Page 10 : My final demo!

Teaching is not just about imparting knowledge; it's about sharing moments, learning from each other, and leaving a piece of your heart with your students.

On November 4th, 2024, I finally had my final demo. After preparing my review puzzle two days before our tour in Tagaytay, the day before my demo, I only had to focus on mastering the material. I was super nervous, but I knew I could do my best! No matter how challenging it felt, I reminded myself, "You can always carry the world with you!"

I arrived at school as usual at 6:00 am with my friends. My first class wasn't until 8:30 am, so I had plenty of time to maximize my preparation. Fortunately, the Mathematics Department was rather quiet, as many student teachers hadn’t arrived yet. This allowed me to practice my final demo out loud in the office. 

At 8:30 am, I finally went to the classroom where our class usually meets. As I've mentioned before, the morning class is for mathematics, and I teach the afternoon statistics classes. Before the class began, 10-Newton surprised Mr. Banigon with a cake and sang "Happy Birthday." (It was his birthday recently, though I can't remember the exact date!) We took a lot of group pictures – it was a happy moment! Just like 10-Newton, 10-Descartes also celebrated his birthday with a song. Shortly after, Mr. Banigon began the lesson on graphing polynomial functions, which went smoothly, just like usual.

After the morning classes ended, I returned to the office to continue my preparation. It was around 10:00 am when both sections finished, so I used the time to focus on preparing for my final demo.

Finally, the time for my final demo arrived. I went to the class at 12:15 pm, though it was scheduled to start at 12:30 pm. As soon as I arrived, I set up my puzzle on the whiteboard, prepared the LCD and PPT, and gave a brief overview to 10-Newton, the students participating in my final demo.

Shortly after, Mr. Banigon, my cooperating teacher, and Mr. Steve B. Anapi, my supervising professor from PNU, arrived, and I began my final demo.

Here's a summary of my lesson plan:

The first thing I did was ask a student representative to lead the class in prayer and greeting. Then, I had a student read the classroom rules I had prepared to encourage good behavior throughout the lesson.

Next, I opened the review session with a question for the students.

 

Hands shot up immediately, and three students answered. I combined their responses and reinforced the concept of mean. Since I was confident everyone remembered the previous lesson, I directed their attention to the puzzle on the whiteboard and explained how to solve it.

If you're curious about the details of my puzzle game, you can find them in my lesson plan or my previous post about preparing for the final demo, hehe.

The students solved the puzzle quickly, and nine different students attached the answer pieces correctly. Then, I asked one student to help me flip the puzzle, revealing the hidden message:

Through this puzzle game, I introduced the day's lesson on the median of ungrouped data. I displayed the learning objectives and asked a student to read them aloud.

Next, I started to give material lesson of the day to the students. Before I explain about the definition, the steps in finding median, and also the examples, I let them analyze a set of data first. I asked them what did they notice from this set of data. It was a data that has an outlier value. Not long after I shoot them the question, one student raised his hand right away and answered the question correctly.

Then, I proceeded with the lesson, explaining the definition of the median, the steps for finding it, and providing examples. What made this demo extra special was the inclusion of Indonesian culture in my examples, featuring topics like Bali, rendang, songket, and Borobudur Temple. This was suggested by Mr. Banigon, and I’m grateful for his idea as it allowed me to introduce Indonesian culture to the Filipino students. After explaining, I had some students work through additional problems I had prepared.

Next, it was time for a group activity similar to the ones in my previous demos, focused on finding the median in real-life situations. Prior to the demo, I informed 10-Newton to form groups of four, so we didn’t lose time organizing. The activity lasted about 5-7 minutes, as per Mr. Banigon's advice from my first demo.

Afterward, I randomly invited groups to present their work. Three groups presented, though one group needed a correction since they had forgotten to find the median of the two middle values in an even data set. I helped them correct it on the whiteboard.

As we neared the end of class, I assigned two problems for homework.

I then wrapped up with a generalization session, asking what they had learned. Many students eagerly shared, and I summarized their responses, reinforcing the lesson’s main points.

Finally, I connected the concept of the median to a value about balance in life, as suggested by Mr. Banigon.

I wrapped up with a closing greeting, marking the end of my final demo. Here are some of the documentations of my final demo:

I took lots of group photos with the students, as this would be our last class together. I wasn’t ready for another farewell! One student even drew a portrait of me and wrote a heartfelt message. It was such a sweet gift, and I loved it...<3.

After the demo, I met with Mr. Banigon and Mr. Anapi for a mini-conference to discuss my performance. They first allowed me to reflect on my demo, and then they offered comments and suggestions to help me grow as a teacher.

(Mr. Banigon on the left, and Mr. Anapi as the median, hehe.)

Here is Mr. Anapi's evaluation. I don't have Mr. Banigon's evaluation sheet but his comments were similar to Mr. Anapi's.

I’m so grateful that everything went as planned, and I’m deeply thankful for 10-Newton’s cooperation. I couldn't have done it without everyone’s support.

Thank you, Mr. Banigon, for your valuable feedback, thorough review of my lesson plans, and for always appreciating my efforts. I hope you achieve great success in life.

Thank you, 10-Newton, for being amazing students. I felt the warmth of your welcome as a short-term student teacher here. I hope you all reach your dreams and find success. I’d love to meet you all again in the future.

See you when I see you, Araullo High School!

What an emotional ending! This was my final demo, and it was such a memorable experience. Stay tuned for my next post... which will also be emotional, as our journey here is coming to an end T_T Anyway, see you!