Name : Ni Kadek Dwi Candra Septi
Major Education : English Language Education
Home University : Ganesha University of Education
Receiving University : Tarlac Agricultural University
Blog : https://dwicandrasepti.wordpress.com/
Name of School : TAU – Laboratory School
Tarlac Agricultural University
First of all, I want to thank God for all the blessings that were bestowed upon me for every single step I had taken. I have successfully finished my pre-service teaching program which was officially held for 27 days at Tarlac Agricultural University – Laboratory School, Tarlac, Philippines. I am so grateful that I can join this program; having my practice teaching abroad and represent my beloved university, Undiksha in this international program. I want to thank to all parts of Ganesha University of Education for always giving opportunity for all the students to enrich their experience not only nationally but also internationally. Here, I tried to share my experiences and memories of these amazing 27 days journey through this report.
- General Information
1.1. School Profile
Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU) is a public educational institution which located in a rural setting of a large town of Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines. Officially accredited and recognized by the Commission on Higher Education, Philippines, Tarlac Agricultural University was established in 1944 and has experienced a number of conversions until it becomes the current TAU. This year, The Tarlac Agricultural University has undergone institutional development and progressive transformation for 75 years. Firstly, the school started out as a secondary school called the Camiling Boys / Girls High School. In some decades later, On December 18, 1974, it was converted to become an independent agricultural college as Tarlac College of Agriculture (TCA). Finally, TCA officially became Tarlac Agricultural University in 2016.
Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU) offers courses and programs such as bachelor degrees, master degrees, and doctorate degrees in several areas of study. The study area includes Arts & Humanities, Business & Social Science, Language & Cultural, Medicine & Health, Engineering, and Science & Technology. Started by only 368 students, the student enrollment in TAU is in range of 2,000 to 2,999 students with a selective admission policy based on the entrance examination and students’ past academic record and grades.
TAU is headed by the college president, Dr. Max P. Guillermo, with 200-299 academic staff. With persistent hard work and high dedication of all front line and staff, TAU is always striving to provide professional, technical and instruction for special purposes in agriculture, agricultural education, home technology and other related fields.
Tarlac Agricultural University has its own laboratory school. This laboratory school, or well-known as lab school, consist of four grades of junior high school which are grade seven to grade ten; and two grade of senior high school which are grade eleven and grade twelve. I have done my practice teaching in this school in the grade twelve. This school is headed by Karen a. Mariano.
1.2. Academic Facilities
TAU provides some academic facilities for all part of TAU since academic facilities is really important to support the teaching and learning process. The facilities provided include laboratory, library, sport facilities and housing. There are six laboratories which are computer laboratory, chemistry laboratory, biology laboratory, and physic laboratory, food processing laboratory and weaving laboratory. The sport facilities include five courts which are basketball, volleyball, table tennis, tennis, and badminton courts; and one field which is soccer field. Besides, for the sport facility, TAU also provides gymnasium and outdoor swimming pool. For the housing, TAU provides hostel for every student who need housing facility. It is also provided for the international students who are having their exchange program in TAU. Besides, there are also some rooms in Farmers’ Training Center (FTC) which can be occupied by international students. Other facilities including auditorium and audio-visual room are also provided to support any activities held in TAU. There are also some canteens with clean and fresh food and drink.
1.3. Teaching System
Different with the educational system in Indonesia, in TAU – Laboratory High School, the junior high school (JHS) is divided from Grade 7 – 10 and the senior high school (SHS) is divided from Grade 11 – 12 which means that the students spend 4 years to study in junior high school and two years in senior high school. In JHS, it is divided into three sections for each grade. First section is Science A, the second one is Science B and the last section is Agricultural and Homemaking (AgHm). For Science A and B, each class consists of 50 students which has been divided based on their rank after the semester final examination. While in AgHm class, there is no class change since the students rank is not considered. In SHS, it is divided into four sections for each grade which are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), HUMSS (Humanities and Social Sciences), ABM (Accountancy, Business and Management), and Agricultural Homemaking Economics. The teaching and learning process is conducted from 07.30 AM to 05.00 PM on Monday to Friday.
- Pedagogical Contents
2.1. Teaching Method
Mostly, the teaching method applied in TAU-Lab School is student centered where the teacher act as the facilitator and encourage the students to be active. However, there are also some of the teaching method that used both student centered and/or teacher centered learning. It depends on the teacher, the subject and the material.
2.2. Source of Learning
Both JHS and SHS are allowed to bring their smart phone. It makes the teacher easier to ask them to browse the learning material in the internet. Beside, some subjects need material book as the source of learning which contain the material that is going to be discussed and guidance.
2.3. Authentic Assessment
The scoring system is taken from daily assignments, weekly assignments, quizzes, student presentations, student activeness, and examinations. The participation of the students in the teaching and learning process will be noted to be given an additional score. Later, this score will help the students in the final score accumulation in case if they have such a low score in middle or final examinations.
- Teaching Plan
3.1. Curriculum
The TAU – Laboratory High School follows the K-12 Curriculum which is implemented by the government. The implementation of the K-12 in the Philippine is purposely intended to develop the educational system in the Philippines. The TAU – Laboratory High School also specially implements its own curriculum named Agricultural and Homemaking Curriculum (AgHm) and Science Curriculum. It combines both of the curriculums which leads to the outcome that the students become more knowledgeable and rich in experiences since they can learn lots of different things in the school.
3.2. Lesson Plan
The lesson plan used in TAU-Laboratory School is way simpler than I get used to make in Indonesia. While in Indonesia, the lesson plan may consist of more than 10 pages, in the Philippines, it only consists of 2-4 pages. Simply, it consists of learning objectives, learning material, and learning strategies which are described using less word yet compact.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1h-XZ0tBWYA15RF-JKdgepDRJqsgUGUBe
- Teaching Practice
4.1. Teaching procedures in the classroom
The teaching procedure in TAU-Laboratory School is similar to teaching procedure in Indonesia. There are three core parts in teaching procedures where both the Philippines and Indonesia use it namely opening, core activity, and closure. These three core parts are implemented while I am teaching in the classroom. The following procedures are as follows:
- Opening
I came to the class and greet the students. After the greeting, I did the present list to know who is absent in the classroom. After that, I did brainstorm to relate the material by asking some questions to the students.
- Core Activity
Core activity is where the material should be conveyed completely but still considering the classroom situation to be fun. The application of game in teaching in learning process is one way to keep the classroom atmosphere fun. This fun activity will encourage the students to be actively participating in the class. The game itself is not only intended for the fun activity, but also to convey the material by discussing it together along the game.
- Closure
At the end of the class, it is really important to ask the students to conclude the material which has been learned. After the students successfully conclude it, the teacher has to clarify it.
4.2. Others
- Summary and Suggestions
5.1. Purpose of the teaching practice
Here are some of the purposes of teaching practice: (1) It develops our understanding, attitudes, and skills in teaching as they apply the knowledge/competencies we have learnt and apply it into the real teaching situation; (2) It enables us to gain useful experiences as a result of interacting with the students and teachers; (3) We are able to interact with officials of the school to know more about the school program, the environment of the school; (4) It gives us opportunity to increase out professionality to be a competent teacher.
5.2. Outcomes of the Practice
- Having new experiences to teach foreign students.
- Having the competence to compete in the era of Globalization and Industrial 4.0
- Becoming an ambassador of Ganesha University of Education in education and cultural field abroad.
5.3. Overall Impression
This is such a great honored for me to be able to represent Ganesha University of Education in international level. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to challenge myself to teach foreign students. Get along with all parts of TAU including the teachers and the students become so easy since they welcomed us friendly and warmly accepting our flaws and mistakes. They are an amazing family that everyone wishes to have. This pre-service teaching program teaches me lots of things not only about how to be a good teacher but also how to be a great human being in terms of social and character development. It teaches me a lot that future life is not a piece of cake. There will be many of challenges and problems that should be faced. I am so thankful for the lesson given. .
5.4. Suggestion for Future Improvement
Wherever you go, it will be so much better if you had already prepare yourself so that you will be physically and mentally ready. For the next candidate of teaching practice, be ready with every challenge that will come and face it confidently. Enjoying every single step is really important so you can be success on your journey.
