Department of Education Studies

Department of Education Studies

School Experience Journal

Diploma in Education (“2+3” Programme)

Semester 2, AY2015-16

Name / :
Student No. / :
Major / : / Liberal Studies/ Mathematics/PE/Chinese/Music
School Experience Period / : / 14 March ~ 8April 2016 (4 weeks)

CONTENTS

Page

I. Aims and Objectives

II. School Information

III. School Experience Diary...... 4

IV. Aspects of Observation...... 6

V. Lesson Observation Form

VI. Record of Work

VII. Reflection

I. Aims and Objectives

School Experience aims at facilitating your teaching, teaching-related, and administrative duties by familiarizing you with the work of a school in the aspects of:

i)Management & Organisation;

ii)Learning & Teaching;

iii)Student Support & School Ethos; and

iv)Student Performance.

Upon completion of School Experience, you will have acquired a basic understanding of:

i)the administration of the school organization, including its day-to-day operations, structure, and personnel;

ii)the nature and types of curricular and extra-curricular activities within the school setting;

iii)various roles of a teacher, teaching duties and responsibilities; and

iv)classroom teaching.

II. School Information

Name of School / :
Address / :
Type of School / : / Government/Aided/DSS/Private
Primary/Secondary
Co-educational/Boys’/Girls’ School
Non-Religious/Catholic/Protestant/Others:
Medium of Instruction / : / EMI/CMI/Others:
School Term / : / First Term/Second Term
Name of Mentor / :

III. School Experience Diary

Fill in the dates and your daily work in the diary below:

Week 1

Date / Observation/
Participation / Teaching Preparation / Teaching
Duties / Remarks
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

Week 2

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

Week 3

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

Week 4

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

IV. Aspects of Observation

Write down what you have observed in the following aspects during the School Experience period.

(a) Management & Organisation

i. Planning & Administration

-Find out what arethe major concerns of the school in this academic year. You may find them on the school homepage. State one of these major concerns and briefly describe how this is implemented.

ii. Professional Leadership

-Report on an occasion of how the school principal openly praised or encouraged her/his students or staff for their work well done. If you saw no such occasion, please report on how the principal leads the school.

iii. Staff Management

What is the proper procedure to obtain leave from the school? Explain why it is important for teachers to follow the procedure.

iv. Planning & Management of Resources

-What is the proper procedure for teachers to borrow books, or teaching materials from school? Explain whyeffective resource management is important.

v. Self-evaluation

-Is there any mechanism to evaluate performance of the teachers in the school? Ask a teacher how teachers feel when they are being evaluated. Discuss whether you support the idea of teacher performance evaluation.

(b) Learning & Teaching

i. Curriculum

-Observe how curriculum is organized in the school. Find out what are the informal curriculum and the hidden curriculum of the school. You may consult your mentor if you are not so clear.

ii. Teaching

-From the lessons you observed, identify at least 3 things that you would consider as good practices and explain why.

iii. Student Learning

-From the lessons observed, list out 3 things that can engage students in learning and explain why.

iv. Performance Assessment

-From your observation on performance assessment,look for an example of assessment that will facilitatestudent learning and explain why.

i. Support for Student Development

-Ask a student leader to comment onhow students are given guidance on behaviourand manner, formation of belief and value system, and personal growth etc. You may reflect onyour own growthto explain whyschool support for student development is important.

ii. Links with Parents & External Organizations

-Report briefly on a case of how a teacher arranged a meeting to discuss the performance ofa student with his parent.

iii. School Culture

-Ask a student leader to share her/his views on school culture of the school. You may ask the studentwho contribute to shaping the school culture.

(d) Student Performance

i. Attitude & Behaviour

-How did the students usually behave in class and why?

ii. Participation & Achievement

How would you evaluate students’ participation in learning, active or passive? How would you evaluate their achievements inacademic area and non-academic areas, good or not-so-good? Do they live up to the expectations of their teachers?

V. Lesson Observation Form

Domain A: Planning and Preparation

Item / Notes
1. Knowledge of subject matter
2. Selection of teaching materials
3. Sequence and integration

Domain B: Implementation

Item / Notes
4. Engaging attention
5. Delivery
6. Use of questioning
7. Use of instructional aids
8. Monitoring progress
9. Consolidation of lesson
10. Achievement of lesson objectives
11. Timing

Domain C: Classroom Interaction

Item / Notes
12. Encouragement of student participation and sharing
13. Supporting student initiative
14. Responding to student feelings
15. Attending to individual differences

Domain D: Classroom Management

Item / Notes
16. Attending to classroom arrangement
17. Dealing with discipline problems

Domain E: Personal Attributes

Item / Notes
18. Articulate
19. Efficient
20. Confident
21. Warm and supportive
22. Consistent
23. Enthusiastic
24. Creative

VI. Record of Work

Append an exemplary lesson plan to this journal.

VII. Reflection

Are there any interesting or unforgettable learning experiences during the SE period? Please provide a prose, a poem, a picture, or a video clip to reflect on your learning experience during this SE period. In case you want to provide such a video clip, it should not be longer than 5 minutes and should be saved in a DVD for submission instead of uploading it to the Moodle. Please also give a brief explanation to your reflective work if necessary.