SEA-Teacher Experience

Hello! My name is Monica Jienta Nabila. I am a Physical Education student at the University of Lampung, and I'd like to share my story about participating in the SEA-Teacher Batch 9 program in Thailand!

First, let me briefly explain the program I am part of. SEA-Teacher is a program by SEAMEO designed to provide teaching experience to teacher education students in Southeast Asian countries. The project's full name is "Pre-Service Student Teacher Exchange in Southeast Asia." This program is conducted in several Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan.

I myself am a student from one of the universities in Indonesia. I am part of the 9th batch of this program. I had the opportunity to gain teaching experience in Thailand, specifically at Chiang Mai Rajabhat University Demonstration School. CMRU Demonstration School consists of a kindergarten and an elementary school, and I had the privilege of teaching at the elementary school level.

The CMRU Demonstration School initially started as a "summer school" organized by the Kindergarten Educational Department in 1979, where Kindergarten Education students acted as teachers for kindergarten students. Then, in 1986, it evolved into a demonstration school, and in 1990, the project was expanded to include an elementary school.

I arrived in Chiang Mai on August 20, 2023. On August 21, CMRU held an orientation ceremony to introduce me to the teachers at the school where I would be teaching. I was warmly welcomed by Khru Ning and Khru Joy. After the orientation ceremony, Khru Ning and Khru Joy immediately took us to the school to acquaint us with the school's environment and introduce us to the school principal. At that time, the school principal was Asst. Prof. Dr. Kritsada Boonchom, who had been in the position for 6 years. I was warmly received by him.

I was introduced to Khru Way, one of the physical education teachers from CMRU Demonstration School, who would be my cooperative teacher during my time at the school. Khru Way taught PE for students in grades P.1 through P.3.

The activities carried out during the one-month period were as follows:

1. First week         -> observation

2. second week     -> teaching assist

3. third week         -> teaching practice

4. fourth week       -> evaluation

During the first week, I focused on observation. I attended each class taught by Khru Way, carefully observing her teaching methods. I noticed that Khru Way consistently began her classes by explaining the topic that the students would be learning that day. Her approach involved actively engaging students in demonstrating movements. Khru Way always prioritized the safety of her students during the learning process. She ensured that all students paid close attention during the demonstrations to minimize the risk of injuries when they practiced the movements themselves. Once the demonstration was completed, Khru Way instructed the students to perform the movements that had been demonstrated.

In the second week, I took on the role of a teaching assistant for Khru Way. My responsibility was to support Khru Way in ensuring that all students could effectively participate in the lesson. Whenever I noticed that certain students were struggling to perform movements correctly, I would give them extra attention. I would then demonstrate the correct movements again and ensure that those students could perform the movements correctly in their next turn.

In the third week, I conducted my teaching practice. I taught in accordance with the lesson plan I had prepared beforehand. The lesson plan had been reviewed and received valuable input from Khru Way, my cooperative teacher. Khru Way provided many suggestions to improve my lesson plan, helping it to be well-structured and organized.

In the fourth week, I underwent evaluation by my mentors. I encountered some challenges during my teaching sessions, which required me to make modifications to better align with the classroom conditions and learning environment. The mentors provided valuable feedback on my teaching approach and techniques.

One thing I appreciate about this school is that the teachers strongly encourage students to become independent. For instance, when a student struggles to tie their shoelaces, the teacher doesn't immediately assist in tying the laces but instead demonstrates how to do it, allowing the student to observe and follow the example. Additionally, students are taught how to manage groups for preparing sports days, which is excellent for fostering leadership skills among them. Overall, teaching in Thailand is something I would gladly do again.