Documenting some of my learnings from the school year.
1. Form Class Experiences
It has been a good year with my form class. I started off quite uncertain and worried that I wouldn't be able to relate to the Sec 1 kiddos. I felt like an awkward potato during the first few weeks of school with them, but thankfully it didn't take long for the students to warm up to me. Over the past year, I have also learned a lot from my co-form and put what I've learned into practice to become a more effective form teacher. A non-exhaustive list of what I've gleaned from my co-FT/other colleagues:
It is meaningful to address certain issues on the class level even though it only involves a group of students, because other students in the class are also watching what we do re: addressing behavioural issues. Doing so can help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Being flexible in my approach towards engaging students/parents - How I should communicate with them depends on their personalities or the relationship between a student and their parents. Some appreciate straightforwardness, while others respond better when they don't feel "attacked" or "called out".
Consistency is key - in terms of communicating and reinforcing expectations, because students need stability and a structured environment in order to thrive.
Being a form teacher also involves carrying out CCE lessons. Using this opportunity to reflect on the CCE course we attended in June (Exploring the HeArt of CCE).
I feel that the best CCE learning experience I have conducted this year was the one on developing a healthy self-concept. Why I think it was a good learning experience:
It was a topic that students were interested in exploring (i.e. stereotypes and assumptions society hold towards people who look a certain way).
I did not shy away from the "difficult conversations" when getting them to confront the assumptions and emotions they hold about beauty. It is when their preconceptions are challenged that they remember the lesson more vividly.
I was open in sharing my personal input (though mindful not to impose my beliefs on the students). This allowed them to feel safe enough to speak their mind. The mutual exchange of opinions allowed them to gain alternative perspectives they might not have thought of before.
Important note to self:
We need to know our students well and understand their individual needs. Don't let assumptions control our words and actions.
Take time to know our students so that they are comfortable to share with us what they are feeling or what they are going through. They can even teach us something in the long run.
How a student decides on a stand to take when it comes to complex issues depends on his/her individual experiences.
E.g. "Should the employer hire a person with mental illness for the job?"
Student's stand would depend on their personal circumstances e.g. if they have loved ones with mental health issues - they might be more supportive of a person with mental illness getting the job.
What might help students when they need to make a decision in complex situations would be by listening to varied perspectives. The use of props/visual tools could also make students feel more comfortable in sharing things that are against their own views.
2. CCA Experiences
I am very heartened to have witnessed the growth of my girls since I joined the CCA last year. How said growth took place: By believing in them and holding them to high expectations. By being consistent. By empowering our student leaders.
< Rome wasn't built in a day, just like how team values and routines aren't created just after a few trainings, hence the need to constantly reinforce my expectations during debriefs after each training (a.k.a nagging endlessly hahaha). But I have been witnessing more and more proud mama moments - seeing students taking greater ownership over their personal and team's growth, and becoming role models for their juniors.
< Personal reflection: Our students are more capable than I give them credit for sometimes. I will continue to give them a voice and autonomy to allow them to achieve their full potential!
< Challenged my captain and vice-captain to organise a running challenge to encourage the team to stay active during CCA stand-down period, and they delivered. They figured out a system to keep track of the girls' running distances and kept the hype up throughout the 5 weeks! (Though they needed help creating the bar graphs on Google sheets haha)
3. Teaching & Learning Experiences
This is an area that is still a huge work-in-progress for me (as reflected upon in my previous post), but I'm glad to have tried new things in the spirit of experimentation.
Gamification of lessons:
I feel that I have leveraged on my strength in scaffolding and resource creation well this term in creating engaging and memorable learning experiences for my students. Apart from the climate change card game I've designed last year, I also made use of a game I discovered online to teach Responses to Tropical Cyclones (3E Full GE). The gamification of my lessons, complemented by deliberate and thoughtful reflection, allowed for greater retention of content knowledge for the Sec 3 students.
Game Instructions:
Padlet Consolidation (Link):
ASEAN Symposium:
I also mentored a group of Sec 3 students in preparing their final product shared at the ASEAN Symposium 2022. It was a meaningful experience both for me and the students. I got to expose students to current affairs and issues beyond the SS syllabus (something I am very passionate about), and through the research and preparation process, the students managed to gain greater clarity of the issues faced by the region. Yay win-win.
[Some things that I did not expect to have taught the kids: how to come up with a storyboard for the newcasting video (their final product), how to write a script (thanks Feline for giving me a template for me to adapt from!), and how to film and edit videos.]
Screen captures from the video:
Behind-the-scene shenanigans:
Nugget of wisdom on engagement:
The question that I posed to a wise soul: "How do I know if I have done enough for the students? When do I know to stop?"
The answer I got from the wise soul (in the form of questions to ask myself):
Are my lessons engaging/pitched at the right level?
Have I engaged the child/FT/parents in figuring out why the child might not be ready to learn?
Has the school been alerted of this student's circumstances?
Note to self: AFG for next year - to work more closely with parents and other stakeholders to achieve greater holistic development of students. (whole-school approach!)
Comments