Day 16

Today was the start of my last week in the teaching practice, and it was the last week for the students as well. The first thing I noticed today was the attendance because there were only 12 out of 26 students. I was not surprised because it is a common habit in public schools to not attended in the last week before any official break. However, when I compared it with my experience in Cranleigh, it is not the same because the attendance stays constant and normal until the last day. I think if schools scheduled exams in this week then students will come to school, but when they finished exams last week, they think the school finished too.

The main focus today was allowing students to do an online exam in math and science by using a website called Question a Day. I toke students to the library to do the exam, and I only helped them in entering their usernames and password because they required to do it individually. I observed many students didn’t read questions they only choose answers randomly. I heard grade three teachers discussed the exam and they commented it is hard and tricky and the majority of students didn’t get a good grade. I think the idea using technology is essential especially with the young generation who glued to their tablets in their daily life. However, the poor communication between parents and schools create a problem because parents didn’t cooperate in encouraging their children to use educational websites at home. Students should access these websites every day especially question a day, then when it comes to the exam, it will be a revision for them, and their results will be much better.

At the end of the day, my colleagues and I prepare a thankful celebration for our Al-Qimma’s teachers. It was a great opportunity to thank them and the school who give us a great teaching practice. I was proud of all my colleagues when the school principal commented on our professionalism during teaching practice. As a student teacher, I gain new experience each TP and my experience this semester was understanding the value of professionalism in creating a positive learning environment for all school members.