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1. Teaching Reflection
During the TP program, student teachers must write reflections after each teaching. The refection reflected on how they teach the students in the class, and to know the strengths
and weaknesses in teaching in certain classes. From reflection, they are able to measure their knowledge about they way they to teach the students. The reflection may also help the
student teachers to improve their teaching skills and strategies for the next teaching. Below were the statements from student teachers who stated that by making reflection, it would help
them to improve their teaching skills:
I think by reflecting my experience it made me know what mistakes I made, the lack of my teaching, the good of my teaching, so I believe that by doing reflection on my teaching it makes me better in
teaching skill. Sabat, SMP Lab I wrote reflections after teaching the students. By making the reflection, the problems that I‟ve made in
the previous teaching will not appear again in my next teaching. Mocca, SMP Lab
2. Errors
As the new teacher in formal schools, it is inevitable for student teachers to make errors. This is true especially for those who have not known about the school situation and
about the students‟ characteristics yet. One of the participants explained a little bit about her experience in making errors while teaching:
I have ever experienced that. I miss pronounced one word. Well, after that my partner said that my pronunciation was a little bit wrong, but my partner didn‟t correct me directly in front of the class, my
partner just corrected me after I have finished my teaching. So, for the next teaching I have to speak carefully and correctly. Dewi, SMA Lab
All the participants reported that they experienced making errors or mistakes while teaching. Since it was the first time to teach the students in schools, so maybe the student
teachers felt nervous then they made mistakes in their teaching. According to Dewi SMA Lab, errors actually helped to make better teaching for the next teaching. By doing errors,
the student teachers would realize their mistake and weaknesses during doing TP. Errors also could improve the student teachers‟ awareness for not to make the same mistake in their
teaching. That was one of the ways for student teachers to gain pedagogical knowledge from their errors during doing TP.
3. Interaction
During their TP program, the student teachers inevitably socialize or interact with other teachers or student teachers. Interaction here means that the student teachers meet and
talk with others by sharing their experiences in teaching or just to talk about what they have
Research in Teacher Education : What, How, and Why?, November 21-22, 2012, UKSW
374 done in class. One of the benefits of doing this is to learn from each other about the way they
can teach or manage classrooms well. The result of the interview shows that 9 of 10 participants interacted with other
student teachers to share their ideas during their TP program. For example, one of the participants, Gabriel SMP Lab stated that:
Sometimes when I do not any idea about the material that I need to give to the students, I had a discussion with my friend and with my mentor teacher. Then, I could learn what materials are suitable
for the students or if I have the material then I just asked if it was enough for the students or was it too difficult or too easy.
So, basically the participants admitted that interaction with other student teachers or mentor teachers helped them to teach the students in the next teaching. During the
TP program, student teachers usually have office hours to have consultation with mentor teachers
or just being on duty to stay in the office as other teachers in the school do. It is usually during the office hour when the student teachers are able talk to each other about their
materials or their experiences in TP. As a result, they can discuss about some ideas to teach the students.
4. Learning from mentor teachers
Mentor teachers are the teachers who teach English to the students in certain schools and when there are TP student teachers placed in their schools, they also guide the student
teachers before and during their TP. Some of the mentor teacher‟s responsibilities are to help the student teachers to teach and suggest some strategies in teaching the students. Basically,
mentor teachers guide the student teachers in doing their TP. They help the student teachers by giving advice to teach well and monitoring the student teachers while they are teaching the
students. Little and Nelson 1990 explained that the mentor teachers function as the guide to monitor and help the student teacher to improve their skill in teaching the students.
From the result of interview, 8 of 10 participants stated that the mentor teacher helped them to acquire the pedagogical knowledge, because mentor teacher helped them to make
good and creative materials for teaching and also helped the student teacher to have some strategies to manage the students and classroom. Two of the participants even stated that the
mentor teacher‟s guidance was very helpful for them to decide of the teaching strategies in teaching. Below was what two of the participants stated related to the help of the mentor
teacher in their teaching during TP:
I learnt how to teach, how to handle the students because the context is in the real Teaching Practicum. I had to face a lot of students and their characteristics are different in some classes, there are serious
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students and then there are calm students. So, I know a lot from my mentor teacher, actually. Mocca, SMP Lab
Yes, he gives me explanation about the situation of the students, the type of students that I was going to teach and he told me about some useful strategies that I might use in my teaching. Leba, SMA Lab
5. Observation
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