SEGi College Subang Jaya students were recently invited to Talent Kindergarten to conduct a microteaching session with the children in kindergarten. Two lecturers, Ms Melanie, and Ms Evon, were there to supervise the students. Upon arrival at the kindergarten, the group was greeted warmly by our Bachelors in Early Years Education (BAEYE) alumni Grace Khoo, and Mr Cheah, the owner of the centre.
They were were taken on a tour of the school and then at the given time, the students were taken to the children that they were to present their assignment to. These presentations went smoothly and although the students were nervous to begin with, they were greeted by the children who were so engaging and excited about what they were going to do. It was obvious that these children were very used to visitors and were very willing to share their opinions.
The children engaged in the activities conducted by our students and were happy to receive little tokens of appreciation from them after the session. After the students’ presentations, they were treated to some “kuih” and coffee. Mr Cheah also shared the team’s experience with the students in conducting project-based events such as the “masak-masak” project and the “shadow” project.
Here is what was shared by the students on this visit:
On 10th of March 2022, we (Javees and Renee) visited Talent Kindergarten, Bandar Parkland, Klang to teach a mathematics lesson as part of our assignment. As soon as we walked in, we were welcomed by a few teachers who were very friendly. This gave us a wonderful first impression and due to that, we were less nervous than before. Teacher Grace then came up to us and we had a conversation about the school, the project-based approach that they use, and the Montessori method that was applied for the younger children. We took a tour of the environment and were amazed by the wonderful handmade materials made by the children. They even made books based on what the children had done and came up with which was so mesmerising. The environment was really nice and eye-opening as we had never seen a kindergarten that looked like this before. From viewing the environment, we immediately looked at each other and said “I want to work here in the future!” While we were talking, we saw a group of children who had outdoor time to play in the park, and we asked the teachers a few questions, such as “What happens if they fall down?” and one of the teachers told us, ‘It doesn’t matter, as they have to learn and try things, so once they know that there are consequences, they will know what to do and what not to do next time.” This was one of the many things that we believe are right for children. The children are given the freedom to explore and experience and the teachers are there to support and facilitate their learning. When we went into the class to start our lesson, the children were quite excited and we were actually surprised that they were not shy and scared. We learnt not to switch from one language to another, but instead to focus on one language so as to not confuse the children. We also realized that if we were going to give a token to the children we needed to make sure that we did this at the end of the lesson so that they wouldn’t lose attention by playing with the gifts. Overall, this was a fruitful and beneficial experience for the both of us as we learnt many things along the way, from doing our lesson plan to conducting a real physical class. We would like to end this by thanking our lecturers: Ms Melanie, Ms Evon, as well as the members in Talent Kindergarten for allowing us to gain this experience.
Ms Grace Khoo from Talent Kindergarten shared with us a little wisdom at the end of the trip:
Teaching is a long journey and like roller coaster ride, it goes up and down. Thinking in detail when planning a lesson, and always plan from the children’s perspective and strive to understand them more through observation. Believe in what you do as you ignite children’s excitement and be passionate in what you do.
We would like to thank the team from Talent Kindergarten, Bandar Parklands, Klang for being such lovely host and we are looking forward to more visits to your centre.
Written by:
Melanie Bodipalar (Senior Lecturer SCSJ)
Renee Li Gomez
Heng Qian Yu (Javees)
Grace Khoo (Talent Kindergarten)
