I spent the entire afternoon on writing my annual work review. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that I would publish parts of it on Publish0x. Thanks for humouring me and reading how I embellish my "accomplishments". 

(a)To bring about the quality learning of students

1) Progress: Upon noticing that 1S5 students were afraid of public speaking, I introduced exercises aimed to relax their vocal cords so that they could undertake their speaking assessment. As for my Year 3 classes, I used methods such as storyboarding and design thinking activites (e.g. NorthLight Café’s Menu, Your Pizza). I also conducted a Differentiated Instruction lesson on translating features into benefits for 3RS and got students to create products based on their selected interests.

Impact: Students got the chance to hone their public speaking skills. They also learnt to employ their talents like doddling and use English as a tool to showcase these talents.

2) Progress: Taught both Year 3 classes how to write a compliment email about a NorthLight teacher to Mdm Sung. 3RS1 also wrote a note to Mr Hsu about their desire to have Ideapaint installed in their classroom.

Impact: Engaged and engrossed, students thought seriously about how to craft their emails effectively to the school leaders. They generally acquired the conventions of formal email writing.

3) Progress: I showed 1S5 photographs that I had taken at NTUC FairPrice Supermarket and showed a TED Talk about how Danish Dhamani turned his fear of public speaking into a source of inspiration by inventing Orai, an AI-powered public speaking app. As for my Year 3 classes, I wrote a compliment email to NTUC FairPrice and showed them the response I received from the staff.

Impact: Students understood how the things they learnt in the classroom were connected to the real world out there.

(b) To look into the overall well-being and development of form class as FT/CFT

4) Process: I got errant students to reflect on their inappropriate behaviours after school and tried to teach them prosocial behaviours by being firm with class routines. I emphasised a lot on Circle Time and Figure 8 breathing exercises.

Impact: Students knew exactly what was expected of them and how to regulate their thoughts and behaviours. As a class, they gradually picked up speed in terms of falling silent, listening to my instructions and adhering to class routines.

5) Process: As much as possible, I provided a listening ear and took time out for students to have one-on-one chats with them (usually before morning assembly) so that they could share the challenges that were occupying their minds.

Impact: Students felt listened to as I tried to reframe their situation and suggest ways on how they could cope.

(c) To develop expertise in Literacy Coaching and Differentiated Instruction through courses and workshops

I served as a Normal Technical English Oral Examiner for five days and shared insights on exam questions and candidates’ responses with Head of Department. I attended the training workshops for the School-based Dyslexia Remediation 2.0 (SDR 2.0) programme that was slated to be rolled out in 2023. I also joined a Differentiated Instruction Practice Circle and acquired insights on how to design DI unit plans tailored to NorthLight students’ needs.

(d) To share my teaching experience 

Following my department PD experience, I delivered a schoolwide presentation on Formative Assessment. Also conducted a microlesson during that PD session to illustrate how the Jigsaw technique could be employed as a FA tool.

(e) To contribute to the smooth running of school functions and events

As I/C of the Spelling Bee, I worked with department members to incorporate the teaching of spelling strategies to enhance students’ learning. I came up with Teachers’ Reports, compiled words used in last year’s edition and introduced tips to remember commonly misspelt words so that participants could apply these strategies throughout the 4 rounds. Submitted a proposal for MOE ExcelFest 2023, which was successful. Also pitched an article for Schoolbag successfully.  

(f) [NEW] To serve the English department as the Year 3 Level Coordinator

As level coordinator, I created revision notes, assessments and exercises to assist Year 3 teachers in their teaching of vocabulary, grammar, reading, speaking and writing. Also anchored setting of Y3 End-of-Year Exam Paper.

My strengths: Self-Management and Development & Teamwork and Team-Building

This semester, I was able to harness my personable and action-oriented nature to coordinate with colleagues and organise this year’s edition of the Spelling Bee rather successfully. I am also happy to find broader meaning from organising this assignment by signing up for MOE ExcelFest 2023 and submitting an article to Schoolbag.

My areas for improvement: Curriculum and Content & Assessment and Evaluation

Despite recognising the need to be more process-oriented and data-driven, I needed to adjust to my new roles as a Level Coordinator and Literacy Coach. As such, I did not manage to incorporate a more intentional approach into my teaching.