Hey ppl,

Real sorry for not writng for the longest time. Simply have so much to do. I shouldn't be complaining since I’m sure most of you guys have just as much as me… and some even more! Guess I just have super bad time management! Today’s lessons were very different for me. For Mas’s lesson, I was doing the recording and I came in late for Yen Ping’s lesson and created quite a scene due to my ‘carelessness’.

Mas’s Microteaching session

Being behind the camera, I had certain constrains which did not allow me follow the lesson entirely, as compared to if I was to take the role of a student. Nevertheless, I felt that Mas did a great job. Recapping of the previous lesson’s work while they were still standing kind of ‘forced’ students to answer her questions as most of them wanted to sit down. This would really save the teacher the time of having to repeat her questions again and again and asking for students to volunteer for answers.

The idea of bring the rainforest to the classroom absolutely captured the minds of the students. Not only were they curious to see the video, many of them were even jotting down notes and drawing the features of the rainforest. Since mot of the students hadn’t been to the BTNR, this was a great idea of instantly making them aware of their case study. I hadn’t really thought of a virtual field trip before. It is truly a great ideaJ

Mas made clear instructions before handing out worksheets to students and the constant ‘Shhhs’ from her managed to keep the class fairly under control. Pity there was not enough time to complete the lesson. It would have been nice to see how it would have been wrapped up and how the students would have presented.

Yen Ping’s Microteaching session

Yen Ping managed to keep the class absolutely quiet. When I first entered, I was pretty shocked to hear the eerie silence! The case of the lost wallet, I feel, could have been handled better. From a student’s point of view, I was already real upset at the loss of my precious wallet. Instead of showing concern, I was reprimanded for my carelessness. If I could act well, I would have surely burst out into tears. Here I was standing helpless at the utter loss and scolding me did not make things any better.

Kenneth decided to add a twist by asking me to blame someone loudly in the class. I decided to pick Wesley. Once again, I did not see the appropriateness of asking the student to check the belongings of another student. The teacher should have herself checked the bag of spoken to Wesley herself after class.

Apart from class management, Yen Ping’s style of teaching the lesson was done well. By labeling the students, she managed to get us all actively involve and understand the importance of studying grid location with regards to the actual world. She came well prepared with diagrams and charts that allowed us to clearly understand the concepts well.

Cheers,

Raksha