5. Summary and Suggestions
1.1 Purposes of Practicum
After all my experiences in the SEATeacher Program I realize and achieved its purposes. The purpose of this program is to expose the 3rd year and 4th year student teacher to a real cultural diverse classroom, for them to have an authentic and concrete experiences. Through this the student teachers will further develop their skills not only in teaching but also in adapting to a new and different work place. The practicum will develop a 21st century teacher with skills and competencies that can match worldwide teacher standard.
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1.2 Procedures of Practicum
We spend one month abroad during the program. Of course there are requirements that we need to meet in order to pass.
We spent three weeks in our respective school assignment. I am assign at SD Negeri 47, the first week I spend there is for orientation and observation on the teachers about how they teach inside the classroom and how they assess students learning. After a week worth of observation and inquiries about the teachers lesson planning and teaching methods it's time for me to assist and teach on the second week of my deployment. We are required to fulfill twenty hours of assisting and teaching in the class.
Through my observation and teaching assistance to my cooperating teacher I was able to learn about the lesson plan structure and the teaching procedures the teacher use in class. When it's time for me to teach in the class I was required to do a lesson with the school's lesson plan format and the confirmation of my ct, I was help by my cooperating teacher about the lesson plan and get tips from her in order to make it more enjoyable for the students.
On the third week, there is a teaching evaluation where, I was evaluated by my cooperating teacher and my mentor. There is also self reflection on the last days of my deployment.
1.3 Outcomes of Practicum
When the practicum is conducted the student teachers skills and competencies as a teacher improved a lot. Being able to teach students with different culture, beliefs and language made the student teachers see and experience the real scenarios in teaching in abroad or new environment. The student teachers are now more confident, can easily adjust and adapt to a new class environment, are now equipped with experiences, teaching method and strategies to teach cultural diverse learners. Most importantly the student teachers are now ready to be a globally competitive teachers.
1.4 The Challenges of Practicum
In any meaningful experience, challenges is always present. First challenge is adjusting and adapting to the learners culture. It was kind of easy for me because I am a very open minded person. The main challenge for me is the language barrier of the students and I. I expect that our mean of communication will be in English but only three or four of my students can speak English so I got nervous thinking how am I going to teach the students Mathematics if only few of them can speak English. Second main challenge is the textbook, the Mathematics book they use is in Bahasa even the terms and how they read the numbers is Bahasa. Facing these challenges I just believe in myself that I can find way to teach them and surprisingly I made it. I study to say the numbers in Bahasa and also made effort to translate the textbook in English so that I can understand it. When teaching in the class, all the PowerPoint slides that I use have a Bahasa subtitle to ensure that all of my students can understand what is it saying. Sometimes I ask one of my students who can speak English to explain the instruction in the slide to her classmates to confirm understanding from them. This way I was able to finish my practicum.
1.5 Overall Impression
Being able to go abroad is a very big opportunity for me, through this program I was able to have an exposure outside the country. I was able to meet new friends and made memories with them. My experiences in my assignment school improved my English, adaptation skill, self confidence and now I am more familiar in Islam religion and their culture. It is with great honor that I have been assign to SD Negeri 47 because it is known as one of the best elementary school in Jambi. I must say that it is really a great school because all of the students are very respectful and disciplined. About the faculty and staff they are very accommodating and kind to me that's make it easier for me to do my responsibilities and requirements. I would like to say my sincerest thank you for all the people behind the program. I feel really grateful and happy that I joined the program because it is definitely one of the best and memorable experience in my life.
1.6 Suggestion for Future Improvement
There is no doubt that SEATeacher Program is a really great program that make student teachers a globally competitive teachers. but we all know that there will be part of it that needs improvement. For instance when I receive a confirmation that I will be participating in the program I expected that I will be able to meet other participants from different countries that is part of the program but when I arrived in our dorm in Jambi I meet four students from different universities in the Philippines and one from Thailand. So all in all there are seven Filipinos and one from Thailand because there are three of us from same university. I expect that I can have the opportunity to share Filipino culture to other participants but how can I do this if we're all Filipino but I am still greatful that I met Em because his a very adorable person. For there is only one foreigner among us I was also worried that he might feel out of place sometimes. To sum it up I hope that the assignments of the participants can be if it is possible from different countries so that there will be a good sharing and learning of different culture because it is a waste to not have this especially we are living in the same dormitory.