Getting to know the practice institution
Teaching practice means you learn to teach in a real school, with real learners, while a trained teacher (your mentor) guides you.
Before you teach, learn about the school. Walk around and find out:
- People: head teacher, teachers, helpers, and who you report to.
- Places: office, classrooms, library, lab, yard, toilets, first aid.
- Rules: timings, attendance, dress code, how to speak to learners, child safety.
- Learners: classes, age, languages spoken, needs for extra help.
Be polite, be on time and ask when you are not sure. A school trusts you more when you follow its rules.
Observing educational activities
To observe means to watch carefully and write down what happens. You are not judging. You are collecting facts.
Watch four things: the teacher (voice, questions, instructions), the learners (who is busy, who is lost), the time (how long each part lasts) and the room (seating, noise, materials).
Write a fact ("Six learners raised hands after the question") and not an opinion ("The class was lazy"). Use a simple checklist or a tally table. Always keep learners' names private.
Assisting in classes
Before you teach alone, you assist. Good small jobs are: giving out sheets, helping a group, checking notebooks, keeping time, setting up an experiment, or reading with one learner.
Ask your mentor first. Help, do not take over. When a learner asks something you cannot answer, say so and find out together.
Planning a lesson and making teaching materials
A lesson plan is a short written map of one lesson. It answers: What should learners be able to do at the end (the aim)? What will I do? What will they do? How will I check?
A simple 40 minute plan has four parts:
- Start (5 min): a question or object to catch interest.
- Explain (about 15 min): one idea at a time with examples.
- Practise (about 15 min): learners do tasks, alone or in groups.
- Check (5 min): two or three questions to see who understood.
Teaching materials are things that help learning: charts, real objects, cards, worksheets, simple models. Make them large, clear and cheap. Test them before class and keep a plan B if something fails.
Reflective journals
A reflective journal is a notebook where you write about your lessons after they happen. Reflect means think back and learn from it.
Use three questions: What happened? (facts) Why did it happen? (reasons) What will I change next time? (action).
Write soon after the lesson, be honest and kind to yourself, and include good moments too.
Portfolios
A portfolio is a folder of proofs of your growth: lesson plans, materials you made, mentor feedback, learner work (with permission and no names), and photos where allowed.
For every proof, add two lines: what it shows and what you learned. A portfolio is not a heap of papers. It tells the story of how you became a better teacher.
Try it: a mini practice cycle
At home, do a mini cycle. See: watch a family member explain something for 5 minutes and note three facts. Plan: plan a 10 minute lesson for a younger child. Do: teach it. Think: write three lines: what happened, why, and what to change.
Key formulas and definitions
- Key terms: teaching practice, mentor, observation, assisting, lesson plan, aim, teaching materials, reflective journal, portfolio
- Practice cycle: Know the school -> Observe and assist -> Plan and teach -> Reflect -> repeat
- 40 min lesson: Start 5 + Explain 15 + Practise 15 + Check 5
- Reflection questions: What happened? Why? What next?
Worked examples
1. You observe a class and write: "The class was noisy and bad." Rewrite it as a useful observation.
Write facts: "At 10:05, during group work, about 8 learners were talking at once. Two groups were still working. The teacher raised her hand and the room was quiet in 15 seconds." Facts can be used to improve; opinions cannot.
2. Plan a 40 minute lesson on the water cycle with the times for each part.
Aim: learners can name the four steps of the water cycle. Start (5 min): ask where a puddle goes. Explain (15 min): evaporation, condensation, rain, collection with a drawing. Practise (15 min): groups label a diagram and act it out. Check (5 min): three questions on cards. Total 5 + 15 + 15 + 5 = 40.
3. Write a three-line reflective journal entry after a lesson where many learners did not finish the task.
What happened: 12 of 30 learners did not finish the worksheet. Why: my explanation took 25 minutes, so practice time was only 8 minutes. What next: explain for 15 minutes and give a shorter worksheet.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the school's rules and routines and teaching straight away.
- Writing opinions or labels about learners instead of clear facts while observing.
- Planning too much for one lesson, so practice and checking are cut.
- Filling the portfolio with papers but never writing what each proof shows.