Week 3: Demo teaching

I suggest looking at my "demo teaching" portion of my site to further look into my lesson plan, teaching strategy and even my presentation. Nevertheless, today is the day that I will teach my students. I woke up 5:00AM and preparing everything that I needed before going to SMAN-10. My heart is beating really fast while I entered our faculty, but my friend Mega and Deda saying, "Semangat" made me feel at ease.

Student's practicum

I have a total of 4 classes to teach. One class in Monday while the other three is on Thursday. The first class that I will attend is the 2nd class that I observed last week, so to fully prepare myself, I bring out my laptop and notebook to start study my material for a last time. An hour before my demo teaching, Dinda and I went to the physics laboratory to bring my solar kits to the classroom. I don't remember the reaction of my students when I entered their room for the 2nd time since I was focused in thinking about my material. I set up the project and waited for the bell to ring before starting my discussion. I followed what is written on my plan, start my session with a greeting, a short introduction, and some classroom policies before asking them a question, "Can you live off without any electricity?" Thankfully, a lot of students answered my question. When I started discussing how our we are now "Electricity dependent society" I was relieve that they laugh about my mobile legends joke. However, when I look at the time I notice that I spent 30 minutes for my discussion proper and motivation, and decided to quickly go forward the practicum part of the plan.

The practicum is divided into 2 segments: inside and outside. The student will test if each component will work using the room light and their phone's flashlight inside the room, then they will go outside to test if the component work under the direct sunlight. Once I give them the go signal, the student started working on their own and only ask me if they need help or any assistance. After 10 minutes, I ask them to form a line outside and go to an open field just outside the Gr. 10 building. There I heard the kit suddenly making loud high pitch noises which I request for them to disconnect the wiring first. When we went outside, I saw the faces of my students being amazed on the kit. A lot of students are asking if the motor fan is working while they were still inside, and I told them to try it out once we went outside. Once their fan started to move when put under the direct sunlight, they started to feel amazed and impressed. I walk around the class to assess and check on their progress. I also started asking some questions about their observation in using solar panels. In the end, my first session was a huge success!

After the discussion, Bu Aul congratulated me for my first demo teaching, and that her only comment is to explain the answers from their worksheet at the end of the session, which I considered on my next class. I was also told that I can shorten the time of their practicum, by cutting the time while they are inside and outside of the room, which I fully agree. I noticed that waiting for 10 minutes is a bit too much and I noticed a lot of student are already finished in the first part. On the other hand, Dinda told me that I was a "great teacher" which really made me teared up in the inside, because it is my first time hearing someone complementing me on how I teach. Hence, I will strive forth to become a better educator, facilitator and teacher!

My class photo in SMAN-10

During my 2nd day of teaching is my grand demo with Bu Aul, Pa Fahrul, Pah Atin and Bu Kiki staying at the back of the room to observe. I was actually very nervous about my 2nd class because this class is graded and evaluated. However, the show must go and I imagine myself teaching a class without any ST's at the back. The class went smoothly as expected, but I noticed that I might not have enough time to complete the session so I need to rush things up. Bu Aul told me that I can exceed beyond 80 minutes because Pa Fahrul told me that he will give some of his time for their break, but I told her that I can't do that because it is the responsibility as a teacher to enter and finish the class on time. Before the session end, I was able to discuss their answer in their worksheet. When I ask if they learn something new and have fun while conducting the activity, all of them shouted "Yes!" After the session, I went to Bu Aul and told her how I felt during the session, and that it might be my worst day yet in my practicum, but she told me to stop looking at the negative and look at the positive. She assured me that my 2nd day is better compared to the last. Even though it lifted my spirits a little bit, I was worried about my comments from my supervisors.

My grand demo photo with my students