Part 3 : Reflection

Each teaching session has its own strengths and weaknesses. Through reflection I
would be able to improve the weaknesses for the effectiveness of the next session. I believe
that a teacher needs to provide meaningful experiential and motivational activities that will
encourage the pupils to learn.
The weakness of my teaching is that I am not able to implement cooperative learning.
Artz and Newman !""#$ define cooperative learning as a small group of learners who work
as a team to solve a problem% complete a task or achieve a common goal. &ooperative
teaching involves the formation of small groups consisting of mixed abilities and sit together
to discuss the assignment to understand the learning content. &ooperative teaching is a
dynamic teaching and it can involve all pupils in the learning process. This can result in a
pupil not deviate from the following activities and can encourage passive pupils involved in
group activities. Teaching cooperatively basically gives the pupil the floor. 'earners have the
opportunity to think and talk together and this makes the evaluation process so much easier.
There is always a role for someone% the spotlight on individuals is off which helps the whole
group to move forward. According to (arbara )ross *avis% +Researchers report that,
regardless of the subject matter, students working in small groups tend to learn more of what
is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional
formats.
I found out that in cooperative learning% the teacher needs to provide a
conducive environment and appropriate task for e,ual opportunities such as giving students
learning assignments which are on par with their current level or giving marks for the
improvement of scores compared to the previous test scores (iehler - .nowman !""/$.
The element of team competition should also be incorporated once in a while in cooperative
learning between well0matched competitors and without grading them for the norm0
referenced grading system. This is because team competition can spur students to achieve
the group s goal.
In my opinion% during the teaching session% cooperative learning is very suitable
for improving and transforming the pupil interest in a sub1ect. I believe that pupils are more
interested and confident when learning with their peers. 2upils find it easier to speak to
groups of three or four than to an entire class. *uring production phase% I divided pupils into
small groups and let them them discuss to write a paragraph on where they live and another
paragraph on their neighbours.
In cooperative learning% it3s easier for a teacher to implement +.tudent0centered
teaching methods4. .tudent0centered teaching methods shift the focus of activity from the
teacher to the learners. According to Collins & O'Brien, !""#$,
%&tudent'centered instruction (&C)* is an instructional approach in which students
influence the content, acti+ities, materials, and pace of learning. ,his learning model places
the student learner$ in the center of the learning process. ,he instructor pro+ides students
with opportunities to learn independentl- and from one another and coaches them in the
skills the- need to do so effecti+el-. ,he &C) approach includes such techni.ues as
substituting acti+e learning e/periences for lectures, assigning open'ended problems and
problems re.uiring critical or creati+e thinking that cannot be sol+ed b- following te/t
e/amples, in+ol+ing students in simulations and role pla-s, and using self'paced and0or
cooperati+e team'based$ learning. 1roperl- implemented &C) can lead to increased
moti+ation to learn, greater retention of knowledge, deeper understanding, and more positi+e
attitudes towards the subject being taught.
I have come to realize that as a teacher they should give the students opportunity to
speak more often than the teacher themselves. .o% by letting the students have opportunities
to participate most in the class activities will lead student to master the language skills that is
taught.
5y lesson plan was based on behaviorism learning theory. (ehaviorism is a theory of
learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are ac,uired through conditioning.
&onditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. According to behaviorism%
behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable manner with no consideration of
internal mental states. (ehaviorism is based upon observable behaviors% so it is easier to
,uantify and collect data and information when conducting research. The founder of this
theory is 6ohn (. 7atson but later further constructed by Ivan 2avlov% 6ohn Thorndike and (.
8. .kinner.
The lesson begins in preparation phase by asking to the pupils about what is their essential
staple . In a way% it is encouraging pupils to make connections between their prior knowledge
and the new situations.. The pupils have knew some of the malaysian dishes% there are
encourage them to relate what they have knew. This is in line with the concept of
behaviourism where learning occurs whenever a person is able to make connections
between his or her previous knowledge with the new learning process 5ok .oon .ang%
9##:$.
In the second step during analyzing the teacher asks pupils to listen to the how to
pronouce a few words for example plough and pesticide. After that the pupils imitate sounds
of animal and practice what they hear. 'ightbown and .pada argue that children ac,uire
language as fast as they hear more and more from the environment% and receive more
reinforcement% so when children start to select what they hear that mean they started to
realize the concepts of the language which they are learning. 'ightbown and .pada indicates
that behaviorists consider that language learning process is ;imitation% practice%
reinforcement or feedback on success$ and habit formation;. &rystal !""9$% points out that
language ac,uired by imitation and reinforcement% in this operation learners of language
imitate the environment around them% and by practice what they hear constantly% they
achieve habits in that language. &rystal indicates that the ,uality of the habits% which transfer
from the first language to the second language through the learning process affect the results
of the learning process positively or negatively. &rystal illustrates that if the habits from first
language are well match to the second language that called positive transfer% but if the habits
from the first language make mistakes in the second language that called negative transfer.
<n the other hand% crystal shows that imitation only insufficient because learners from time to
time will face new concepts% so they have to understand and realize unfamiliar utterances.
7hile synthesizing pupils idea% drills and practices techni,ue were used to make sure
the pupils remembered the words used in the textbook. *rill and practice is a behaviorist
aligned techni,ue in which students are given the same materials repeatedly until mastery is
achieved. The pupils are shown a flash card containing the words% they are asked to repeat
the words . .ammons 9#!#$ states that drill and practice strengthen the exhibition of desired
behaviour. This will make sure the pupils master each lesson taught before moving on to the
next lesson.
Throughout the lesson plan% the teacher also applies the usage of reinforcement.
=einforcement technically means the process or techni,ue which uses the reinforcer or
stimulus to strengthen and sustain the relevant responses. (ehaviorism uses a system of
rewards and punishments to cultivate wanted behaviors and diminish unwanted behaviors%
respectively 'aureate Education% 9#!#$.. As for punishment% the positive punishment were
used to put a stop on certain unpleasant behaviour made by the pupils. 8or instance% giving a
warning gesture to pupils who keeps on disturbing his friend while the teacher is explaining in
front. As for reward% the pupils that are able to answer the ,uestions correctly will receive
compliment such as +>uda% you are so smart?4 and +Excellent? )ood?4. These types of
positive reinforcement motivate the pupils to answer more ,uestions correctly in the future
since they know that they will be given rewards. In other words% reinforcement strengthens
behaviour and punishment weakens it. The teacher uses these two concepts of the <perant
&onditioning in the teaching and learning process.
5ergel !"""$ declares that behaviourism focuses on a new behavioural pattern being
repeated until it becomes automatic. =einforcement by way of repetition is also used by the
teacher during the English lesson. The teacher asks the pupils to repeat when pupils are
making mistakes in pronouncing the words. The teacher will repeat the words a few times
before asking the pupils to repeat. To make it more effective% the teacher will point out a few
pupils who have problem in pronouncing the words. This is in line with .kinner3s <perant
&onditioning Theory in teaching and learning as stated by 5c'eod 9##:$ where a newly
learned skill or techni,ue ought to be given continuous reinforcement. This is mainly
proposed so that the new learned skill can be strengthened and sustained. As for the lesson%
repetition is done so that the pupils will know and remember the correct way to remember
certain words and will make lesser mistakes in the future.
Conclusions
After listing the weaknesses and strengths of my teaching% I found out that the perfect
planning and the right choice of teaching methods will be able to produce teaching and
learning process more effective and fun. I will take the appropriate steps to ensure the
improvement of teaching and learning to be more fun and effective in my future teaching.
)ood teaching is less about what the teacher does and more about what the teacher gets
students to do. (ehaviourism is one of the vitally important learning theories in the learning
process of an individual. (ehaviorist theories of learning can be easily found in most
classrooms% particularly in the form of practice worksheets% drills and homework. In
(ehaviorism% role of imitation% repetition% reinforcement and reward is very important in
language learning. If a response is reinforced it will be repeated and becomes the part of the
behavior. >owever% despite all the advantageous benefits that one can gain by applying this
theory% one should remember that sometimes behaviourism is not applicable in certain
situations. 2upils who are given punishment may continue the unpleasant behaviour since
they know that by doing that% they will get the teacher3s attention. Thus% teachers should not
solely focus on drilling% practices and reward and punishment% but may as well apply other
learning theories in the teaching and learning process so that the lesson is more varied and
interesting. Everybody has weaknesses but everybody have also chance to make it better
and better than before. Nobody is perfect but it is okay to try to be perfect.