ANALYSIS

REFLECTION

OBSERVATION

The school that we are assigned to do class observation at is Abellana National High School. It is one of the big schools in Cebu, and what fascinates me is that they offer Nihongo classes, which are not common in most of the public schools. However, the infrastructure is very old already, and the classrooms are not in good condition. It has missing windows, some of the chairs are already damaged, and there is no good air ventilation. Also, in the third classroom that we observed, the chairs were tied by their adviser because the students didn’t know how to arrange them properly.

During our observation, I immediately noticed that the students didn’t know how to properly respect the teacher. Some of the students considered their teacher an ordinary person by not paying attention, even though they noticed that the teacher was already inside the classroom. They also don’t listen to what the teacher is saying unless the teacher raises her voice to fully get the attention of the students. On our first day, we are also tasked with administering the diagnostic test, and I can observe that there are some students who are not aware of the purpose of the test, as they keep on asking me about it. On the second day of observation, we are tasked again with administering the activity prepared by the teacher. Students are tasked with creating a fault model using sand as the main material. Upon doing the activity, the students are very noisy, but what makes me happy is seeing the students enjoy doing the activity. However, in the second class I feel disappointed because they didn’t prepare the materials, even though they were given to them ahead of time. What the teacher did was give them modules to answer as an alternative that day. For the following days, our observation routine is still the same, which is to watch the students during classes and observe how the teacher handles her class.

Overall, I can say that in today’s generation, students don’t give enough respect to their teachers. They are very loud, and some of the time the teacher cannot control the students anymore. The decision by DepEd to include the GMRC again in the curriculum is a big step that can help change how students behave in the classroom. This observation gives me a glimpse of the road that I am taking.

ANALYSIS

In this observation, I observed the importance of possessing patience when you’re in the field of education. Our instructor really has a lot of patience as she faces diverse students every day, which is quite challenging. I like how the teacher really shows how she values the education of the students by giving them attention. There are a lot of students in her class that failed to reach the grade she acquired. She takes serious action to address this by talking to the students individually and by giving them activities and alternatives to catch up. She makes sure that her students are aware of their own progress, which is good when one of your goals as a teacher is to see all of your students succeed in your class.

As the teacher faces students who belong to the 21st century, she uses materials that fit the evolving world, and this is done by integrating technology into her class. She acknowledges the advancement of teaching materials that can be a great help in the students learning. But as I observed, there is really a big difference between us in our high school days compared to the students that we observed today.

REFLECTION

Teaching is not an easy job and teachers is one of the respected profession. Teaching is not just simply sharing knowledge but it is also sparking curiosity and molding the minds of the young students. As a teacher you provide guidance, support, and integrate lessons to the students that will leave a lasting impact to the lives of the students. As I reflect with my own journey on those four days of observation, it sparks me with different questions, “Am I really taking the right path?”, “Can I really give justice to this profession?”, and “Can I handle students with different backgrounds effectively?”, again it reminded me that the role of a teacher comes with a great responsibility. As they always say, teacher can either break or make the students and by seeing the attitude of those students it scares me that there is a fifty-fifty possibility that I can make or break the students. My observation journey in Abellana is an eye opener to me to assess my choices again. If I choose to continue with this path I should make sure that I am fully equipped with qualities of a good teacher and I am doing it because I really wanted to. I don’t want my students to suffer with my choices. But if upon reflection I will decide to choose another path I can say that is for the betterment of all. Teachers are the one who makes another profession therefore my choices should not affect the future of the students. If I am not really for teaching then maybe there is another door waiting for me. What I always say to my self is that “ I CAN DO MORE AND I CAN BE MORE” if teaching is not really my forte then I will leave it behind and find what my heart and skills are for.

The school seemingly has a huge student population. School buildings are looking old yet sturdy. Feels somewhat nostalgic entering a high school classroom once again but this time as a college student. The teacher we've been with handles 3 classes for the subject science in 8th grade. The first time we joined their class to observe, they were amazed and they find it exhilarating that there college students to be with them for the next few weeks. The initial day of our observation was all about being attentive and observant to the classroom engagement.

As what I've expected from 8th grade students, they were kind of a bit rowdy. The teacher is equipped with a mini microphone to aid in adding volume to her speaking voice. Despite this, not many are listening and I've observed that female students tend to be the ones who listen to the teacher while the male students kept ignoring the teacher's instruction and warnings. When the teacher starts with her discussion, many of the students are talking and competing with the teacher. Some are laughing and others dozed off mid class.

The teacher is doing her utmost best to provide a meaning and substantial learning experience to her students in their constant meeting. I have witnessed various teaching strategies and thinking tools that were utilized to create an inclusive and meaningful discussion.

EXPERIENCE

Our group has experienced what it feels like to be a teacher for quite some time. We got to hold the class some discussions and executed a pre-assessment for them. Our group got to experience what it feels like to listen to young learners their insights and learnings of a topic that might seem unfamiliar to them yet but for us college students, we've mastered already. We were also tested out how we deal with a chaotic class and tried various teaching strategies and have exerted effort in maintaining discipline and integrity while the students are taking quizzes. It was a fun and memorable experience.

ANALYSIS

The teacher and her students have quite the relationship. Although not apparently shown, the teacher is concerned with the well being of her students both in academics and their personal endeavors. The teacher shows empathy to students as she is always in calm demeanor towards her students and is very patient in teaching them.

REFLECTION

The life and career as a teacher is an exhausting one. As observers, this provided us an insight on the path we are about to take. It takes a toll everyday for teachers both mentally and physically. Even outside of the student instruction lies other technicalities such as giving assessments and evaluations. Let's not forget the built up of connections with students as they embark on a journey with the students and share the same sentiments in all walks of life and be understanding towards them. There are so many things to consider and to end this, I'll leave you a message. Life never stops teaching us, for everyday we learn something new and we carry it all throughout our life's journey, might as well be happy and surround ourselves with the people whom we love.

Our field observation was in Abellana National High School. It is a public school that has a lot of students and offers different specialization. Our group was assigned to observe Science class and handled by a Science teacher. We follow her lead to three different classes and observe how they interact and behave inside the classroom. We observe four hours every Friday and Monday of the week until we finished the required time. For 15 hours of observing, we discover a lot of things and learnings.

The first four hours gave us a lot of realization and reflection. As we got inside the classroom of our first class, I remember my high school days as well as think my career in the future. As our mentor got inside, the students seems unbothered, they continued their works until the teacher call their attention. The class formally started with a prayer and the teacher introduce us to the students. After the preliminaries, the teacher conduct a pre-test for the second quarter. It was a 50 items test and let our group administer the it. We watch the students answer and made sure that they answer it honestly and silently. Truly, the students answer the test silently but got noisy during the checking of paper. The first class ended with so much discoveries. The routine of the second and third section is the same to the first one. However, I can spot the differences of the attitudes and behaviors of the students.

The second four hours of our observation leveled up. Our mentor let us administer the activity. The activity is an experiment called "The Faulty Set Up" where we give clear instructions to the students for them to execute the said activity. Upon giving instruction, some students did not listen and some were talking. We, the student observers collaborate and spread ourselves inside the classroom to cater the student's and made them listen to the instruction. Luckily, with the complete materials brought by the students and the guidance of the teacher and our group, the activity was accomplished. After the activity, the students answer some questions provided by the teacher and pass it after they finish answering. Our mentor's plan is to have the same activity for the three section, however, the second section did not bring their materials which made the teacher have a small discussion and an assessment. The teacher gave a module to the students and let them read and answer the assessment. Our group did not just observe them but we administer and cater their questions related to the activity. The last section of the day bring their materials for the activity. Before doing the activity and the class proper it was started with a prayer and some preliminaries. After that the teacher asked them to arrange their chairs and pass their assignments afterwards. The same as the first class, we gave instructions and guide them to accomplish the tasks. The day ended with so many learnings, motivation, as well as realization whether to pursue teaching profession or not.

The third four hours observation is a chill one. The teacher just present a video presentation to the three classes. Our group just observe them at the back. During the presentation, I can see different behaviors of the students. Also I can see how the teachers handled her class. The video presentation was presented through a television and some students pay attention to it. Some were sleeping and some were participating. After the discussion, the students answer the assessment provided and flashed in the television. The rest of the section had the same activity. The last section was administered and handled by one of our group. He elaborate what was flashed on the screen for the students to understand it clearly. Not all the students participate but we encourage them to do so.

The last hours of our field observation is challenging. Our mentor let us feel what real teachers do. She let us checked the assessments of the students and let us helped her administered the oral recitation of the students. Andrey and I helped the teacher while Jason and Trexzel continued checking the assessments. The three sections have the same activity which is oral recitation about "Earthquakes and Faults" using their own model. Before the activity started, the teacher gave instruction to the students on what to do. After that she called names and ask them to go in front for the activity. We ask question and let them execute the different movement of earthquake using their model. The day ended with compliments and thank yous since it is our last day.

ANALYSIS

Through the observation, I observe a diverse characteristics of students. From the three sections, I can say who are well-behaved, creative, and who performed better. I can also say how a teacher should deal and handle the students. From classroom management, I can spot the differences of the three section. Some classrooms are messy and don't have trash bins. Some students wearing foot mops and other did not.

Inside the classroom as well as around the campus, I observed the diversity of students. From the three sections, I can conclude that there is really diversity. Each students have different ways of learning styles and that is should be considered by the teachers. Other sections are creative, others offer bare minimum, and others produced products of "basta mahuman" or "basta nakapass". Throughout the observation, I discover a lot of activities to be used in the future. Diagnostic, Formative, Summative, and Performance tasks were offered. The teacher integrate technology in the teaching and learning process. Speaker and a lapel were also used since the classroom is surrounded by noise.

Like other classrooms, preliminaries are applied. The common preliminaries made the classroom meaningful and joyful to start. Sometimes the teacher has lack of power, because students seems to be unaffected and unbothered by her presence. There are time that the teacher cleans the classroom while the students are sitting. It made us compare the situation during our high school days. Upon seeing how the teacher difficulty handle them, we reminisce how afraid we are when one of our classmates shout "hala padung na si maam. e arrange inyong chairs". It seems that today, the teachers are afraid to confront and discipline the students.

REFLECTION

They say, teaching is a noble profession. Teacher mold future generations and serve as mentors and role models to the students. I agree with this, teachers did not just teach. Aside from teaching academic learning, teachers stand as a good influencer and a guider. From our 15 hours observation, I had so many realization and reflection. Our question, "magmaestra pata ani?" captures the spirit of teaching profession. That question looks like we fear to become an educator upon seeing the stress and challenges that the teachers face inside the classroom facing and catering a diverse learners. From that question, I motivated myself and translated it to ''ing ani diay buhaton sa mestra?". That question explores the many faces or angles of teaching, including not only transferring of knowledge but also mental development, character development, and an unwavering commitment to mentoring and motivating the next generation.

With the strategies and observation we did from out mentor, I realized that teaching is really hard. We must be very flexible enough and gain a lot of patience as well as be passionate to survive the profession. We get to interact with a variety of students, or perhaps better described as diverse learners. They differ in abilities, attitudes, behaviors, and learning styles because they are diverse. To make sure that no one is left behind, we must develop methods and strategies that work for everyone. In order to become a successful teacher, one should encourage a supportive classroom atmosphere that values responsibility, pragmatism, and equity.

For classroom assessment, we teachers should implement activities and assessment that is applicable and clear to the students. Each of us has different strategies on how to handle our students, however, we must be considerate to out students and listen their suggestions. From our observation, I can say that the teacher is lack of consideration. There are times that she just let the students read by themselves and afterwards let them answer and assessments. Ending is the students got low scores. With this it comes to my mind that I would be an effective teacher in the future. I should consider learning from my students not just students learning from me. Classroom is where a transaction of learning, and where teachers and students learn from each other.

As a teacher, we must hold authority not to point that the student is scared of you but respects you. To be respected, teachers must posses good characteristics, must disciple students in a good way. Lets create a positive and supportive learning environment where students and teachers produced a high quality of education and that students are prepared and sees the realities in the society. From the question "magmaestra pata ani?", I would gladly answer "YES, magmaestra ko".I would be an effective teacher and I will mold future generations. I would be happy to know in the future when my students get back at me and says, "Ma'am, Thank you so much. Because of your advices, I am now a Professional". So PADAYON MAGTUTUDLO.!!!