Reflective Essay

My friends and I were teaching in groups and we also assessed each other. From the
session, I learned many things. The first thing is I have learned how to teach effectively start
from the opening until the end of the class. Now I know that to have an effective opening, for
example, teacher should be able to get students attention and ready to learn. Besides, teacher
needs to have an opening activity that relates to the lesson. I also understand that to have an
effective teaching and learning process, teacher should pay attention to some elements such
as the content, the presentation, the teachers presence, visuals, media and technology used
and how to do good and effective closure. All of the elements must be relate and appropriate
to be used in the classroom.

The second thing that I get from the session is about preparation. From the activity, I
have learned that as a teacher, preparation is the most important thing. Preparation is not only
about the lesson plan but also in many things like the elements I have pointed out. Teacher
should have plan b, plan c, as many as possible since there are a lot of possibilities happen
which can be out of the expectation. For instance, when I did the microteaching the case that
I found was when I have a video to watch in the classroom but the devices did not work (the
sound cannot be heard and the picture cannot be displayed). To solve that kind of problem
my friends and I have prepared other plan such as substituted it with power point or did the
role play. That also might be found in the real classroom. The other thing that I get is how to
work in group. I realize that as a teacher, I will not work alone. There will be time to work
together with other teachers who also in the same field with me. I have learned to work
cooperatively with other teachers; in this case is my friends. How to divides the responsibilities
fairly and do it in full responsibilities is one thing includes there.

Actually there are so many things that I got and learned from the session. Almost all
parts from the beginning until the end I can clearly understand my strengths and weaknesses.
The only thing that I want to know is that any relation between teacher presence and the
effectiveness in teaching. Teacher presence is the way teacher performs in the classroom
such as how to use nonverbal and verbal communication skills appropriately. I also want to
learn about how to improve my presence and my communication skills, and how to having
good confidence beside by doing practice regularly.