ALVIN WONG

PISMP BI (SK) 2 JANUARI 2013

WEEKLY JOURNAL 2
Journal No.

No. 2

Practicum Week

Week 2

Date of Journal

1st 5th February 2016

Title of Journal

Student-to-Student Collaborative Relationship

(a) Problem/Issue
There are several issues pertaining to my student-to-student relationship and it is the
highlight of the week. Having a good student-to-student collaborative relationship is the core
element to create a conducive and comprehensive learning environment. The students in
Year 5 class of SK St. James Quop have minimal disciplinary issues besides absentees and
minor quarreling. In terms of classroom discipline, I was very pleased that the students
would participate actively in the lesson with minimal difficulties. The main issues would only
surface once the students completed their given tasks. The students tend to talk,
misbehaved and pay less attention to my concluding teaching and learning phase.
Nevertheless, by developing student-to-student collaborative relationship as a part of my
teaching skills, I discover that the students would work better collaboratively and comply to
my teaching and learning requirements with ease.
(b) Analysis
Through several observations and also discussion with my mentor, I found out that
most of my students tend of misbehaved and lose focus right before the recess or at the end
of the school period as they have very short attention span. They would easily get distracted
from the teaching and learning session whenever they hear noise from the nearby
kindergarten or from the other classes. The end of lesson excitement had indirectly
reduces their mood and cause disruption towards the teaching and learning process. Due to
the above reasons, some of the students will disrupt their nearby classmates with
unnecessary noise. This majorly leads to unfinished and incorrect work.
(c) Suggestions for improvement
Teacher-student relationship is a symbiotic bond in which the teacher must always
be willing to learn and the student must always be willing to share." (Olsen, 2003). This
quote indirectly means that the teacher-student relationship is a sacred mutual agreement
build based on the foundation of trust, the willingness to share and learn and also the
educational rights of both the teacher and the student in the classroom. According to Canter
(1989), the core of the creating a strong assertive impression and classroom management is

ALVIN WONG

PISMP BI (SK) 2 JANUARI 2013

to create a positive teacher-student relation. Without doubts, at certain time, I do face

difficulties to capture the students attention especially at the end of the lesson when it is
close to the last period of the school session. However, by being assertive and firm in my
teaching and learning, I was able to engage productively with my students. As an overall
reinforcement for my student-teacher relationship and classroom management, I had
developed a set of classroom rules chant based on the students agreement. Emphasizing
on the end of period classroom management, I ensure that the students will remain calm
and seated at their places with the promise to let them off earlier if they promise to comply
with my teaching and learning and learning demands. As a part of the classroom rules, I too
lists the positive and negative consequences for their actions, based on the Canters Theory
of Assertive Discipline. Although I am assertive and firm with my decisions, I would still allow
students to engage in a fun yet meaningful lesson without developing fear into their mindset
about me. All in all, these steps were taken to perpetuate and instill trust as well as
cultivating constructive relationships with my students.
(d) Duration
The implementation of the student-to-student collaborative relationship will be
imposed throughout this third phase practicum. This step is taken into measure to ensure
that my students will cooperate with one another during my English or Moral lessons. As a
part of the classroom English and Moral lesson routine, I would emphasize on the studentto-student collaborative relationship to instill respect among the students during completion
of work or given tasks. This is a way for me to ensure that my students would be able to
complete any homework on time.
(e) Assessment of Success/Conclusion/Reflection
At the final day of the week, as I had implemented the student-to-student
collaborative relationship, I find that the students attitude towards the lesson had changed.
There are several positive changes that I can find at the end of the week:
(a) The students are more cooperative with one another and are attracted to the lesson
and remain calm and patient even at the end of the teaching and learning process.
(b) Students engage actively in the lesson not by the force of fear but due to the sense
of respect towards the teacher and friends.