Pedagogical Contents
Classroom Observation
General Observations and Teaching Methods
My first and last classroom observation happened in October 2, 2023, right after the students' examination week and field trip week in Jakarta.
The class that I have observed is the Grade XII MIPA taught by Ibu Nurby about the different types of texts. In comparison to the Philippines, I have observed that the classroom management here leans more on the lenient side. Students are allowed to do what they want during class (i.e. make noise, eat snacks and even rice meals, go to other seats, etc.) as long as they are participating in class.
In addition, I have observed that Ibu Nurby uses the art of questioning or inquiry-based learning as a way to facilitate the students' learning. She does not spoon feed what should be taught, rather she lets the students answer questions as a way to guide them in figuring out the lesson making the discussion more learner-centered.
I have also observed that she uses the cooperative learning method in the classroom. With specific goals laid out for each group, I have seen students not only socialize along the process but also lay out their own ideas, compromise, and cooperate with each other to accomplish their tasks. They are not assigned by the teacher to groups, instead they are given the liberty to create their own, giving them freedom to strategically build their teams. They are also given the liberty to decide whether to present as a group or through a representative. I think this is important nowadays -- to provide students with opportunities to figure things out on their own, strategize, and decide, making them more in-tune with their learning.
Learning Materials and Innovation
Technology Used by the Teacher
The learning materials employed by the students for this particular lesson did not include their textbook. The class for that day is only a review and continuation of their lesson. Therefore, what was only used as learning material is the PowerPoint presentation which may already count as an innovation as technology is employed instead of using the traditional classroom setup.
What I noticed with the content of the instructional material is that the lesson is shown with only the keywords and short descriptions, and photos or graphics as visual support. In comparison to the Philippines, lessons go in depth, with the students needing to study and memorize a lot of terms and definitions. But here, the important thing is that the students understand the concept or the topic, even without memorizing a load of information.
Authentic Assessment Used by the Teacher
Since the meeting's goal was for the students to be able to present in front of the class, the assessment used is their oral presentation and storytelling of the text read. It would have been more authentic if the students were not only tasked to identify if a story is under their assigned text type and to retell it, rather, it would have been better if they were asked about how they could connect the story to their life and experiences, and what lesson they may get from it.