Reflection #3 : Lesson Plan and Words of Wisdom

Technological advancements never cease to amaze me. In our last class, we were exposed to yet another new product of it. It was an interactive website known as 'Padlet'. It works like a sheet of paper where anything could be posted (images, videos, documents, text etc) anywhere from any kind of smart device , together with everyone. Our task this week was to upload our favourite school of thought as well as a method used in it. Within minutes, the verdant grass canvas page became fraught with a plethora of sticky notes. The fancy touch screen wall proudly displayed everyone's entries being edited and posted simultaneously. It was pretty cool. I liked how we were all able to collaborate in such a creative manner using our smart devices in the classroom. Not only was it quick and efficient, but the best part of using the Padlet was that there were no complications like we experienced the last time with our blog. What a relief!

Here's how Padlet looks like. Sorry this was the only picture I could find close to ours on Google. Note to self : snap more pictures in class 

In the next part of our lesson, we were assigned into groups and had to come up with a draft of a lesson plan. What is a lesson plan, you ask ? Basically, a lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction, or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered and the needs of the students. 

First, we started off with a quick brainstorming session and this was what we came up with :

Don't complain. Writing on touch screen walls are tricky. And anyway, as a teacher you have to get used to ALL kinds of handwriting :p

With Google and Microsoft Word as our allies, we all got our lesson plans done in no time. Then, we had a small discussion about everyone's finished masterpieces. All of us, more or less got the basics down. They were pretty simple, easy to digest and straightforward. Smiles lit up our faces as we got positive feedback from Madam Ng. We took note of her constructive criticism as well. 

Madam Ng is a very admirable person. In this lesson, we also had the privilege of getting to know her a little better as she shared with us some interesting anecdotes in her life. Many of us could relate and empathize with her especially when she told us all about her parents' pressure being the main reason she was in this teaching field. Despite it not being her first choice, Madam Ng persevered and thrived to achieve excellent results. She advised us that no matter how much we may be unsatisfied with the course, we should still strive to do our best. Getting a degree with flying colours will definitely benefit us in the working world, she reminded us. Our results can let people gauge what kind of a person we are and the abilities we have to contribute to them. By achieving excellent results, we would definitely have an advantage over others. 

Another piece of sound advice she delivered was to never give up. Jaws dropped in disbelief as Madam Ng narrated the number of jobs she had quit in the past until she finally found one that suited her. It surely must have been mentally challenging to go through what she had. However, she explained her simple philosophy that she vehemently stood by, "If I don't like the people I work with, I don't work with them". That really hit me because of the truth between the lines. You shouldn't have to compromise your own values and force yourself to work somewhere that is not conducive to your own well-being. Especially for teaching, I feel that it's important to have good emotional stability. Otherwise it may reflect badly on your teaching style and in turn impact the students negatively. One's happiness is definitely important in a career and shouldn't be taken for granted. If you adhere to this principle, you can be rest assured that there will always be a silver lining to find a job that's right for you. 

Thank you very much for your inspiring words of wisdom Madam Ng! Aspiring to follow in your footsteps :)

Happy Deepavali & Happy Holidays !