E. Summary and Suggestion

 

5.1 Purposes of Practicum

The SEA-Teacher project aims to provide opportunity for pre-service student teachers from universities in Southeast Asia to have teaching experiences (practicum) in schools in othercountriesinSoutheastAsia. Specifically,theaimsofthe SEA – Teacher Project are:

1. To enable the student teachers to develop their teaching skills and pedagogy.

2. To encourage the student teachers to practise their English skills.

3. To allow the student teachers to gain a broader regional and world view.

4.To expose future teachers to diverse teaching and learning situations and opportunities, and the value of flexibility.

Based on these objectives, I feel that with this program I can develop my teaching abilities. Since childhood I always wanted to be a teacher, but I always developed it in my country. So when I heard about this program I was very interested in continuing to develop my potential. This is also because I want to develop my language skills in English. I was also able to experience other benefits related to gaining a broader regional and world view. Because I can know the culture and language of another country, namely the Philippines. Then I felt development in dealing with various situations and teaching and learning opportunities.

5.2 Procedures of Practicum

The procedure for this program begins with the registration process. I received a circular from my campus, I filled out the registration regarding my personal biodata and teaching skills. Then I waited for further information a few weeks after I registered. I get information regarding university and school placements from partner countries. Followed by an interview session by the Coordinator of SEA Teacher from Universidad de Sta. Isabel, Philippines regarding the teaching potential and skills that I have, then regarding the technical departure. As well as things that must be prepared such as:Logistic arrangement: passport and flight ticket

1.      English language skill

2.      Health, accident, and travel insurance

3.      Mental readiness

4.      Cultural differences

After I arrived at Universidad de Sta. Isabel Philippines I follow a predetermined schedule including:

1^st Stage : Orientation and Class Observation

2^nd Stage : Teaching assistant (Working with classroom teacher, Lesson plan consolidation)

3^rd Stage : Teaching in classroom (Adequate teaching hours, Monitoring and evaluation by mentor)

4^th Stage : Reflection and lesson learned (Reflection of my performance in general and discussion of the lesson learned)

5.3 Outcome of Practicum

The results of this program include:

1. Video of the learning process during the Teaching Demonstration.
2. Participant blogs about Sea Teacher activities
3. Increase my teaching potential and abilities
4. Increased my English language skills
5. Gain a broader regional and world view.
6. Develop abilities in diverse teaching and learning situations and opportunities, and the value of flexibility.

5.4 The Challenges of the Practicum

The most obvious challenge I face here is in religious situations. I am a Muslim so this is a new challenge and experience for me to be in an environment with a majority Catholic population. Even the school I went to was a Catholic school. Of course, we have different worship times, so I have to convey the worship times I have to my Cooperating Teacher first. Even though we have different religions, I can still see tolerance. Because they still really appreciate my worship time. Then the students whose classes I came to often asked me questions regarding the hijab I wore. I am happy to answer it, because of course it will be new knowledge for them. Even from this difference, I had the opportunity to be invited to be a speaker in front of high school students regarding Islam. This is a new experience for me, because this is the first time I have conveyed the religion of Islam in front of people with different religions. I am very happy to share my experience and knowledge with them. I also gained knowledge from what they said.

The next challenge is regarding learning preparation. Especially the use of everyday language and when learning takes place. I only have experience teaching using Indonesian, so this is a new challenge for me to be able to teach students using English. I deal with it by continuing to get used to it and practicing communicating with students. So I can adapt well. Then another lesson preparation challenge is creating a lesson plan in a detailed format. Because I usually use a semi-detail format in Indonesia. However, by creating this detailed format, I can better understand and imagine possible student responses.

5.5 Overall Impression

I am very happy and grateful to be able to take part in this program, there is a lot I can gain through this program. I am very grateful to the coordinator of the SEA Teacher, Cooperating Teacher program and the students from USI Elementary School. After a month of Teaching Demonstration at USI, I felt that USI students were very warm and cheerful. I could even feel this when I entered my first class. They immediately welcomed me with warm hugs and very sweet smiles. They always praise me and hold my hand. Because of this, I am always enthusiastic about going to class every day. They gave me many interesting and unforgettable experiences. Especially for grade 2 and grade 5 students. They always show their expressions in a very unique and funny way. It's not uncommon for me to see students crying because they are hungry. I always get closer to students when faced with this situation, I persuade them carefully until finally the students are happy again and continue learning. In a learning situation, I see something very valuable here. USI always cultivates mental courage in students. This can be seen from their courage to come forward and answer questions even though their answers are wrong. I learned many things from the students here, about courage, not being afraid of making mistakes, and always trying new things to gain knowledge for yourself. Even at the farewell time of each class, they prepared a surprise for me by showing their respective performances. This really amazed and moved me with their preparation and courage.

5.6 Suggestions for Future Improvement

My suggestion for further development is for the duration of the activity. Because I think 30 days is too short a time. So we only have the opportunity for Teaching Demonstration at a few meetings. If the time is extended, perhaps activity participants will gain more experience and benefits. Thank you very much for the opportunity that has been entrusted to me, I hope that with the development of this program more prospective teachers will be well facilitated in developing the potential and abilities that we have.