Make Setting of End Target Result (ETR) Pupil's Responsibility

Source: Google

Wait! What??

Yeah. You read that right. Make setting of ETR to be the pupil's responsibility, not the teacher's.

I personally don't favour test and examinations in the primary level of education because I believe character building is more important; to cultivate the right attitude that will greatly help them in anything they do next time.

But, ah...We can only hope for a change to happen soon. Now, let's think of other alternatives.

Why not educate the pupils on responsibility from practical things like this? Let them know and plan what they want at the end of that particular academic year, instead of we teachers setting them without the pupils know what exactly that means. This way, we can indirectly guide and prepare them to :
1. look for their goals in life
2. make decisions (one of topic in Year 6 English textbook)
3. be responsible for what they want, be independent
4. be responsible for the outcome of their decision and action (when they get their test results)

Every year, we set pupil's target. We forgot that we have already disrespect them by doing so. We didn't give them a chance to be responsible for their studies. They aren't given a chance to speak out and make a decision. And we call them spoon-fed? Didn't we, the adults (admins, teachers as well as parents) just keep allowing that to happen?

And when the pupils don't achieve the targeted result, teachers are to write a report on that? And the report will be on a one-sided blame - the teachers! ...Urmmm....I personally don't think there is any purpose in doing so, unless it is for special need child who cannot make decisions and for really young children (age 7-9).

We can start this practice when they're in the upper primary (age 10-12). Of course, they need guidance to do this. Do not just throw this to them without explaining to them beforehand.

End Target Result need not be super impressive! It's NOT to impress people, but to know where they want to head to and to know how much they want to achieve by the end of the year.

I took about 1 1/2 hours to explain and guide them on this, which turned out well. They understand why they are doing it and are excited about it. For the first time they are given the chance to make decision for themselves!

Some people will disagree to this idea. But, do not fret. This is just an idea that I share and not forced to be implemented. I find it more meaningful for the pupils themselves to know what's happening with their own studies instead of me dictating everything for them. From there, they can start to monitor their own progress too.

A teacher's job is to guide as part of educating. This may look trivial and takes up time, but think of the implications in the long run. Someone needs to set the stepping stone for them-creating the opportunity for them.

Here's a short video of my pupils setting their own ETR. Enjoy the video! ~

And oh, this quote here - just for a laugh!

Variations of Circle Map

I actually got tired of just looking at the circle shape for circle map. Kind of boring to just see the same shape being used in so many subjects.

No doubt it is the easiest and most practical to be used in the classroom. But I thought of giving a little twist to it.

Huh? What is that??

An example of circle map.

It's called circle map because...of the circle shape....pretty obvious right? Haha!

Source: Pinterest

To me, .....

Circle = shape.

Shape = circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, and other organic shapes.

*Shape is actually a hollow or empty space encircled by a line. So, one can write anything inside the empty space.

Geometric Shapes

Source: Pinterest

Source: Pinterest

Therefore, the question :

Can I use other shapes in similar function as circle map?

My brain said:

Why not? They are shapes. Let's try it out.

Quest:

Pupils are to write down synonyms to the word given in the middle (feelings).

Outcome:

My pupils enjoyed doing this homework. It's simple and fun to do. I am all smiles when I saw that their creativity to it was even more than I expected~

Let's watch the video~

RPT Pendidikan Kesenian Tahun 1 (2017) Bagi Komponen Seni dan Muzik

Still looking for Rancangan Pengajaran Tahunan (RPT) Kesenian Tahun 1 bagi KSSR (2017)?
New subject .... and kinda @@ to do seperate RPT for it.
Nevertheless, it's done!

This is what I've done for both Komponen Muzik dan Seni. Done with takwim.
Click the link below if you need them. :) Share it out too~

Happy New Year, teachers!
Welcome back to school~

DSKP Pendidikan Kesenian Tahun 1 KSSR (2017)
RPT Pendidikan Kesenian Tahun 1 KSSR (Komponen Seni Visual)
RPT Pendidikan Kesenian Tahun 1 KSSR (Komponen Muzik)

SSAEM Conference 2016 Presentation in South Korea

What is SSAEM?
Sharing Stories on Asia-Pacific Education Movement is also known as SSAEM in short.

By gathering various stakeholders and the general public together, the conference aims to spread and maximize the impact of APTE by sharing experiences of all parties concerned,including the representatives of partner countries and coordinating institutes along with the participant teacher, schools and communities.

They also aim to enhance the effectiveness of the programme by strengthening common understandings and collaboration network among stakeholders and also to establish a sustainable and solid venue for teachers to continue capacity building for global citizenship education.

The Malaysian delegation to SSAEM Conference 2016 in South Korea

This year, teachers were invited to present in this conference. 28 teachers from all over Malaysia; 12 from KOMTEP 2014's batch, 10 from 2015's batch and 6 from 2016's batch; were given the chance to represent our country to present in the conference.

Only 6 teachers handed in their draft for the presentation. And from the 6, 2 were selected to represent Malaysia in the conference, even though we were told earlier that there is only 1 place offered by APCEIU-UNESCO, which will be fully funded by them.

I was overjoyed when I received an e-mail to notify me that I was selected to share my best practices in this international conference. Praise the Lord for this wonderful opportunity to share what I've done for the students and school from what I've learnt in Korea last year. :)


The Malaysian Delegation
The were 7 delegates from Malaysia all together. Each of us are from different positions and levels in the Malaysian education system.

The Malaysian delegation to SSAEM Conference 2016 in South Korea

1. Datuk P. Kamalanathan (Deputy Minister of Education 1)

2. Dato' Sulaiman bin Wak ( Director of Education Planning and Research Division (Penalist))

3. Dr Noor Zaila bt Abdul Wahab (Deputy Director of Teacher Education Division)

4. Ms Siti Mariam bt Sulaiman (Assistant Director Teacher Education Division)

5. Mr Sazali bin Mohd Karli (Principal of SM Pendidikan Khas Vokasional Shah Alam)

6. Mr Norhailmi bin Abdul Mutalib (KOMTEP 2015/ SMK Jerlun, Kedah)

7. Ms Pauline Foong (KOMTEP 2015/ SJKC Keh Seng, Melaka)

Datuk P. Kamalanathan, whom is our head of delegation this time was given the opportunity to give an opening speech as the main VIP in this conference. 

Arrival and Welcoming Dinner
This time, we flew with Korean Air. :)

Inside Korean Air plane

This journey was slightly longer than usual, 7 hours compared to 6 1/2 hours previously. Maybe it's because of the turbulence that was quite strong at times as we near South Korea. Nevertheless, we arrived safely at our destination.

We were lead by the agent to check in to Sheraton Seoul D-Cube City Hotel. I have been here before last year just before flying back to Malaysia after our final presentation. So, it's kinda familiar place to me. I really like their room and shower~

View from the Lobby on 41st Floor

Room and shower

We then rested while waiting for other delegations from other countries that are part of this APTE  Programme to arrive. They are from the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Vietnam. 3 delegates from Cambodia were invited too as they will be joining APTE in 2017.

In the evening,after everyone arrived, we had the welcoming dinner. Not the kind of 9 course meal but rather finger food. Welcoming speech was short and light to allow more time for delegates from each countries to mingle around with others.

The Malaysian delegation with Jay and Han

And what a surprise I got when I saw Mr Kim Jae Hong or better known as Jay, our focal point last year in Korea there at the dinner! We had some catching up at the dinner. He is now no more handling the Malaysian team as he was promoted to another division where he prepares curriculum for GCED (Global Citizenship Education) for the few countries which uses the service of UNESCO. And so, his previous position is now taken over by Mr Han. All the best, Jay!

Mr Kim Jae Hong or Jay, the familiar face and name in KOMTEP

The Conference Day

The day has come! 8th December 2016. Time for us to present what we've done back in Malaysia.

The conference started off with performances from the students and some Filipino teachers who are still there for the exchange programme. Then, we had the plenary session just before lunch.

My friend, Hailmi was scheduled to present during the plenary session which was done in a discussion style due to time constraints.  

The plenary session

I was scheduled to present in the concurrent session after lunch. In the concurrent session, presenters were asked to share their best practices done back in their homeland.

The feeling when you see your name and the school's name on the screen

Me presenting~

 Alright! This is actually the highlight of this blog entry - what I've presented on stage~

1. Introducing myself to the audience. 

2. I have set 2 aims to be achieved. 

First, to inspire and to motivate others to bring forth their best in the education field. Second, to create opportunities for students to experience a new education environment. In this case, to allow my students to experience the Korean education system to the maximum extend of emulation that can be done.

3. Inspiring and Motivating others.

Teachers need to be inspired and motivated. Teachers are always on the giving end, thus their emotional welfare needs to be taken care of too. One way is through inspiration where new hope and light can be seen. Sharing of ideas to inspire and motivate others has been done through sharing sessions from school to national level and also through social media sites such as this blog and my YouTube channel. 

 4. Best practices that was successfully done in SJKC Keh Seng.
I began explaining about the 4 best practices that we have managed to do in SJKC Keh Seng.

First is of course the 10 minutes break which we manage to adjust accordingly to our situation to be implemented.

The second is about supplementing each class and science laboratory with smartTV and visualizer.

Third is about collaboration which is something encouraged in the 21st century learning and in line with the objectives of GCED. As I am teaching English, I did the pen-pal programme with Jangdo Elementary School in Incheon. This programme is really great to allow students to actually practice using the language in live situation. I have not only done this for my school, but also have been helping other teachers across Malaysia to be connected with the Korean teachers and students who are interested.

Fourth, is the setting. In Malaysia, we are using streaming where we group students according to their average marks for all subjects combined. Setting is where we group students according to grades per subject. We tested setting during the final month of extra class in school for UPSR (Elementary Year 6 national exam) students. We noticed that students can learn better and it is easier for the teacher to teach when we use setting.

 5. Student's appreciation.
Last but not least, this is really meaningful to me because my students really thank me for what I have done for them this year. They were more aware of the education system and the world even just at their young age. They were more cooperative, enjoyed lessons more, are more positive and gained big improvement in their studies this year. Most importantly, they enjoyed schooling more than before and being empowered in the right attitude.

Many teachers came to interview me after I presented my best practices. I felt overwhelmed to see how excited they were to listen to my presentation. The conference ended with the closing ceremony in the evening. We then proceeded to Han River to have dinner at one of their newly opened floating restaurant.

With other delegates from Philippines (Danilo, Ophelia) and Indonesia (Rina, Enik)

With the Korean exchange teachers to Malaysia this year ~

Missing all of you~

Hee Eun, my mentor teacher last year

Cultural Visit

The weather is getting colder. It's -5 degree Celsius but with the wind blowing, it feels like -11 degree Celsius. Brrrrr.... 

I love winter despite the freezing temperature

Early in the morning, I went for morning walk around the nearby area with Hailmi, Mr Kim Dong Cheol, Mr Bae Ki Jeong and Mr Sazali. Mr Kim and Mr Bae was Hailmi's mentor teacher and school principal who came all the way from Daegu last night just to meet him when they get to know about his coming to Seoul. They even remembered me even though we have only met a few times. Such wonderful people who treasure friendships! 

Posing for a photo as we went for morning walk

Our morning walk ended with us going for coffee, something the Koreans love to do. We went to "think Cafe" near the hotel. The Koreans like cold drinks during cold weather, but not us. We still prefer a cup of hot drink especially when it's cold outside there. We discussed matters on education and humanity. I like what Mr Principal said in summary:

"Even though each one of us looks different from the outside, different skin colour, different nationalities, different background, religion, culture, language; we have similarity from the inside. The goodness, the empathy, kindness, love, feelings....are all the same. It's universal"

-Mr Bae Ki Jeong-

The last round of coffee before saying goodbye for this time

Later at noon, we were brought to have lunch at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). After lunch, we were given about 3 hours to go free and easy around that area. There were many plazas selling clothes. They were beautiful but not practical for me to get them as they're in for winter season. 

Walking around DDP area. It's freezing!!!

Last Day in Seoul

Time really flies when we are enjoying our life the most. Huhu. 

Today will be the last day of my stay in Korea. 

Good morning, Seoul. Sunshine and cold wind greeting me

Ally came all the way from her city to Sindorim (1 hours plus away) to meet me for the last time before I depart back to Malaysia. Just a short time. Maybe about 30 minutes as I have to check out soon. Nevertheless, we had a good 30 minutes spent together chit chatting and taking wefies~

We met at TechnoMart, Sindorim

Our last photo together this year before my depature. 

Kamsahamnida, Ally! You are a wonderful friend! See you again soon!

The journey back home was okay despite the few turbulence again here and there. We landed safely at Kuala Lumpur International Airport about 10.35 p.m. And there, I had one more great wefie of the year, which was with our Deputy Education Minister 1, Datuk P Kamalanathan.

Let's give a thumbs up! Wefie with Deputy Education Minister 1

Last but not least, it is an honour for my best practices to be published in the SSAEM 2016 book, carrying Malaysia, Melaka and the school's name along internationally. 

My best practices in this publishing

Even though this sharing may be short, I hope that every ears that listened and every eyes that read will benefit from it, be it idea or inspiration. To my Malaysian teachers, and to those who have read till the end of this entry, thank you for reading my blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Do not hesitate to ask me anything you wish to ask. 

"Ask and it shall be given to you; Seek and you shall find"

Hopefully, the best practices here will be spread throughout Malaysia for the benefits of all, especially the 10 minutes break which got applauded by the Koreans themselves. 

All the best and Happy New Year , educators!

Graffiti to Story: Round the World in 60 Minutes

Who says art is useless and only for the creative minds?
Look at what can be done with  art + 'just-do-it, no-sweat' attitude~

This idea actually came up quite randomly....ad-hoc...wasn't planned. My actual plan was to use dictionary and do discussion. But when I saw them doodling endlessly on the board, my lightbulb ding-ed! Haha!

From a list of vocab to doodling on the blackboard till it became a big piece of art. Yeah, yeah... they enjoyed drawing on the blackboard. ^^'''

At first, they thought that it was just the usual vocab lesson but when I told them to create a story out of their 'graffiti', they gasp! HOTS! Linking all the pictures which doesn't look like linked to each other. But, they made it with a little guidance. And this activity got them overwhelmed and speaking out! Plus, their teamwork as a class got better since they have to discuss about what they drew and coming up with just one story.

Here's their story:
    I am from Malaysia. I like travelling. The first place I traveled to was the 'Sushi Land' which is Japan. There were many people in Japan. The Japanese like to eat sushi and ramen. They eat sushi and ramen in the restaurant. I enjoyed travelling around in Japan.
    Then, I flew to Saudi Arabia. I enjoyed eating kebab the most there. The people in Saudi Arabia speaks Arabian. I did not understand the language. At the hotel, the bell boy spoke something to me in Arabian. As I did not understand, I walked away. But, someone translated them for me and I got a shock to hear them. I ran away as quick as possible. (hahahaha! ^^''')
    After a few days in Saudi Arabia, I flew to India, the "sayur-land". Many Indians were vegetarians. I did not enjoy the food there because I do not like to eat vegetables. So, I always felt hungry in India. Before leaving,I bought a sari for myself.
    Wearing a sari, I flew to the Philippines. I was so hungry. So, I stopped at a shop to buy some bread. I need to use peso to pay up. When I was at the counter, the cashier thought that I was a Korean and said "Anyeonghaseyo" and bowed to me.

Okay, I know it sounded funny. But they did their best already! There were a few other versions in between. It's not that bad after all, right? They can actually create a story out of doodles~

Classroom Idea : Ask-me Bag!

Let me introduce something familiar yet different.

Have you heard of Parking Lot? The 21st century learning classroom idea? Yeahhhhh~~

This is something similar to Parking Lot. The difference is that this bag is not placed behind the classroom / not static. Rather, the bag will be passed around the classroom. And Question Slips are prepared by the teacher in advance.

Things to prepare:

1. Paper bag (used but in still in good condition ones)

2. Label (use your creativity to create an interesting one)

3. Question slips (use your laptop and print...then make copies of it...then cut them into slips)

The paper bag and the question slips (not cut yet)

When to use:

At the end of the lesson (as summary or QnA session)

Rationale:

I noticed that the pupils did not even touch the Parking Lot at the back of the classroom. Maybe, they're just too busy to be bothered by it...too busy to even think of questions to ask....or maybe, not even knowing what to ask.....I don't blame them in a way, because it is true that their schedule is pretty much jam packed. And, who wants to do extra work when they can't even handle the one they're supposed to do? They will surely take every opportunity to rest if they can find it due to their jam-packed daily schedule. I myself will do it if I am in their shoes, don't you?  

So, I was thinking, there must be another way where they can do it. 

After sitting down, day-dreaming, thinking, and analyzing,...I noticed that pupils will do something which is prompted on the spot. So, everything must be done there and then. That was when the idea of passing the bag around came up. I was thinking about the pass-the-box game and another incident of passing the box from the front to the back of the bus to collect back caps from the pupils during our recent field trip to Penang island and how smoothly it went compared to teachers shouting and yelling for the caps. ^^

With this bag, everyone will have to write a question on the slip given. The prepared slip will guide them on how and what to write instead of just giving a blank piece of paper; which I did once and got back blank and crumpled piece of paper. ^^'''

This way, they will be able to practice on their questioning / inquiring skills too. 

What question to write?

I set a limit to one question per slip per lesson (per person).

They can write any question they want to ask about the topic we have just discussed.

How does the teacher answer the questions?

Orally or you can take your time to write the answers behind the question slip respectively.

Impact:

Writing is a good form of communication for the shy / introverted people. Everyone in the classroom manage to come up with a query each. 

Examples of questions posed by the pupils ... spot some funny and  difficult questions

Let's watch a short video on it~ Enjoy!

Take Hold of the Moment

When does learning becomes more meaningful?

It is when something happened, curiosity arises  and when a solution is needed (often in a desperate and forced situation, do you agree?). Take hold of the moment where the best impact can be given.

I made use of this Olympic season to teach facts and current issues.
I did this when everyone and media was raving about Rio 2016: - The BeST time when the topic was still sizzling hot!
From this topic (Olympic) alone, I get to cover Malaysian athletes/ heroes of Malaysia/ iconic people of Malaysia and sports. All of these are actually in the English syllabus. I got to cover more topics in one go. It saves time and acted as an enrichment for the pupils plus extra knowledge.

The pupils were given one month to complete the folio (till the end of Olympic).

Steps:
1. Introduction to Summer and Winter Olympics as well as Paralympic (videos).
2. Simple discussion about Rio 2016.
3. Teacher explains the project to the pupils.
4. Pupils finish up the folio in 1 month's time.
5. Appreciation.
6. Displaying the folios in the school library as references.

This is surely another worthy project for my kids. They were happy to learn many new things WHILE doing this project. Even I myself learnt some new things when I read through their folios (I just found out the meaning of the design of the torch! Gagaga!)

Another thing which they were happy about was that they got to spend some time with their parents because they did the folio together.

Oh, one more...they got to watch TV! (because of project they said. Hahaha)

Their folios displayed in the library

Let's watch what's inside the folio~