Journal

Feb 12, 2015.

Issues
It has been two weeks of my practicum in this school. Honestly, I fail to see any major
problem in my pupils learning. I know that they are in the best class but I couldnt seem to
find any specific problems that they may have regarding English specifically. I have yet to find
out more about their ability in making good sentences which has something to do with their
grammar and writing skill.
Another small issue is time constraint. Most of my periods are in the two last sessions. The
real issue exists when the majority of my pupils are school prefects. They are required to
leave class early to carry out their duty. This made the last remaining of my period has to be
done as quickly as possible or they will miss out on it.
Not to mention, some groups will not have enough members to carry out the activities
planned if some of the group members are prefects.
Analysis
This issue is inevitable. I have to either adapt or come up with contingency plan that can both
benefit the teacher and the pupils without mission out on the lesson. This is fairly important
for everybody so that they can still enjoy the lesson fully while achieving the objectives.
I understand that my pupils also have to follow certain rules therefore it is important for me to
find out how to adjust to the said rules and have my lesson done without rushing it.
Suggestion to overcome the issue
I have come up with some plans to accommodate the harsh schedule. Firstly, I will make
sure that my presentation part and practice part are done in a timely manner. These two
allocations are essential for pupils to understand the lesson. It is also crucial for them to try
and experience the lesson themselves so that they can fully understand the gist of the
lesson.
It also important for them to get sufficient exercises so that they can reinforce their
understanding better. therefore I have to hand out tasks for them to complete at home. This
way I can know for sure if they understood the lesson or partially understood it.

Also I need to adjust my lesson flow to be smoother. This way I can really stress the
important part and cut short the less important part like set induction. I shouldnt have spent
more time on introduction alone as it only plays a small role.
I should let the pupils do more activity on their own. I believe that they can be more
independent and only ask for guidance from teacher when needed.
I need to focus on groups tasks too so most of the activity can be done faster. Doing this
could save a hefty chunk of time instead of asking pupils to do individual work.

Time period
I have to make this as an ongoing process. This is essential for the development of the
lesson. I need to focus more on the initial part where the pupils grasp the concept of the
lesson. This has to be done quite repetitively just in case they didnt understand it during the
first time.
On weekly basis, I plan to monitor the overall progress of my pupils. This will be based on
group activity. I try to incorporate group activity as much as I can because I know that they
work well in group. Tasks also can be done a lot faster and everybody can have fun while
learning.
Follow up action
I have decided to come up with a progress chart of my pupils. They will be assessed based
on several criteria. This chart also acts as a disciplinary chart where it keeps tracks of pupils
behavior and grades as well as group assignment. I can see that it would be a fun thing to do
and they will work harder to get good grades and behave in class without being told.
This is also my first experiment and I have good feelings about it. I know that my pupils are
competitive so they will have healthy competitions among their friends to achieve the best
result.
Fundamentally, I will be able to reward them for they effort that they put to achieve certain
result. This can be a good motivation for them to learn and it will help them to be more
discipline in the long run.