PPST Domains Reflection/ Narrative Experience
This section contains the PPST Domain: (1) Content Knowledge and Pedagogy; (2) Learning Environment; (3) Diversity of Learners; (4) Curriculum and Planning; (5) Assessment and Reporting; (6) Community Linkages and Professional Engagement; and (7) Personal Growth and Professional Development. Also, it includes my narrative experiences during my practice teaching journey.
Content Knowledge and Pedagogy
Content refers to the knowledge, subject matter, content, concepts, information, curriculum, ideas, and principles to teach students each day. Pedagogy is the overall instructional approach that the teacher used to support student learning (Stuckey, 2022). Lesson planning is crucial in the lives of teachers. During my practice teaching, it was my responsibility to create lesson plans that take into account the students' abilities, needs, and interests as well as the teaching environment. Because it helps me structure courses in a methodical approach and offers pupils the chance to comprehend what they will learn and how it will satisfy their requirements, I made sure the contents were in line with the learning skills of my learners.Prior to applying the lesson, I also made sure I fully understood it. Since learning is so important in Kindergarten, I made sure that all of the learning resources I provided could satisfy the needs of my students.
Learning Environment
Learning environments are the most creative part in teaching. When it comes to the learning environment, I always make sure that the atmosphere is feel safe and supported during the teaching and learning. Most of the time during discussion of my lesson I always have distinct types of learning activities that are aligned to the competencies and needs of my learners. I always consider the skills: fine motor skill, social skill, gross motor skill, language and creativity. Activities such as, writing, art activity, concrete materials, sing and dance, and educational games. But before implementing the activities I always set the rules to achieve orderly in our classroom and I am happy to say that my learners really listen and understand the rules I employ.
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Diversity of Learners
In terms of individual diversity, I have experienced the needs of diverse learners during my practice teaching experience at CWCES. I used the same instructional materials and lesson because Kindergarten has two sections—Camia and Sampaguita—but when it comes to discussion, my CT and I come up with different approaches to fit the needs of each student. The section I handled is more advanced-Sampaguita, while the other section-Camia needs more assistance when it comes to learning. Regarding this, I've discovered that in order to make sure our students are learning, we need to take into account their capacities and skills in teaching and learning. Additionally, since learners have different learning styles I came up with the idea of employing scaffolding, small group activities, providing direct instruction, and encouraging independence and strengthening social relationships to meet the needs of individual learners. As I always do to prevent my students feeling uneasy and create a more culturally sensitive classroom environment, I constantly encourage my students to participate in various activities so they can work with their classmates and develop their social skills.
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Curriculum and Planning
My curriculum and the planning experiences were challenging, particularly while creating my lesson plan. The Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) and the Kindergarten Teachers' Guide (KTG) serve as my major sources of information when I design lessons to avoid using material that won't be appropriate. The KTG aids teachers in considering significant curriculum goals as well as the opportunities learners will need to complete the goals. The MELC is learning competencies that were amended and determined to be essential in the achievement of content and performance standards. The MELC and KTG provide a significant amount of assistance with lesson planning, which I benefited from during my practice teaching experience. Additionally, having my CT on hand has been beneficial since she always checked my lesson plans before I utilized them. One time, while she was checking my LP she suggested to use the question and answer instead of discussing the lesson to make the lesson more student-centered. So, throughout my lesson planning, I considered the suggestion of my CT and I can affirm that it was effective in teaching and learning. .My experience as student teaching has given me a priceless sense of confidence in my abilities to develop solid lesson plans and create innovative materials and assessments that support students' active learning.
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Assessment and Reporting
Assessment and reporting are a way of monitoring and evaluating learner progress and performance, and giving feedback enhance learning. When it comes to assessment, after the session I frequently conduct an activity or worksheet and individual assessment by asking questions about the topic we had which evaluates the level of understanding of my students on our tackled lesson. Since I am designated in Kindergarten, I have conducted assessments of children during the assessment week. It was a great experience because I had the chance to experience conducting an assessment and the approach was different from my expectation. In Kindergarten it did not apply to just give a worksheet then learners will answer, rather it collaborate with the use of a one-on-one approach, for instance, during the assessment I assess the learners by asking questions- what are the 12 months of the year, 7 days of the week, write and sound out the letter and count numbers from 1-20. Throughout my practice teaching experience, using the class record I was able to identify which student needs more help or step up to the next lesson.
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Community Linkages and Professional Engagement
Being a part of a school community is one of the most gratifying roles that I have experienced in my Practice Teaching journey. To offer learning opportunities for the children and create a healthy community, I have learned the value of relationships between teachers, students, parents, staff, and other community stakeholders through my internship experience at my cooperating school (CWCES). I learned the significance of building a rapport with parents since their support is crucial to meeting the requirements of the kid and ensuring the success of the child's education. My ability to cultivate relationships with both parents and students is one of my teaching strengths. I tried to get to know every kid, even the ones that I found challenging in class. I came to realize that communication is essential in all relationships for the school and community to work together effectively. The better the relationship and involvement, the more positively correlated students’ learning. Additionally, I also showed respect and professionalism in all of my interactions with pupils, a co-practice teacher, parents/caregivers, stakeholders, and members of the community, which leads to a successful experience as a PT.
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Personal Growth and Professional Development
As a practice teacher, I came to understand that being a teacher is not as simple as some could believe. Being a teacher requires more than just knowing the topic being taught; it also requires a willingness to continually improve on all fronts. Additionally, it involves our utmost commitment, love, and sympathy for the profession and the students. Dedicated in the sense that as educators, we should be able to inspire students by our behavior, our methods of instruction, and even the lessons and extracurricular activities in which they engaged part. During my practice teaching, I improved my communication skills, my confidence was greatly increased and my abilities in teaching and learning were greatly enhanced by daily teaching. I realized that we must first establish a connection with ourselves, our resources, our feelings about them as well as our intended feelings regarding them to engage our student's hearts and minds. The most remarkable lesson I've learned in my practice teaching career is how to innovate and connect many teaching approaches and methodologies.
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