REFLECTIVE JOURNAL OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

SUBJECT : SCIENCE
LEVEL
: YEAR 4
TEACHER : NURUL AFNI BINTI ZULKIFLY
DATE
: 17 NOVEMBER 2014
NO
ASPECT
REFLECTION
.
1.

Planning the Lesson

At the early stage, the issue I had with myself and the rest of the

Plan

group members was to choose the topic for our lesson. We kept
discussing until we came to final decision- Science Year 4:
Properties of Materials.

The planning of the lesson must include the constructivist

application that is suitable for students. I was thinking to use
POE strategy at first, but I wanted to try the 5E learning cycle
for my topic -Floating and Sinking. Thus, my planning went on
from Phase 1 to Phase 5 orderly, except for Phase 4
(Application) which I changed from one task to another.

In my planning, I tried to focus on the constructivist aspect

which is to let the pupils to build the concept from their own
investigation. Whatever activity I choose, it must provide
opportunity and freedom for the pupils to explore and learn. I
2.

Writing the Lesson

was thinking more on hands on activity.

The writing of lesson plan was much easier than the planning.

Plan

This is because the lesson plan template was from my previous

assignment in last semesters class. So, I just write it up into the

table respectively according to my planning in the notebook.

This time, I tried to figure out each stage in the learning cycle
more deeply. I did some reading to help me understand the
learning cycle better so I wont mix up the activity for each
stage. I wanted my lesson to run progressively in flow.

I didnt forget to include the Science Process Skills (SPS) for

each activity in my lesson plan. It was for me to make sure that I
would not leave out any of the important skill during the
3.

Presentation of Lesson

activity.
To be honest, during the presentation of lesson plan, I wasnt

Plan

ready for it. From my estimation, I would be presenting on

Week 13. So I was planning to put more information about 5E
Learning Cycle in my presentation slides with some parts of the
video.

There were two of my friends who chose similar topic. Our

activity was quite similar especially in Phase 2. So, my
presentation was quite a quick one on that phase.
The presentation gave me chance to learn and correct some
weaknesses in the lesson plan. Additionally, comments from the
lecturer made me realize that I should ask more questions until I
get satisfying answer. I should keep scaffolding the students to

make sure they really understand the concept.

4.
Teaching the Lesson Plan
i. Classroom setting
The lesson was conducted in the science lab. Hence, the setting
of the classroom was in group of 5 according to the tables.
Furthermore, the activities included a lot of group work that
need the students to communicate and accomplish tasks as a
team. The arrangement of the tables allowed the students to
work together from every edge of the tables. Each group was
lead by a leader.

During the lesson, I would stand in front while giving

instructions. Other than that, I would walk along the aisle so that
I could always see the students progress, especially to help
ii. Start of lesson (Intro)

them resolve misconceptions, if there was any.

It was right after recess time, and the students were quite loud
and active. I tried to grab their attention by asking them to keep
their books and stationery away. I wanted them to think that we
were not going to run a lesson.
It worked well when they remained silent after I showed one
hockey ball and one plastic ball in my hands. I started with a
simple question- to let them find the similarities and differences
of these balls.

The brainstorming between me and the whole class let the

students prepare themselves for the group. Each question I asked

gradually led the students to the topic I would like to teach. I
used scaffolding technique to help the students get the first idea
of the topic.
iii. Classroom interaction

During the lesson, the pupils do a lot of talking and arguments

throughout the activity. They offered their ideas while the other
friends debate about it. The classroom was quite noisy during
the activity but I would not mind it as long as they were in
control.

I enjoyed listening to their discussion where everyone shared

their ideas genuinely based on their prior knowledge. This was
where I could learn how to replace their misconceptions with
scientific concepts. The interaction occurred almost every
minute of the one hour lesson. It was an active two-way
interaction between me and the students. From my view,
students nowadays have to learn in an active classroom
environment to let them speak out their mind so that they could
learn from each other.
iv. Students engagement

The students were fully engaged in every activity especially

during Application phase. They kept asking and arguing to get
the best solution/ product of the questions I posted. They

showed their responsibilities for the groups performance. The

exploration involved all members of the group with full
engagement.

Each member of the groups took part in the discussion. They

played their own roles, for example as the leader, the recorder to
jot down the findings, the writer to write a presentable result and
the presenter. All of them played their roles successfully with
full responsibilities. As a result, they were able to accomplish
the tasks correctly.
v. T&L Resources

The T&L resources were very important in each phase that

included hands-on activities. The resources I used in the lesson
were real and concrete materials because Id like the students to
get the actual experience of each investigation. The learning
through experience is meaningful for me. They would believe
what they do and see. And the knowledge will stay forever in
their heart.

Most of the resources I used were things that the students are
familiar with. This is because I wanted them to stay close to
their daily routine so they could make connection between their
former experience and the scientific facts.

vi. Tasks, activities, etc

The activities I prepared were for the students to explore and

construct the new concept. They were a lot of hands on activities
and real investigation to let the pupils learn from their
experience.

Meanwhile, for the tasks, I prepared challenging tasks to let the

students think critically. For example, after the students get the
findings, I asked them to put their results in a graphic
presentation that they think the most presentable. This was to let
them think how to attract and communicate their findings so that
all of their audience get benefit of their findings. In Application
phase, I put them in a situation where they acted as inventors to
design a submarine which could float and then sink. I think this
task has helped them to learn about floating and sinking more
vii. Students feedback

meaningfully.
Students feedback was encouraging. After the class, I
informally interviewed 6 boys who stayed to help me clean up
the lab. They enjoyed the lesson and they felt todays lesson is
different. All of them agreed that they like the hands on
activities than writing in books.

Furthermore, they learned how to play roles in their own group

to get the best solution and product. The boys also like the task
in Application phase where according to them, they have chance

to show their creativity. However, one of them complaint that I

allocated too little time for the project that they couldnt explore
viii. Conclusion

more strategy to construct the best submarine.

As a conclusion, I learned a lot through this constructivist
teaching. One of it is I have to have faith in my students ability
to accomplish the tasks successfully. I should not prepare
everything for the students especially when the activity involved
materials that could be found around them.

Constructivism is a wide learning theory that each educator

should explore and try out in their lesson. There are a lot of
minor aspects that can be applied in the teaching and learning,
especially in science lesson such as inquiry technique. The
teaching will be more fun and the learning will be more
meaningful. Frankly speaking, the teachers role becomes easier
as a facilitator while the students will get more exposure.