5th Reflection

5^th Reflection:

            We played 4 games last Tuesday and I enjoyed myself very much. I am sure everyone felt like kids again. Although the games may look simple and they can be played by the pupils from the lower primary, I feel that these games may also be played by the pupils from the upper primary. For instance, ‘Salute’ can be played by the pupils from the lower primary with addition and subtraction. Then, it can be proceeded to be played by the pupils from the upper primary with multiplication and division. However, the level of difficulty of the game played in the different level depends on whether the pupils are able to accomplish them. Teachers must know the abilities of their pupils whenever they design any Mathematical games to be played during the lessons. Otherwise, the games will make the pupils lose interest in the subject and make them not want to learn it at all. As teachers, it is important to realise that what we teach daily is not as important as how we teach every day. Once we are able to capture the attention of our pupils, they will want to know more about the subject or the topics learnt and will continue to learn no matter how difficult the process may be. Gradually, they will enjoy learning and will continue to learn even as they grow older. This is especially important to our nation as we need our citizens to continue to upgrade themselves so that they can contribute to the society consistently, for its progress. Thank you Dr Yeap for making me realise this point again through the lesson!         

4th Reflection

We met last Tuesday after school for our final discussion. We read through one another’s slides and commented on what else could be improved on the slides. We also shared our ideas on how we want to present our findings. When I saw the final product of our project, I was very impressed with what we had done. A very big thank you to our IT expert, Kong, for helping us to put up such professional slides! I am really glad to be part of this group and I look forward to working with my teammates in the future. Through these meetings and discussions, not only have I learnt more about the different current initiatives of MOE, I also got to know more about my teammates. I believe that the bond we share will continue even after we have graduated three years later. Therefore,   I feel that we must teach our students the skills of cooperation, for instance, through project work. Not only does it help them to establish stronger rapport, they will learn about one another’s strengths as well as how to show their potential to the fullest too. Moreover, they will also learn how to accommodate one another. Thus, this will enable the students to learn how to preserve racial and religious harmony in our society in the future.

3rd Reflection

Despite our tight schedule, my group members and I managed to correspond through emails and sms before we met again on 30 September. We discussed about what we had found out, where else we could find more articles to read as well as what we should put in the slides that we are going to present.

We were excited when our IT expert, Kong, had set up a platform, Wetpaint, for us to upload the work that we had done. Through this platform, we were able to read and understand more about the other initiatives of MOE, especially the ones that are related to Mathematics. This is the beauty of cooperative learning! Otherwise, the amount of reading would be tremendous. We were able to exchange our views and helped one another to edit our work too. This really shows that the advancement of technology is great. Without it, our work will definitely take a longer period of time to complete. Perhaps, I will also try to explore it further to see what I can do for my pupils in Mathematics in the future.

Through reading the initiatives, I began to have a deeper understanding of the initiatives. In a nutshell, they were formed to enable the students to enjoy learning. Thus, teachers must try their best to teach differently in class so that the students are totally engaged during the lessons. Teachers must instil the joy of learning in their students. Gradually, they will begin to learn for themselves and not for others. This is definitely the ultimate goal of all teachers.

Reflection after the first group meeting

Before my group members and I met, I began to search high and low for information regarding the initiatives of MOE for the assignment. The types of information that can be obtained from the internet are unbelievable. It was overwhelming! Any information needed is just a ‘click’ away.

As for the meeting, besides listing down all the initiatives of MOE and discussing which initiatives are appropriate for the assignment, we also shared on how we could obtain the information. Then we began to allocate our work accordingly. We would be using the ‘jigsaw’ and ‘think and share’ methods to help one another to learn about the initiatives. One of our group members, an IT expert, suggested that we can exchange our information through a platform that he is going to create. He would give us more details when we meet again.  

As I was reading, I began to reflect why I have chosen teaching as my career. Is teaching all about imparting knowledge only? Yes, but to me, it is also about how we as teachers can help our pupils to realise that learning does not end once they leave schools. It is, in fact, a lifelong process. Learning is a ‘two-way traffic’, from a teacher to the pupils and vice versa, too. Participation for all is vital. Thus, teachers must become more creative and use different types of strategies to teach in the classrooms. Then, our pupils will enjoy learning in schools and eventually, become lifelong learners.  

First Reflection of Mathematics Lesson

Hi All,


I’m back to school again. I attended the 1st lesson on Mathematics on 7 September at NIE.

During this lesson, we used tangrams to create squares. We used 3 to 7 pieces of them to create the squares. As we were doing the activity, our lecturer, Dr Yeap, encouraged us to take down notes and draw pictures of the squares we had created using the tangrams. He also encouraged us to share our findings as well as challenged us to be more creative in the making of squares. Then, Dr Yeap proceeded to make us recall the current initiatives in Primary Mathematics curriculum through his questions.
Takeaways:
1) Name cards –
Besides writing our names on the front of the card, we were asked to write down the date and our signature at the back of our cards. This is a creative idea as it not only enables the lecturer to keep track of the students’ attendance, it also makes them to be responsible for their own actions. This is because if a student misses a lesson, he will know exactly which one he has missed out and will try to find out what has been taught for that particular lesson.

2) Hands-on Activities (Tangrams) –
When the students have hands-on activity at the beginning of a Mathematics lesson, it creates a non-threatening atmosphere for learning as well as stimulates one’s interest in the subject or topic. During the making of squares, the students were encouraged to share what they had created. This enabled the weaker students to learn from their peers without feeling that they were incompetent. As for the students who were good and fast in creating the squares, they were encouraged to be more creative by challenging them to use more pieces of the tangrams in their creation. The students were also encouraged to take down notes of the activities conducted. This would help them to remember what had been taught and what they had learnt from the activities. Moreover, when the lecturer asked questions, the students could refer to the notes quickly and answer the questions appropriately.

3) Questioning Techniques –
Throughout the lesson, Dr Yeap’s tone and questioning techniques put everyone at ease. For example, he encouraged the students to share their thoughts with their peers, so that the weaker students could still follow what had been taught. As for the high ability students, he challenged them to be more creative in their work by telling them to continue to create squares with more pieces of the tangrams. Thus, it encouraged lots of participation from the students. Moreover, during the hands-on session, Dr Yeap’s questions led the students to think through what they were doing. For instance, he did not tell the students that he was teaching the topic on ‘Area’ with the use of tangrams. Instead, he asked leading questions, in a step-by-step manner, to help the students realised that they were actually learning about areas of squares.

Therefore, through this lesson, not only have I learnt about the current initiatives in Primary Mathematics curriculum, I have also learnt how to conduct better Mathematics lessons in class.

Thus, although the road ahead is going to be rough, I still feel that it is good to be a student again!