englishOASIS

Free E-book: Read Smarter

2012-01-27T11:12:00.001+08:00

Here's a free e-book courtesy of Mindtools - an excellent website! Click on the book to download.

The Thinking Teacher

Teacher Talk (26) : Where's the fun and play in teaching?

2012-01-25T08:24:00.003+08:00

An interesting letter that discusses the emphasis placed on the use of computers and technology in the teaching and learning process of children. Questions that come to my mind:

At which stage of primary school should we infuse technology?
Are we denying our children of fun and play in the classroom?
Is technology the answer to all teaching and learning woes?

Your comments?

(credit: the New York Times)

Invitation to a Dialogue: Computers in School?

Re “A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute” (front page, Oct. 23), about employees of high-technology companies who send their children to a Waldorf school that is pointedly low-tech:

From 1993 to 1997 I was the chief domestic policy adviser to Vice President Al Gore, and oversaw the Clinton administration’s program to connect classrooms to the Internet. At the same time both of my children attended a Waldorf school. My children had no access to computers, and extremely limited access to TV or movies.

How did I reconcile this? I asked Waldorf teachers when they felt computer learning was appropriate. Answer: around sixth grade, the same grade that the Clinton program aimed to connect.

And here’s why. Waldorf education holds that children learn best “in through the heart, out through the mind.” Let children experience the world through their hands, hearts and bodies, not just their minds.

When overzealous parents brag that their preschoolers can use a computer or iPhone, they are elevat

ing intellectual/technological achievement over child’s play. The irony, of course, is that success in life depends much more on children developing imagination through play than on learning a soon-to-be-obsolete technology, which is why schools are wasting money and failing our children when they spend millions on technology and cancel play time. By sixth grade children are moving out of play and into more intellectual pursuits; hence computers are more appropriate.

I wish that the parents who surround their children with technology and adult-created graphic images as early as 2 years old would realize that they are robbing their children of their greatest treasure and skill — being a child.

GREG SIMON
Bethesda, Md., Oct. 23, 2011
The writer is now an executive at Pfizer.

The Thinking Teacher

Teacher Talk (25): Of SPM, PMR and tense...

2012-01-24T23:54:00.000+08:00

Here's an email I received recently from a teacher. Your views are much welcome so we can spread the culture of inquiry into our practice and grow as teachers!

From:
To: "rahmahs@yahoo.com"
Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2012 8:34 PM
Subject: related to spm, pmr and tense

Salam
 Pn. Rahimah.  

Last year  I attended the English conference in Pangkor 
and  I attended your brief  presentation.  Although it was brief  I did 
learn something. I hope you don't mind answering few questions related to SPM paper and Pmr Paper.

1. For SPM , paper 1 , sec a   directed writing,  is it 
compulsory for the students  to use the exact given phrase.  For 
example, the given phrase in the question, learn responsibility.   Few 
students wrote as , when you're studying overseas, you will  learn to be
 responsible. Can I award 1 mark for Content?  or  to get 1 mark student
 must write  .... when you further your studies overseas, you will learn
 the value of responsibility.

2. For PMR 2012,  there will be new format  but what about essay? does it still carry 30 marks?

3. The usage of present perfect tense.  Television and 
radio has  intruded into our lives. The reason why the usage of singular
 is  both nouns refer to the same idea. Is that correct?

TQVM.

My Response

wassallam ***

thank you for coming to my session and thanks for your questions.

My response:

1. When awarding content points for directed writing, it's not necessary to use the exact phrase. We teach this to poorer learners because we want them to be able to score some points :) the principle is the content point must keep to the same meaning however you express it. Your student's answer is perfectly acceptable.

2. As far as i know, the weighting remains the same.

3. I think your question is on subject-verb agreement rather than the usage of the present perfect tense. I hope the following explanations will help:

a. Some words are collocative pairs like 'bread and butter', 'ham and eggs', 'pen and ink', 'song and dance'

The basic rule to use them is the number depends on the idea and use of the collocative pairs.

When two uncountable nouns are joined with 'and', we use a plural verb

e.g. Water and coffee are two nutritious drinks.

But when two items always go together (like Siamese twins) you can use a singular verb:

e.g. Bread and butter is my favourite breakfast.

Here, bread and butter is singular as they are not taken separately. You spread butter on bread and eat it together. But when they are separate, you should use a plural verb:

E.g. Bread and butter are sold here

In this sentence, the meaning is bread and butter are sold separately.

Coming back to your question, the plural is more appropriate because:

i. The common collocation is 'radio and television' not 'television and radio' and this is followed by the plural verb as they refer to two things. We have to be aware of the more common collocations used (the Siamese twins).

ii. 'radio and television' is followed by a plural verb as in:

E.g Radio and television are popular means of entertainment.

I really hope this helps :)

The Thinking Teacher

2 Qayyim: My Classmates Activity

2012-01-21T16:38:00.000+08:00

The ice was broken...in our English class today in 2 Qayyim as you can judge by the smiles on their faces. We had a 'getting to know you' type of activity called 'My classmates', where students had to mingle to find some personal information and report back. The focus was listening and speaking. Since this was the first of such activity, I was all praise for these children. They certainly have a lot of potential!

You can use this handout for your class. Happy teaching!

The Thinking Teacher

Closing Ceremony of Form1 and 2 Orientation Week

2012-01-21T15:41:00.003+08:00

Date: 17th January 2012 (Tues)
Venue: Khalifah Hall

I love the closing ceremony of the orientation week! It was short and sweet and meaningful. Despite the short time given to them, the students managed to come up with some creative activities. Well-done sasemians! Enjoy the photos!

The Thinking Teacher

Enter the dragon!

2012-01-21T14:14:00.001+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year to all friends and students!

The Thinking Teacher

Welcome to SASEM's first principal...

2012-01-18T13:27:00.000+08:00

The wait is finally over and God certainly works in ways only He understands...the 16th January saw SASEM's first principal- En Mohd Noh Mohd Yusof from SMK Kahang speaking in the assembly. He outlined his plans: SASEM's vision and mission, school with character, upgrading school facilities and networking with external agencies. He also emphasised cooperation and excellent work ethics among teachers and administrators. In his first meeting with teachers on the same day, the following points were addressed:

MOE's vision and mission
MOE's policies and initiatives- PBS, MBMMBI, KSSR, KSSM, IM1S, Vocational Education Transformation
New initiatives by MOE- Trust Schools, School in hospital, English Teaching Assistants, Murid Tanpa Dokumen
NKRA
Teach for Malaysia
JPNJ Strategic Planning
Prinsip Kerja PPD Kluang
SBP rankings in PMR 2011 and SPM trials

I couldn't help but notice the young teachers avidly listening and taking down notes...definitely positive for their professional development. SASEM welcomes En Mohd Noh Mohd Yusof...there's so much to be done. May we achieve much success in 2012 and beyond!

Principal. En Mohd Noh Mohd Yusof speaking during SASEM's second assembly.

We're finally with a principal- En Mohd Noh Mohd Yusof

The Thinking Teacher

Assessment of student's writing

2012-01-11T11:54:00.002+08:00

My first assesment of Form 2 writing began today. Yesterday, I taught 2 Ibnu Qayyim writing. They were first introduced to a simple structure of an essay: introduction, body (main ideas and supporting details) and conclusion. The title of the essay was discussed and sample introduction techniques were shown. For example, the use of a quotation, saying or idiom and the use of a dialogue. 23/26 students used a saying but three souls were brave enough to use a dialogue as an introduction. I finished marking their first compositions today and gave them back to the class monitor, Nazim. Generally, the compositions were of the 'timetable' type...something they have learned in primary school. This is how I usually assess compositions. It may not be your cup of tea but sharing enriches our experience :)

Sample 1

Sample 2

I use symbols for marking because it helps my students understand the types of mistakes they make. But first you must explain the symbols to the class. I underline the error first and write the symbol on the left margin. For instance:

t    = tense
vb = verb
v = vocabulary
sp   = spelling
p    = preposition
wo = word order

Yes, it can be tedious but here's a piece of advice - don't use too many, just focus on the most important grammar points. You're welcome to share how you assess your students compositions. It would be a great way to improve our professional development. Teachers must talk about what they do in the classrooms to learn from each other. After all, there's no one perfect way to assess your students' written work. There are many types of errors and it's really impossible to mark them all but some are more gross than others so you can focus on those.

The Thinking Teacher

1st Official Assembly

2012-01-09T20:05:00.000+08:00

Date: 9th Jan 2012
Venue: Dewan Khalifah

Everything seems a first today...first official assembly, first day of teaching from 2-4p.m...first principal En Mohd Noh Mohd Yusof reported for duty today. During the assembly, I quietly slipped to the back row on the stage as the front rows (minus the frontmost) were all full when the GKMP Bahasa signalled (with her eyes) for me to sit in front. I kindly waved a 'no' but a senior teacher 'sternly' looked at me, with the look that says "you better move your ass to the front right this minute"! He he...not having much of a choice, I inched to the front row and sat quietly next to the GKMP Bahasa. I wasn't angry or anything but I just don't like to take the liberty of sitting in front unless I was invited. It was indeed a day of firsts :)

My first class with 2 Qayyim and 2 Khathir (first PSK lesson) from 2-4 p.m. today- I looked at those young, innocent faces and thought to myself...here lies the potential waiting to be polished!

Way to go Sains Sembrong!

The Thinking Teacher

A grammar question

2012-01-08T08:17:00.001+08:00

I received an email from a student who asked a very good question on grammar. When do we use singular or plural with 'none'? Here's the question and the response:

   
FROM:
TO:

Saturday, January 7, 2012 12:32 PM

hi, teacher~ i am __________

i would like to ask about some grammar

~none of these girls enjoys curry

~none of these girls enjoy curry

which sentence should i choose

Thanks!!

My response

This grammar item has always caused confusion amongst students and teachers. Look the the following sentences. Which is correct?

1. “None of the apples is rotten.”
2. “None of the apples are rotten.”

In addressing this question, there are two schools of thought:

The first school of thought (singular)

They argue that 'none' which stands for "not one" must always be singular and therefore the first sentence is correct.

The second school of thought (singular and plural)

The second school of thought believes that "none" is singular or plural depending on what it refers to. In the example above, "none" refers to" apples". "apples" is the referent and since it is a plural noun, we need a plural verb "are".

My opinion:

I prefer the first explanation when it comes to formal writing but I'm not saying the second is wrong. We need to decide whether we are sticking to the rules (the first school of thought) or usage pattern (the second school of thought). If you google the phrase, you are most likely to find the second sentence is also correct and it sounds natural to use the plural "are".

Here are further examples to tickle the brain:

1. None of the books is/are expensive.
2. None of the reasons has/have been accepted.
3. None of the students likes/likes the movie.

The Thinking Teacher

So much for English...

2012-01-06T08:04:00.001+08:00

What do all of you think of the following?

(credit: The Star, Friday January 6, 2012)

All abuzz over ‘Ethical Clothing’

By JOSEPH SIPALAN and JOSEPH KAOS Jr

PETALING JAYA: If you are working at the Defence Ministry, be sure not to wear “clothes that poke eye”.

This was one of the many colourful descriptions of “Ethical Clothing” (etika berpakaian) that is acceptable within the ministry’s standards.

Netizens on social networking sites were literally ROFL, which is cyberspeak for “rolling on the floor laughing”, as they shared the link to the ministry’s amusing English translation of the staff dress code on its official website.

“Clothes that poke eye” is a literal translation of pakaian yang menjolok mata, which is supposed to mean revealing clothes in Bahasa Malaysia. Other finds included: “collared shirts and tight Malay civet berbutang three”, which, in Malay, is berkolar baju Melayu cekak musang berbutang tiga.

Baju batik lengan panjang berkolar / cekak musang buatan Malaysia, meanwhile is translated as “long-sleeve batik shirt with collar / mongoose fight made in Malaysia”.

There was also “shine closed”, which was translated from kasut bertutup, or closed-toe shoes.

Another was the brief summary of the ministry’s history on the website, which read: “After the withdrawal of British army, the Malaysian Government take drastic measures to increase the level of any national security threat.”

The actual summary in Bahasa Malaysia read: Selepas pengunduran tentera British, Kerajaan Malaysia mengambil langkah drastik untuk meningkatkan tahap keselamatan negara dari sebarang ancaman.

The ministry took down the English translated version several hours after it went widespread on Twitter and Facebook.

A ministry spokesperson said a clarification has since been posted on the website, adding that page hits shot up remarkably yesterday.

The clarification on the website said corrective action was being taken on the related software to ensure translations were accurate.

The Thinking Teacher

Hello 2012!

2012-01-03T23:57:00.001+08:00

Date: 4th January 2012 (Wed)
Time: 9 a.m.- 4.00 p.m.
Venue: SASEM Meeting Room

Hey! It's back to school finally. If I don't sound so excited, forgive me. Must be the new school term blues :) Prior to this meeting, we had two meetings to listen to SBPA and another to strategise for panel's strategic plan for 2012-2014. So this was supposed to be our first teacher's meeting. Don't worry if you are slightly confused...just think of it as us having accomplished three meetings thus far. And I thought the Germans lost the war due to too many meetings/strategising :) Anyway, since meetings are the stuff teachers are made of, we had ours too, not wanting to be left behind.

En Basir, GPK 1 briefing teachers in first teacher's meeting.

SASEM teachers paying attention to every single detail...

En Siddiq GPK Koku giving his briefing

Important pointers from this meeting were:

message from the Director- early completion of the syllabus, attendange: teachers (80%) Principal (70%), teachers can only leave school if letters are signed by the director of SBP Sector, JPN, PPD, the house system needs to be implemented, GC to offer services/abilities in school, SASEM to host athletics meet, the use of modules in T&L
the vision and mission of SASEM
quality monitoring
completing the syllabus early
extra classes for all forms 1, 2, 4
motivational programmes
'Young teachers' programme
Rakan U programme
Holiday classes
School hours: 7.30-4.00 p.m.
panel files- 7 in keeping with JPNJ circular

Happy teaching teachers! Will post more later.

The Thinking Teacher

Strategic Planning for English Panel

2011-12-28T13:38:00.002+08:00

We had our second meeting today to do our Strategic Planning for 2012-2014. Each panel has to collaborate and produce a strategic plan for the next three years. I found something useful from the internet- a sample done by a school. You can download it here. Thanks to SMK Batu 17, Padang Lumat for sharing. Happy strategising!!

The Thinking Teacher

Back to School Checklist

2011-12-25T16:12:00.001+08:00

Everyone's talking about SBPA (the new remuneration scheme) and whether to sign or not to sign the option. Now that it's extended to January 15th, we have plenty of time to consider. Soon teachers will be attending numerous meetings in schools such as the first teachers' meeting on 27th Dec, panel meeting, etc. The new school term in Johor is 4th January and I'm sure there are many things that you need to do before the term starts. It's good to have a checklist of the 'tools' and resources you need before you start teaching. Here's mine:

Preparing the scheme-of-work for your classes. I don't believe in having a 'standardised' scheme-of-work simply because my set of students is different from the other class and they learn at different paces too. However I do agree if we have a common writing target for example so that say by May, we can test some already taught genres. We are so used to the idea that everything must be standardised but as the teacher, you know that you can go faster with one class than the other.In other words, there should be a different scheme of work for each class but make sure all essential language components for the particular form are covered.
Proficiency test- I administer this from week one to two to get an idea of the level of proficiency my students have. This will help me greatly when deciding on workbooks, materials and exams.
Getting to know your students warmer/ice-breaker- you can find many from the internet. For example: Education World
Writing Skills Target- depending on which form I'm teaching, I have a file on the kinds of writing assignments given to students for the entire year. I make sure all genres are covered and a copy is pasted in the classes that I teach so students also know what our target for writing is.
Record book - mine is a plastic file with loose templates for easy handling and compiling. Remember that a record book can be kept in a mode other than the one provided by the school. Record books can be kept in a mode more in keeping with current technology. However I don't believe in over-decorating a record book because it is an official document. Some say it's a 'buku cari makan' (!) Some say they get a lot of motivation when they look at a beautifully decorated record book...I still don't think it's appropriate though. Keep the embellishments to the minimum :)
Topics list for your exercise books -students paste this in front of their exercise books to keep track of the types of topics covered and whether we are on track as a whole class.
Clear files for writing assignments- I'm thinking of using clear files/folder for my student's writing this year. This means that students submit their compositions on A4 test pad paper instead of the usual exercise books. This will be very handy when I've to bring the compositions home for marking. No more heavy 40 exercise books in the car boot!
First week activities- I will usually have these ready once I know which classes I'm teaching. Unfortunately, I still do not know my classes so I'll just have these ready just in case...
Resource materials- these are master copies of materials I've been using over the years kept in files for easy use. The materials are reading, listening-speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, literature, songs and games and past-years papers.
I also go to the bookshops to get the latest reference books and workbooks and then decide which ones I want to use. It's ok if you don't use workbooks but I find them handy for extra language practice. Choose one that's suitable for your students' level. You'll notice that some workbooks are too difficult for your students in terms of language level, topics (especially factual texts).
Stationary- manila, mah jong papers, flashcards, notepaper, pens, and pencils, marker pens, masking tapes, stick-on-notes, pilot pen refills etc.
My Magic Box- this is a box I carry to the classroom whenever we have group work that requires scissors, glue, marker pens, clips etc.
YOU! Don't forget that you are the most important resource - many of us are probably still in holiday mood and we will be dragging our feet to that first meeting :) Well, it's important to set the right frame of mind as the new term begins. Set your goals so you have a sense of direction. Mine is to teach well (the saying goes that 'the moment of truth in the four walls of your classroom'), to be there for my students, to produce classroom innovations, to write new books and to be a positive person.

I've no doubts that many of you have better ideas on how to get started in the new academic term. Why not share them here and we can add them to the list?

Happy New Year!

The Thinking Teacher

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

2011-12-25T07:35:00.001+08:00

Have a great Christmas with your families!

The Thinking Teacher

National Open Class Lesson Study 2011

2011-12-20T09:06:00.000+08:00

Looks like I can't wait for 2012 to start blogging again :) Too long a rest is numbing my brains to be honest. First, I want to share this national convention on Lesson Study, a Teacher Division Programme under the NKRA initiative to improve teacher quality.

(courtesy: The Star Online)

Sunday December 18, 2011

Boost for 289 schools under programme

Dr Azian with (from right) Prof Isoda, Prof Insprasitha and Prof Kuno at the seminar.

THE Education Ministry has asked 289 secondary schools (under Band 6 and 7 of the school ranking system) to adopt the “Lesson Study” programme in an effort to improve teaching practises.

The programme under the Professional Learning Community (PLC) concept, is a new initiative under the Ministry’s New Key Result Area (NKRA), which is

aimed at improving the education system in the schools.

Band 6 and Band 7 is reserved for the lowest-performing schools in the school ranking system.

Dr Azian Abdullah, director of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation - Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics (Seameo-Recsam) said the programme initiated by the Teacher Training Division (TTD) was aimed at improving the educators’ teaching methods and brought about a better learning experience among students.

“The programme has been adopted in Japan for over a century and is now being applied by teachers in schools here,” she said when opening the two-day ‘National Open Class Lesson Study 2011’ seminar at the Seameo-Recsam premises in Penang.

The programme involves three stages of implementation where a participating teacher would be selected to prepare the learning tools to teach the students. The teacher would then instruct and coach the students under the close observation of her colleague. Professional Development Sector (PDS) deputy director Sukeman Suradi said four core subjects, English, Mathematics, Science and History were chosen for the programme. PDS is a sector under TTD.

Prof Hiroyuki Kuno from Aichi University of Education in Japan and Prof Maitree Insprasitha from Khon Kaen University in Thailand were invited to deliver talks during the two-day seminar. Also present was Prof Masami Isoda from University of Tsukuba in Japan who is an expert in Lesson Study.

The Thinking Teacher

See you in 2012!

2011-11-12T17:51:00.001+08:00

It has been three years since I started blogging to share best practices and matters on CPD. I hope I've been able to share things of interest with my blog visitors whoever you are. In the three years I've met many of my blog visitors, Saidatul, Violet and Lailatul from Sabah, Anizah, Jenny, Khalipah, Azimah, Saodah, Fazleen to name but a few. Sometimes they surprised me with " Hello, you're the blogger!", "Hi, I know you!" or " You inspire me..." in meetings and conferences. It has been a wonderful and enriching three years. I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.

In addition I've received many emails especially from would-be teachers looking for tips on teaching. It has been rewarding indeed to share and to make many new friends. In the the three years, I've only received ONE negative comment from the 1,141 comments. It is delightful to know that there are many positive people out there who just want to interact and learn from each other. My take is, if you want to look at the positive side of things, it will be positive vice versa.

To date, the page views to my blog have surpassed half a million! (579,224 page views) Thanks to one and all. Once a friend asked me whether I was making money out of blogging. I'd be rich by now if that was my aim :) Those adverts are just for fun- gives my blog a little 'hardcore blogger' look! Yes, you can make money from blogging but you must have sponsored adverts. It's too complicated for a simpleton like me.

This is me signing off for 2011. This will be my last post for the year. It's not easy to let go when you've been at it for so long but everybody needs a break now and then. Am so looking forward to spending this hols just reading and frequenting the gym and yes, finishing that elusive book...Hope to see you again in January 2012 with more postings and a fresher outlook.

Happy hols and be good! Thank you for your support and friendship :)

engoasis (12 Nov 2011)

The thinking teacher

Best Wishes!!!

2011-11-10T12:19:00.000+08:00

Best wishes in your SPM to all my former students in

SMK Canossian Convent, Kluang and visitors.

Break a leg!

PMR English too easy?

2011-10-30T10:32:00.001+08:00

Today' discussion menu. Because it affects us in one way of another (as teachers and parents), here it is for you to read. Is it true that the standard of English has fallen? If so, what are our roles in lifting the standards to a respectable level? Read on and tell me what you think?

(credit: The STAR)

Sunday October 30, 2011

PMR English is too easy

STUDENTS across the country sat for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) English examination recently, and I have been reading and analysing both components – Paper 1 and Paper 2.
Paper 1, which focuses on reading, consists of 40 questions which every student has to answer in an hour.
The first 10 questions consist of 10 passages of around 200 words each. Challenging words students may encounter include “chaos”, “authentic”, and “bedazzled”.

From questions 11 to 18, students have to read a passage where they are supposed to fill in the missing links in the passage which tests their grasp of grammar. It consists of approximately 180 words.
The next five questions test students’ understanding of idiomatic phrases, and some of the difficult phrases are “pull their weight” and “abide by”.

There is an advertisement consisting of around 120 words which students have to answer from questions 25 to 28. Sophisticated words they encounter are “zenith” and “community.”
Students then have to read a “long” passage of 225 words and answer the questions from 29 to 34. Sophisticated words they might come across are: “complex”, “numerous”, “peers”, “ethnic”, “influence”, “hence”, “maturity”, “discriminate”, “genuine” and “exclusive”.

After that, students have to read the poem The Dead Crow, consisting of roughly 90 words, written by national laureate A. Samad Said. There is one difficult word “dignity” and one interesting phrase “gasping for air” in the poem.

The final passage they have to read is an extract from the short story How Dalat Got Its Name which consists of approximately 150 words and answer from question 38 to question 40. Sophisticated words they may encounter are “carved”, “memorial” and “mourned”.

All in all, students have to read about 1,200 words or six 200-page-long pages.

Then I compared our 2011 PMR English Paper 1 to the 2011 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) English Reading Paper, which tests students’ English proficiency in private and international schools.

It consists of 45 questions in which students have to answer in 45 minutes. It has eight passages in total, ranging from a 53-word passage to a 471-word passage. Students have to read about 2,000 words, the equivalent of ten 200-word-long pages.

More sophisticated words and phrases are encountered, such as “memento”, “shivered”, “eerie”, “efficient”, “reckless”, “ripping yarn”, “mortal combat” and “no-holds-barred style”. There are about 70 challenging words in total.

One question that tests students’ vocabulary in the PMR paper asks students the meaning of the word “develop” and they have to choose from the words “build”, “allow”, “support” and “consider.”
By comparison, a vocabulary question in the ICAS paper asks students the meaning of the word “adversity” and they have to choose from four options: “conquest”, “hardship”, “enemies” and “confusion.”

Dear readers, which English paper do you think will enrich our students’ minds more and prepare them to be competitive in this rapidly borderless world?

I have not even been comparing apple to apple. While the PMR English paper was taken by 15-year-olds, the ICAS English Reading Paper I was sat by Year Four Malaysian pupils and Year Three Singaporean pupils in private and international schools respectively.

How can we expect our local students to compete with students from other countries if the standard of English of our PMR exam is even lower than standard of English required for Year Four pupils in private and international schools?

The Education Ministry should upgrade the level of English taught and tested in Malaysian government schools. At least then the English standard of our Form Three students can be on par with Year Four and Year Three pupils in private and international schools.

MR LIM
Via e-mail

~the thinking teacher~

National Convention for Excellent Teachers 2011

2011-10-27T22:10:00.001+08:00

Date: 21-24 October 2011
Venue: IAB Jitra, kedah

The MGCM convention just ended. I had to miss the closing ceremony as MAS changed my flight to 9.25 a.m. Overall, congratulations is in order for JNJK officers (En Zulkifli Nordin, Ketua Unit GC, JNJK) and MGCM committee members for a well-organised event. We received a lot of input from big names but I was slightly disappointed that there were only eight papers for the parallel sessions. I must thank JNJK though for selecting my paper and I'm truly honoured. However, since this was a 'persidangan', I thought more emphasis should have been given to the papers. This will inevitably raise standards amongst GCs. I also expected more academic rigour in the conference as this was a national level event and excellent teachers were involved. Perhaps an ideas market on innovations by excellent teachers could also be inserted in future conferences to encourage creativity and innovation?

My paper was on the use of two web 2.0 tools to improve writing and critical thinking. Despite the technical glitches, I managed to share the digital notebook online. This was a project that involved two classrooms in my former school, SMK Canossian Convent, Kluang. Many teachers gave positive feedback after the presentation and I'd like to thank JNJK for the opportunity.

The talk I enjoyed most was Dr Rusmini Ku Ahmad's, Senior Lecturer IAB Jitra. She touched on innovative people who always ask these questions- WHY? WHY NOT? and WHAT IF? I like the part when she talked about FB (yes, facebook) - a gentle reminder to all of us. She was amazed at how people relate every single thing that they do for e.g. what they ate, where they were going, what they were feeling etc. For FB junkies like me (am a guilty party), this was a timely reminder. Dr Rusmini candidly pointed out, "Too much of anything is not good. Trivial matters train your brain into triviality." Thank you Dr, I will surely remember that! Well-done to the organisers for another milestone in MGCM's chapter!

Thanks to Ismail Yon (YDP MGC Kluang ) for the chocolates. Zana, Mail and I had char kway tiau and nescafe tarik outside till midnight. It was a good break for all of us :)

The input sessions:

Wacana Ilmu : Pn Hjh Normah Hj Ismail, Ketua Sektor Penaziran Kepimpinan Institusi Pendidikan, JNJK, MOE

(change and managing change, X-PLUS principles for excellence, excellent teachers must have

CAN-DO mentality and committed to life-long learning)

2. Ucaptama: Tn Hj Sufaat Tumin, TKPPM, Sektor Pembangunan Profesionalisme Keguruan , MOE

(protecting instructional time in schools to improve students' outcome and instructional leadeship)

3. Opening Ceremony : Dato' Dr Ismail Alias, Timbalan Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam

          (Operasi), JPA

(the need for value-added element in innovation, value-creation)

   4. Pleno 1: Dr Rusmini Ku Ahmad, Senior Lecturer, IAB Jitra
(sustainability, innovation, creativity, developing soft skills in secondary schools based on her
            research with University of Cambridge)

   5. Pleno 2: Prof Madya Dr. Idris Mohd Nor, UniMAP
(challenges for excellent teachers)

   6. Pleno 3: Prof. Madya Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif, Jabatan
           Penyelidikan dan Rancangan Kreatif, Inovasi dan Multimedia, Melaka Planetarium Sdn. Bhd

           (Innovation and examples in society)

     7.   MGCM Resolutions:

Kepimpinan bilik darjah merangkumi aspek softskills
GC berperanan sebagai konsultan di peringkat PPD dan negeri
GC berperanan sebagai kumpulan pemikir untuk membantu KPM merancang dasar baru dalam kurikulum
Mewujudkan gred Dg40 bagi guru bukan siswazah
Menempatkan semula GC DG48 di sekolah rendah ke sekolah menengah

Teaching Standard 6 Pupils?

2011-10-27T20:50:00.000+08:00

Date: 20 Oct 2011
Venue: SM Sains Sembrong, Kluang

40 pupils of SK Sri Lalang, Kluang came for a two-day programme in my new school. The pupils were selected from the group that was targeted to get 5A's in the recently concluded UPSR hence they were in SASEM (SM Sains Sembrong) to get a feel of how it's like to study in a residential school. Besides the ice-breaking and team-building activities, they had lessons as it should be conducted in a residential school. I had a double-period lesson with twenty pupils and Shamsul, my colleague with the other twenty. It was my first experience teaching primary pupils and it was a great one. We did a lot of pronunciation work and a language game. I must say the pupils were very receptive and responsive. Let's hope that many will make it to SASEM when the new term begins in 2012!

Excellent partipation from students

The category game

Ice-breaking in the hall with Mazida dan Rafi (counselors)

Way to go boys and girls!

Teacher Talk (24): Summary-writing

2011-10-25T12:46:00.000+08:00

Some time back I posted on 'Shortcut to Summary-writing?'. Thank you for your response Nuha. I hope it will be useful to other visitors.

From:
To: "rahmahs@yahoo.com"
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 3:42 PM
Subject: Shortcut to summary-writing?

Dear Puan Rahmah,

Referring
 to your latest post "Shortcut to summary-writing", I would like to 
share what I knew & what I did to my very weak students. (I was 
unable to find the comment button for this post )  Firstly,
 allow me to define "my very weak students".
 They are the ones who
 possess very poor vocab, don't understand mostly what they read
 even a simple passage, don't understand what the question wants & 
ultimately won't be able to answer a question, which in this case - 
writing a summary. These students fail to identify the 5 main points 
from the passage.

I received the following tips from a colleague who attended a seminar organised by the PPD of Sepang early this year:

Copy the first 2 sentences of each paragraph starting from the second  paragraph (because the 10 introduction words are taken from the first paragraph).
Copy the sentences in full.
Copy the sentences without any spelling errors.
Copy only 60 words.
If the 60th word is not the last word, ask the students to complete the sentence.
Omit the 10 introductory words.
Use linkers in order to get 3 marks for language.

I
 taught the above tips only to "my very weak students" for PMR 2011. By 
using the above tips, students might get (if they are lucky) 2 -3 marks 
for contents and 3 marks for language. Not bad huh? Nevertheless, I hate this tips because we merely help them to pass the exam but not to improve their proficiency in English.

(I shared the above tips on my blog...yikes!)

Any thoughts? Feel free to share.

Can we go beyond DG?

2011-10-20T00:01:00.002+08:00

How do you feel when a friendly handshake and a few introductory sentences with new acquaintances are greeted with this question, "Cikgu DG berapa?" I mean what kind of question is that? We just met for goodness sake...Let me relate something that happened in May this year. I was attending a meeting for about four days up north. This meeting was an important one and we had IPGM lecturers as well. Right after dinner on the day of arrival, I happened to be in a lift with two ladies, both PHD holders. One of the ladies started a conversation and we discovered then that we were all attending the same meeting (small world). All of a sudden, the lift door opened on the fourth floor and hey, incidentally, we were on the same floor too!

As we were stepping out of the lift, one of them popped THE question, "Cikgu Dg berapa?" , to which I responded honestly. "Oooo...", came the reply, with that you-know-what kind of meaning attached :). As we were pacing the hall to our rooms, the lady sarcastically remarked, " Waaaah, kalau naik kapalterbang tu business class cikgu!" My jaws almost dropped but I managed a faint smile. I could sense that she was unhappy about something. I felt like it was a sin being promoted and that we teachers don't deserve promotion. (The letters to editors about the recent salary increase announced in the latest budget should give you enough clue that envy is the name of the game) And yet we talked about upholding teachers' profession (memartabatkan profesion perguruan)! How can we ever achieve that if we are small-minded? Nevertheless, I headed straight to my room and so did the two of them. And the lady's room happened to be next to mine ok...enough coincidences for one night I thought. It was only later during the closing speech did I realise the bitterness was due to the lack of recognition on PHD holders by the government or rather the lack of remuneration! One of them was at the rostrum closing the meeting and relating how she could have worked in a foreign university with a bigger pay...The bitter feeling has been there for many years I guessed.

I understood the bitterness then. Fair enough- I don't blame them for feeling that way but please don't take it on others. Others worked very hard too to be at this level now. Just because we teach in schools does not mean we don't deserve to be on par or even better than those in other institutions. We each have our own path in our respective schemes. Everyone has the chance to upgrade and improve. All it takes is hard work , commitment and performance. On top of that for the nation to remunerate teachers based on their academic qualifications, it has to transform itself into a high-income nation first.

To cut a long story short, on the second day, I discovered that the two ladies were important people in the meeting, one of whom was a key player in decision-making. And to answer the sarcasm on the plane thing- I've never had the opportunity to fly business class since my promotion because there was either a lack of meetings/courses due to financial constraints or the location did not warrant a flight ticket. I have yet to relish the comfort of a business class seat and I'm not even complaining :)

MGCM's latest publication: Inovasi dan Kreativiti Menjana Transformasi Pendidikan, Idea P dan P Guru Cemerlang

2011-10-19T22:45:00.001+08:00

I just received a copy of the latest publication from MGCM. There are 25 articles from a variety of subjects written by excellent teachers nationwide. My article (translated from English) entitled "If You Don't Use it, You Lose It!: Mengintegrasikan Teknologi Web 2.0 bagi Penambahbaikan Kemahiran Menulis dan Berfikir Secara Kritis is one of the articles published. It sure feels great to have your article published in a book. Publishing is the ultimate satisfaction for me. We're only paid an honorarium of RM100 but the feeling of having your ideas shared and published is incomparable. Alhamdulillah...

Shortcut to summary-writing?

2011-10-15T11:41:00.000+08:00

Something is bothering me. I hope anyone who has an inkling of this could share it with me. Had a conversation with a teacher colleague to discuss summary-writing just recently. I was informed that if you teach your weak to very weak students to lift the first three lines of each of the paragraphs in the PMR summary, the students will end up with minimum three content points! My colleague even said that there was a research on this. This is breaking news indeed for me and my first reaction to this was- "Really? How come I didn't know this." My second reaction was, "What are teachers up to now?" Sorry, but something churns in my stomach when I think about this...