourishment to my pedagogical skills because I was about to touch the biggest part of my SEA Teacher journey. I began to gather my notes up and be part on my lists in my SEA Teaching experience ready to apply as sort of preparation to my FINAL DEMONSTRATION TEACHING on the following day. I have incorporated the advises of Ibu Ima on her classroom observation series and made sure that the teaching principles I’ve learned be given utmost priority.

DAY 22 (JANUARY 31): FINAL DEMONSTRATION TEACHING

My final demonstration teaching is kind of satisfactory as by far to my assessment. I did the best out of my competence and my students did their best part they can. I have employed various classroom activities in the engagement of students and finely manage the class which went everything well.

DAY 23 (FEBRUARY 01): BATIK MAKING

We got a chance to make our BATIK with our own design.

It was easy to watch making batik done by the SMANCA students at first, but when our turn came, I got a shivering hands hard to move from the direction I want to trace out of the design I made.

Final Day (FEBRUARY 04): SEE AGAIN PARTY

One month story is a speck of my retrospect and prospect stories, but it is enough to fill the bucket of memories worth to be treasured forever. Our last day at the UII is the final showcase of talents and skills accompanied by the awarding of certificates.

SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS

Purposes of Practicum

SEA Teacher Project with one-month pre-service teaching practicum of SEAMEO delivers the first-hand teaching experience in the new diverse cultural context. The purpose of the practicum is mainly to enhance and by far develop my teaching and pedagogical skills with the goal of becoming the 21st century educator embedded with innovative and novel teaching principles, strategies and methods for quality education not only on the borders of my country but also across neighboring ASEAN member countries introducing various educational innovation and increase cultural understanding, respect, and tolerance.

It is also on the perspective of SEAMEO to pruned student teachers in an exemplar communication skill, and encourage to communicate effectively and confidently, with which the best way to get quality education is derived from the quality instruction of an adept teacher who gets interact with students forming potential effective learning.

Teaching in the diverse context outside the country helps gain a broader regional and international perspective. This leads to understanding and embracing the culture, raise respect, tolerance and peace. SEAMEO exposes future teachers to a wide and diverse teaching and learning process, discovers new opportunity by learning ideas and concepts and train student teachers to become flexibly exemplars.

Procedures of the Practicum

Our month teaching practicum has the following structure to be followed:

1st Stage

Orientation and class observation

2nd Stage

Teaching assistant

Working with classroom teacher Lesson plan consolidation

3rd Stage

Teaching in classroom

Adequate teaching hours

Monitoring and evaluation by mentor

4th Stage

Reflection and lesson learned Reflection of student’s performance in general & discussion of the lesson learned Finalizing blog and report (if any required by Sending University) Mentor helps to check the writing

In the practicum proper, before we had set foot to every school’s destination, we had undergone two-day Bahasa Language class with the two SEA Teacher practicum supervisors of the host university. We had visited the school on its formative days, and had a two-day classroom observation. We then proceeded the teaching proper the following week.

First week of classroom teaching was a schedule for monitoring our teaching performance by the practicum supervisor. The following week was the evaluation of our final demonstration teaching, which was done successfully.

Outcomes of the Practicum

Outcomes of the practicum are to develop skills in English communication effectively and confidently, develop our teaching skills and pedagogical capabilities with which helping us to become 21st century globally competent educators in teaching career, provides an opportunity to widen our regional and international perspective towards embracing diverse cultural heritage in the outside context, develops understanding, respect and tolerance of every participating country which build up a better international community not only in the field of quality education, and discovers more opportunity that awaits in the field of teaching amidst of global competitiveness.

Another vital outcome, the practicum could provide are the introduction of educational system of one country to another, develops sense of cooperativeness in providing the quality education in South East Asia, and promotes unity in revitalizing teacher education in achieving the quality education for the region.

The Challenges of Practicum

One of the challenges in my practicum experience is how to arouse students from their intuitive but passive learning condition into more interactive learning experience. Students on the outset of my classroom observation were dependent on the more knowledge other, the teacher and classroom set up was deemed teacher-centered.

To break the classroom stigma which I had encountered was henceforth my goal, by introducing best classroom strategies with innovative teaching methods and techniques, and novelty in teaching-learning process would be one of the ways to penetrate the tradition in teaching. Though, teaching methods may not work well in other context like bringing up my lesson learned in the Philippines to Indonesians’ educational context, but sharing up and introducing the culture of education in my country will provide opportunity for the students to experience dynamic education system.

Language variations in the teaching practicum didn’t entirely hedge up the chance to create effective instruction to students. Language barrier was not the main challenge in my teaching practicum, because a true educator does not communicate through overarching language but communicates with a heart directly towards students.

Overall Impression

SEA Teacher project of SEAMEO truly serves it main purpose to expose student teachers in the diversity of teaching and learning process. On the duration of the program, every day my knowledge faculty shuddered to store new learning and opportunity to widen my perspective as future educator who become one of the foundations of an educated world, where the delivery of quality education lies in our shoulders for the development of the country and transform lives of the young minds.

With the exposure to a different context of education system, I have learned that education is valuable tool to for the future of a country, and therefore it must be valued and appreciated the importance laden to every folk’s mind and heart.

I have the chance to gain knowledge, beyond the borders of academic portals in my country and learn to embrace the Indonesian culture which bring up new views in life and had a chance to value diversity, which in learning context creates a market place of meaningful learning experiences in the classroom.

It is also an opportunity to know the culture and tradition of other country’s educational system, so anything we found useful and innovative will be drought back to our country of origin and introduce the ideas for the improvement of delivering quality education, which at stake is one of the priorities of the SEA Teacher project on the offset.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENT

The project must have centered on the collaboration of the sending and receiving schools to ensure that the desired outcomes of the project be implemented properly to obtain the state of satisfaction to both parties.

The program structure must be followed accordingly, and contingency plans will be applied or issued if changes need.

The duration of the teaching practicum must at least lengthen the weeks so that sufficient learning and experiences will pay off the objectives of the program.

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