Making an Effective Teaching "VIDEO"

Posted by Nur Amalina

                “No way!” I said that when the first time I heard that the video teaching assistant for PETA assignment had to submit on Friday, 3rd December 2010. I couldn’t believe it at that time. One week for one video, sounds impossible. However, nothing is impossible. I proofed it already. Arlin, Umi, and I did a very good job.
                On Friday, a week before the video has to submit, Umi and I make a timeline. We decided to start to make the video on Monday. Unfortunately, I got sick and cannot go to campus. Eventually, we started making the video on Tuesday; means there are only 3 day to finish the video.
                I learned many things from the video (mine and others’ video). I saw what effective teaching means. Teacher has to be enthusiastic is one of many ways to make an effective teaching. It appeared in almost all the video. I do really agree about it. Totalities are needed as a teacher. Other things that I learned from making the video are I have to think the detail and read the viewers’ mind.
                Thinking about the detail means that sounds and effect is affected to the video. Zoom in or zoom out is needed to emphasize something. Read the viewers’ mind means that I have to think whether or not they get the message from the video. Do they get different message from it? Is the video clear enough? Those are questions that I have to think about it. Go to the link bellow to see my video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8K_lJfBtHk
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The Use of Technology in Learning Process

Posted by Nur Amalina


Entering the classroom with the teacher point of view was very interesting. I got this experience in SMAN ** Jakarta, the school where I had been placed to be a teacher assistant. My master teacher is Ma’am ***. She has been teaching English for 26 years. Observing how she taught students in classroom is my obligation. Unfortunately, I cannot do that because the master teacher not allowed us to see her when she taught the student. However, I interviewed one of her students to get the information about the technology that she use while teaching in classroom. The result of the interview was shocking me.
            The student that I interview is a grade 10 student. He has been taught by the master teacher approximately for five month. He said that the master teacher never use any kind of digital technology, even OHP Projector that available in every classroom. Then, I asked the student about the way the master teacher teaches in classroom. He told me that the master teacher only read the textbook and after that the students should do the exercise still in the textbook. He added that the class became very boring and made him lazy to study English.
            I think the way she used for teaching the student was not effective. She has to consider that the students she taught are digital native students. They use to deal with technology and live with it. If the teacher only uses conventional method, students will get bored. They will do something else out of the lesson which is more interesting, instead of listen to the teacher about the material that already printed in textbook.
There, I found some digital technologies that are used for teaching and learning, such as portable digital projector, computer with internet connection, school’s off-air radio and OHP. If I were the teacher there, I will use those digital technologies effectively. First, I will use the computer and the digital projector to present my material with power point. Student should also do this activity. They can search the material by the internet and present it using power point. As the result, this activity will improve the students’ skill in using technology.
Second, I will use the internet connection to find the additional material and some exercises for the students. I will also find some free download games that related to the topic to be downloaded. With these additional materials, exercises, and games, the teaching learning process will have more variation that encourages students to be more creative.
Third, I will propose to make e-learning every Friday by using the school’s off-air radio to the Principle. Then, I will make Friday as an English day. Every English day, students have to use English in speaking with the teacher and other student. Therefore, I believe learning process will be more enjoyable for the students.
Picture: indiacurrentaffairs.org
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12 Brown’s Principles

Posted by Nur Amalina
Has been teaching for more than 25 years is not guaranty that you will be a perfect teacher. Perfect here means teacher who masters and apply all the Brown’s principle while teaching. I had been observing the Brown’s twelve principles that were used by the master teacher in teaching type of text at SMAN 12 Jakarta for two weeks. There are three English teachers, one teacher for one grade. Each grade consists of eight classes and 40 students in every class.
The master teacher that I had been observing named ***. She comes from Semarang. She has been teaching English for 26 years for three different schools with 14 years teaching in SMAN 12 Jakarta. She teaches for tenth grade students there. Actually, I cannot enter the class when the teacher taught the student. It was because the teacher didn’t allow us to do that. The observation results that I get are from interviewing the student, some small talks with the master teacher and the way she assisted the student when I taught the class. Here are several results about 12 Brown’s Principles that I found from the observation.

First, the master teacher uses the principle of self-confident. In the second day, she was not really health when I observed her. She coughed approximately every five minutes. I taught recount text without any preparation to replace her, then. She accompanied me when I taught the material to the class. Sometimes, she helped me to repeat the instruction that I gave to the student. She walked around the class to check the students’ work, one by one. One of the students asked whether his answers were correct or not. He also said that he could not do it. She answered, “Once you enter this school, means you are a smart student. Just believe in yourself, because I believe that you can do it.” The student just kept silent and looked his work. “Come on, you has already done a good job.” said the teacher. After hearing what the teacher said, he continued doing the task.
            From that conversation, the teacher tried to encourage the student to do his task by saying that he is a smart student. She purposed to build self confident in her students mind. She wanted to let him know that he can do the task well. According to Brown’s principles, the teacher was using the principle of self-confidence. Building self confident in students’ mind will make them succeed in doing their task. It is because the belief that students can complete the task very well appears and pushes them to do the task better than before.

Second, principle of automaticity and meaningful learning didn’t appear. Automaticity based on Brown’ principles mean that Efficient 2nd language learning involves a timely movement of the control of a few language forms into the automatic processing of a relatively unlimited number of language forms. In other words, students are learning language automatically, whether it L1 or L2. Students do not need to learn about process or procedure in learning language because they can learn it by them self, like children who learn L1 naturally. In this school, I cannot find children’s automaticity. It is because the teacher’s too strict about the use of grammar and tenses. She also wants the students use them in writing and speaking.
First day at school, the teacher told me about the condition of the student there. She said that students are not using the right tenses in writing and speaking. Then, she taught them about tenses almost every meeting. In the class, when I had to replace her, she proved what she said.
            I taught the same lesson. The difference from the previous lesson is that the students were asked to read their recount text in front of the class without brought any note. Some students had not finished the recount text yet. However, there was no additional time to finish their work. The teacher asked the students, who have not finished the tasked yet, to improve their recount text in front of the class.

            Students presented their recount text one by one. In the middle of their speaking, the teacher interrupted them because they were using wrong tenses when they spoke, so the teacher wanted to fix the problem. The most important thing of that speaking assessment is all of the students tried to be brave to speak in front of the class. Unfortunately, what the teacher did make their voice lower and said more fillers like “emm..”.
            After, the class, I asked the teacher about the reasons why she did that. Then, she answered that she wanted the student to understand and not doing the same mistakes. However she just reduced the students’ automaticity (example, said many fillers) and increased the students’ anxiety (example’ lower voice). In Krashen’s theory of affective filter state that if the students get higher anxiety means they will get higher affective filter. Affective filter proposed that when the mental blocked, everything that the teacher taught will not accepted in the students’ memory. So, whatever the teacher said, it was useless.
            Even worse, the teacher did what she had not to do to get the meaningful learning. Brown’s principle of meaningful learning states that teacher don’t have to explain many grammar or tenses. What the teacher has to do is making the learning interesting, so that student will remember the material that the teacher gave. Moreover, she did unclear activities. For example, teacher asked the student to make a question and the answer from the narrative text that they made. When I asked the teacher about the purpose of the task, she just answered “To make the student understand how to make a question,” nothing else. Then, after the students understand how to make the question, what will the teacher do? The teacher also did not give feedback to the student. How the students know which part they have to fix?
            After two weeks observed the master teacher, I learn many things. Meaningful learning and automaticity are needed as a teacher. Student can get more understanding about the lesson with those kinds of principles. However, I believe that every principle cannot stands alone. It will work best if it is combining with other principle. Automaticity and meaningful learning that the teacher tries to build will useless if there is no self-confident. 


picture: 
billboardmama.com
teachacademyoftechnologies.com
olcourseblog.tru.ca

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Principle of Classroom Assessment and Evaluation

Posted by Nur Amalina
                Making effective assessment in language learning for students is very important, because it will determine the students’ ability in using the language itself. Teachers have to consider the principle to make effective assessment before making it. Here are 4 principles of classroom assessment and evaluation.
                First, assessment has to be suitable with the purposes that have been planned. According to Broadfoot (1987), there are three main purposes in giving assessment, such as to give feedback and to motivate learners, to prove quality of learner’s competence, and to show the validity of school’s achievement. Moreover, the teachers also have to make the assessment relate to what knowledge that students have and what knowledge students need to have, so that the assessment will have good effect to the students.
                Second, assessment task has clear statement about what ability that is assessed and obviously connects to the learning outcomes. In giving assessment in classroom, the first thing that teacher has to do is describing the assessment itself in statement. The description is about the ability that wants to be assessed. Teacher has to identify the components of the ability, called construct. Then, describe the task that will be used in assessing the students. The important thing in giving the assessment in classroom is connecting it to the course. The assessment must relate to what students have learnt in classroom. Moreover, teacher has to create task that students can demonstrate the ability to find out in case the students achieve the outcomes.
                Third, involve learner in assessment. This principle means that students should know everything about the assessment that is given from the teacher. Why they have to be assessed, what the result means, and what the result for, are have to be told by the teacher. Teacher also must explain about how to do the assessment task clearly. Moreover, it is important to the teacher to give detail about the criteria that want to be used in assessing the students’ performance. Feedback, if the purpose of the assessment is to give feedback, is has to be given in form so that the student can understand easily.
                Forth, use a variety of assessment methods. According to Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences, intelligence is not just a single intellectual. That is why, use variety of methods in giving assessment is very important. This principle is considered by the researcher in recent years because students hate test. After this principle applies, teacher knows the ability of the students in different context.
                Therefore, by using those principles, the classroom assessment and evaluation will be more effective. The student can do the assessment task easily because the teacher gives all the information about the assessment, such as the instruction and the criteria. Moreover, the assessment is related to the learning outcomes and covers the ability that students have, so they will easier in doing the task. 
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Teaching Method

Posted by Nur Amalina
             Once Bu Gum asked me, what language teaching method I good at, what in my mind was Total Physical Response. It’s not only because I am a dancer, but it’s more because I am a kinesthetic person. I can more understand about the lesson the teacher teach using total physical response. So do when I teach students, I can be better in delivering the lesson using total physical response. There are several reasons why I can teach better using this method.
            First, I can explore more with my body movement while teaching. As a dancer, express something with dance or body movement is usual. That is why it is easier for me to teach using total physical response than other method. Second, I am not really good at speaking. Pak Pri has told me that our brain is like a storage which saves our stock of word in the right position. I believe with that, but when I have to speak something in front of the class, the word that comes out my mouth is not good. I think it is because I rarely speaking in English, so when I have to speak in English I lack of confident. On the other hand, when I have to do something with body movement in front of the class with a thousand people or even more, I feel free and confident. It happens because I love to do that. That is why total physical response is the method I good at.
From those two reasons, I conclude that teaching method that I good at is Total Physical response. Still, I will learn and integrate all the teaching method to improve my teaching ability.
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The Most Suitable Method

Posted by Nur Amalina
The best method for Indonesian students is total physical response. In my opinion, this method can make the lesson more interesting. As I feel as an Indonesian student, almost all the text book and the way the teacher teach is only listen, drill and practice. With using total physical response, the class’s atmosphere would be changed. The reason why is that this method use the physical response of the students so that it makes the students have less time to get bored and feel sleepy. The other reason, when using this method, learning will fun and reduce the stressfulness. Moreover, if the students’ stressfulness is reduced, the lesson that the teacher gives could be easier to understand by the student. Students will mastered what they learn not only by remembering what is written in text book or what the teacher said, but also with their understanding about the movement that they did in classroom.
            Those are the reasons why I think this method are the most suitable method for Indonesian context. However, this method seems like more effective for kinesthetic students because it uses physical movement. For the others multiple intelligences, this method is working but not as effective as in kinesthetic students. To maintain classroom, teacher needs to do effective teaching by learning all the methods and apply them in the right situation. Still, the use of total physical response gives more advantages than its disadvantages.

Category: 3 comments

Effective Teaching

Posted by Nur Amalina
In some ways that Pak Iwan used to teach effective teaching last Friday in classroom is effective, but some other ways are not effective. For example, when we were watching a video about effective teaching, actually I felt sleepy and not focus in watching it even it’s a good video. This situation also appears in other subject when I have to watch a video or only listening to the teacher. Maybe it’s my big problem. I cannot only sit, listen, and watch something without doing anything physically. I have to move and doing activities while learning. I think it would be good if we watch video and in the same time, we do some activities. I think there is a way to solve this problem.
However, there are also effective ways that Pak Iwan used while teaching last Friday. For instance, group activity. With this way I didn’t feel sleepy anymore. It is because I interacted with other students and I did some activities, such as read and discussed. I also love a moment when Pak Iwan shared his experience. I love that moment because sometimes the experiences that people said have some similarities with my experience, so I can get benefit of it by imitate the things they do to solve the problem. In that time, Pak Iwan gave me a lot of information for being a teacher. Other effective way that is used is relate the material in a real situation. The text that Pak Iwan gave and the way he moderate the discussion is very effective, I think. He gave opportunities for all students to speak about what they understand from the text.
Overall, I can understand the material that Pak Iwan taught. For additional, I like the way he deliver the material. His gesture and the way he speak is very natural but still in good organization. What I understand about effective teaching is not only the method that the teachers use but also the way he/she deliver the material.
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My Strongest Type of Intelligence

Posted by Nur Amalina
At first, I thought that the strongest type of intelligences that I have is kinesthetic intelligence. I thought that way, because I used to dance since I was in kindergarten and I love dancing so much until now. However, after I use self-diagnostic for identifying multiple intelligences that Pak Iwan gave, I found that my strongest type of intelligence is interpersonal intelligence. I was made confuse by the result, I counted it again but the score is still the same. Then, I realize the reasons why interpersonal intelligence is the strongest intelligence that I have.

First, I am the president of traditional dance club in SSE, Tatra Abhirama. Works together with other member to manage the club is an ordinary and obligatory thing for me. I have to give directions to my secretary to make some proposals, I must monitor the club’s inventories from club’s member, and so on. Second, I usually have group assignment. That’s make my creative ideas usually appear if other people push my creative thinking ability. For example, when doing a class project or other project that do in a group my idea will come to complete someone’s idea. That means, my ideas have to be hooked first with other group member’s ideas. The last but not least, I often dance in a group and dancing in a group is need good coordination. While I am dancing in team I must equalize my power with other dancer, and its need good interpersonal intelligence.

From that reasons, I conclude that almost every activity that I do are need interpersonal intelligence. I think nothing wrong with it anymore. I will also build my intrapersonal intelligence, because I remember that intrapersonal intelligence is also important for teacher.
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CULTURE: THE INCREDIBLE ATTRACTION OF JAVANESE WEDDING CEREMONY

Posted by Nur Amalina


In this modern age, many people think that the more modern things we have are the better we get. In my opinion, it’s completely wrong. Do you know why? Indonesia has many kinds of beautiful traditional cultures,  especially the traditional wedding ceremony. Every province in Indonesia has their own wedding ceremony and the most beautiful wedding ceremony is Javanese wedding ceremony. The incredible attractions of Javanese wedding ceremony can be seen from four processes inside it.

The first process is siraman. The bride has to do siraman in her house a day before her wedding. Siraman means to clean her body and soul before ijab qabul. The water that is used in siraman comes from seven sources and be added by seven kinds of flower. The process begins when her parents, start from her mother, pour that water over her head. The process is done, if all of her close relatives, who are married, have already poured over her head. In the end of the process, the bride has to break a kendi (earthenware flask with a neck) for showing that the process is already done.

The second process is balang suruh. The bride and the bride groom have to do balang suruh which is held after ijab qabul. Balang suruh is a process when they throw sirih leaf that has been rolled before, to each other. They throw sirih leaf in the same time. This process means that they love each other and willing to be loyal to each other. It symbolizes their goal in having a lovely and harmonious marriage and live happily ever after.

The last and the most important processes in this ceremony are wiji dadi and sinduran. Wiji dadi is a process of several ceremonies that newly wedded couple has to undergo, such as: first, the bride groom has to step on an egg until it breaks down. Second, the bride has to wash the bride groom’s foot with water that has been added by seven kinds of flower. The stuff that is used to take the water is a piece of coconut shell. Wiji dadi means the bride groom will become a responsible and be a good father when the have children. Another process is sinduran that every newly wedded couple also has to undergo, such as: first, the bride and the bride groom stand in front of the bride groom’s parents. Second, the bride groom’s parent will cover a cloth on bride and bride groom’s shoulders. The cloth which is used in this process is sindur cloth. That is the reason why this process named sinduran. The meaning of sinduran process is the bride groom’s family accepts the bride as the new member of their family. In the end of this process is the spoon feed each other which mean they will live together in happiness and sadness.

Javanese wedding ceremony has incredible attractions in each process inside it, especially four processes that mention above. Even though those processes sound very complicated and so many stuffs we need to do it, but every process in this ceremony is very meaningful and useful in our live. In each process symbolize the bride and the bride groom’s expectation like having a lovely and harmonious family, have a loyal husband and wife, live together in happiness and sadness, and so on. Therefore, the incredible attraction of Javanese wedding ceremony can be seen from the meaning of each process which can influence our live better than before. In my opinion, we should not think the complication, but think about what we will get from them. Those processes will fascinate you, if you know the meaning.
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"Lebay" Teacher

Posted by Nur Amalina
            “Lebay is my life. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. I never force anyone to love my style or even do like I do, because every person has different style”.  Those were words that ever came from my teacher’s mouth when one of the students asked why she taught the students in Lebay style. She was my ESP (English for Special Purpose) teacher in SMA. She was 29 years old (when I was in 3rd grade in senior high school) and a mother of four children. She had ever lived in Malaysia for long time. That’s why she has Malaysian English accent. The most important information about her is she is my inspiration teacher.
            The reason why I want to be an English teacher is because I believe that I can be like her, teach the students totally. I love the way she taught the students in my class, especially when she taught about drama. She changed her self into the character in the drama and she did it very well. Every student paid attention to her; no one spoke or even slept. I ever asked her why she always played the character totally although it was just an example for mini classroom’s drama. Then she answered, “When we act, on stage or not, the audience is still audience. Moreover, totalities are needed to be a teacher.” At that time, I felt like my heart was shaking. After that, I always say to myself that I want to be a teacher like her, the real teacher who teaches the student totally.
            Now, she is my sister’s ESP teacher. Once I asked my sister about the way she teaches. The answer is she is still the same and never changed. I hope someday I will be like her. Maybe I will also say “Alay is my life” (hehe I’m just kidding).

*Lebay means exaggerating 
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Making an Effective Teaching

Posted by Nur Amalina
“Unexpected Week” would be the best title for this week. My day was full filled with unexpected students and situations. Actually, my expectation for this first week in the SMAN ** Jakarta was only to become an assistant teacher. However, the master teacher wanted more from me. She wanted me to teach in class.
            Before Arlin, Umi, and I teach in the class, she asked us about the way we wanted to use in teaching recount text. My answer was using game and group work in delivering the material. At first, she didn’t believe me because she thought that it was only wasting time. After I convinced her, she gave us chance to try it in the class, and then I said “hah?” Umi and Arlin kept silent, maybe they were too shock to say something.  Although, in the schedule state that the teaching session is in 2nd week and it’s only 20 minutes, we accepted the master teacher’s order. We taught the class for the whole session at that day, 2 x 45 minutes. Even though we taught without any preparation, the teaching learning process in classroom went well. The students were active in doing their task that we gave and none of them were sleeping during the class.
The master teacher was amazed by the situation in the class. She told us that the students usually keep silent when she taught English, not as active as the time we taught the students in the class. She also added that the students became more crowed and she loves that kind of situation. After that successful moment, she asked us to make a lesson plan to teach narrative text. She gave us the lesson plan that she made before. In the lesson plan, I read that the teacher explain about the narrative text, asked the student to make narrative text, then read it in front of the class. The teacher didn’t give opportunity to the students to make their own explanations about what narrative text is or when narrative text is used. That’s the reason why the student kept silent when she taught English. Base on my experience as a student, if the teacher place herself as the only one source in learning, the student will think that the teacher always right. Then, the student will only believe in what teacher said and not curious with the learning material.
Other ineffective teaching was that the teacher didn’t use Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. The students were asked to listen, write, and speak. The teacher didn’t include activities for kinesthetic, spatial, logical-mathematic, and so on. In some ways, she could teach effectively. She came to the student one by one to look the progress of the task that the students were doing and explain again the material to the students who didn’t get the explanation well. This kind of teaching method, make no one of the students is left behind.
            Therefore, in our lesson plan, we change the teaching methods which are not effective. First, we asked the students to classify the characteristic of recount and narrative by themselves in group of four. Second, they had to illustrate the situation in narrative text. Third, they had to write, speak, and listen to their narrative text. Fourth, they had to move to correct their friends’ work. All of that, had already did by us, and it worked.
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