Student Sharing - Teacher Ambassador Programme (TAP) (2021-22)
Chan Yee Yan Cindy
Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science
During my teaching practicum, a TAP Teacher (Ms Ho), a highly experienced in-service teacher, was invited to observe my lesson and provide vital feedback regarding my teaching practise. Ms Ho shared her prior experience of using similar teaching approaches and discuss their pros and cons with me in the post-lesson discussion. This enabled me to better understand the benefits and limitations of my pedagogical approaches which will help me to make pedagogical decisions easier in the future.
Meanwhile, this programme was meaningful to me in the sense that every opinion was valued in the interactive post-lesson discussion as we shared our experiences of facing similar struggles in teaching and tried to look for possible solutions. This experience shaped my teaching identity to be a more responsive teacher who takes care of students’ academic needs, along with their social and emotional needs. Moreover, this experience also inspired me to become a reflective teacher who will actively evaluate her teaching practise and seek to improve day by day.
I would like to express my greatest gratitude to the TAP Teachers for kindly spending time and efforts to provide constructive feedback to us. I sincerely appreciate this Faculty initiative as we can gather feedback from different aspects and perspectives without having extra workload.
Wong Ming Chun Ben
Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science
The Teacher Ambassador Programme (TAP) brings new insights to my teaching in various aspects ranging from classroom management, teaching philosophy and design of teaching materials. The university tutors may focus on our conceptual knowledge, but the TAP Teachers give comments on alternative dimensions which are from a front-line teacher’s perspective such as the tips on routine teaching and classroom management.
The most inspiring point is the sharing from TAP Teacher about the importance of creating a harmonic and collaborative learning environment in the class. One of my weaknesses during the lesson was that I had had limited interaction and collaboration with the students in the class. Ms Guevara, my TAP Teacher, observed my teaching and shared with me a practical strategy, which was to suggest a student to invite other students to answer the next question. This methodology could facilitate students’ engagements and help to create a collaborative learning environment. Ms Guevara has clearly spotted my weakness and subsequently provided me with constructive advice.
I highly support the continuation of the TAP by inviting more experienced in-service teachers to join the programme because the TAP Teachers are able to provide feedback from different dimensions as compared to those comments provided by the university tutors. The participation of TAP Teachers will not affect the assessment or the grading of our teaching practicum, but helps to provide an extra opportunity of learning from experienced teachers. I have benefitted from this programme by receiving more reviews from other front-line teachers. In conclusion, I think the TAP has strengthened my determination to become a qualified teacher. I hope more opportunities can be offered to different disciplines and years of students in future.