Teaching Portfolio Teaching Leading Learning Tor Siong Hoon

Teaching Portfolio Teaching, Leading & Learning. . Tor Siong Hoon Pensyarah Biologi Kolej Matrikulasi Pahang

Teaching Portfolio "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn. " § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & (Benjamin Franklin) 7 M 1 S 44 § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning § Teaching Biology & Reflections § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & Worksheets § Research & Development in Teaching § Research Papers § Contributions related to research § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards § Others § Contributions Since 2000, I have taught Biology at Matriculation, taken part in educational research related to teaching and learning biology, and conducted teacher workshops to improve Teaching and Learning; particularly in Biology. Before that I have worked for a range of institutions and employers in the Malaysian education sector, from primary, secondary schools levels to the pre-U at the Matriculation college. My exposure and experience has allowed me to view pedagogic issues at different levels. This teaching portfolio describes the development of my teaching techniques and style. It aims to present my overall teaching approach and philosophy as a product of continual reflection on success and feedback from teaching practice, guided by theoretical knowledge about the learning process. The sections on my teaching biology, together with my reflections on particular aspects of past assignments, show the range of teaching tools I have become familiar with, how I have employed them in practice, and how I have tried to enhance their effectiveness by using concept mapping. The composition and continual revision of this teaching portfolio has proved immensely useful for me. It supports a reflective approach and has helped me in becoming aware of my strengths, improving on existing weaknesses and constantly monitoring my own development as a teacher. Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh 2

My Teaching Philosophy § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & 7 M 1 S 44 § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning § Teaching Biology & Reflections § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & Worksheets § Research & Development in Teaching § Research Papers § Contributions related to research § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards § Others § Contributions As a teacher, my first and most important role is to be a facilitator of learning. Accordingly, one of the crucial components of my professional knowledge is an answer to the question what learning might be, and knowing by what means it can be facilitated. In constructivist learning theory, knowledge acquisition is modelled as a building activity: every person is equipped with basic mental tools and skills to make sense of his or her world by building mental representations of it, creating knowledge and skills for interacting successfully with and within this world. As to the question what learning is, I very decidedly respond that learning Biology means adding knowledge (a tentative human construction of interrelated ideas, experiences and understanding) to the students’ mind. Students have acquired some scientific literacy in the earlier learning years at primary and secondary schools. The students’ learning endeavor at the Matriculation can be facilitated by the use of concept mapping, a constructivist tool for learning. It is able to restructure or reconstruct the students understanding of biological processes visually where misconceptions if any can be addressed. Students working together in small groups to create concept maps allow social interactions among them. This allows deeper processing of ideas; often more concrete initially to abstract and challenging concepts. It is my responsibility as a teacher to stimulate and foster my students’ engagement in such a constructive process, and to guide it by means of clearly formulated teaching goals. My approach to teaching informed by this philosophy will be illustrated in the following section. Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh 3

Teaching Goals & Strategies § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & 7 M 1 S 44 § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning § Teaching Biology & Reflections § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & Worksheets § Research & Development in Teaching § Research Papers § Contributions related to research § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards § Others § Contributions Skills needed in the 21 st century that go beyond basic literacy. Students must be able to read critically, write persuasively, think and reason logically, and solve complex problems. At my teaching however, I encounter many of my students fail to integrate biological knowledge into larger conceptual frameworks. They often appear to be randomly grasping at disconnected sound bites of biological knowledge. The knowledge they have accumulated does not seem to be connected with concepts in a manner that allows them to develop explanations of biological phenomena. Learning biology to many of them is merely memorizing with little or no integration of new knowledge with existing knowledge. Marzano’s (1998) research of 4000 different instructional interventions found that those that were most effective in improving student learning were those that focused on how students think about their thinking processes. I have tried and confirmed that concept mapping is effective in learning Biology as it allows students to understand the relationships between ideas by creating a visual map of the connections. Concept mapping has been shown for the past 20 years as being an ideal strategy for promoting meaningful learning (Pankratius, 1990; Okebukola, 1992; Novak, 1976; Novak & Gowin, 1996). Lumpe & Staver (1995) demonstrated that students who created concept maps in small groups out performed students working on their own. As a teacher, I see my responsibility in creating the conditions to make this possible – an atmosphere of joint discovery in interaction and sense-making in collaboration, that supports individual processes of knowledge construction, integration and application and ultimately helps learners to become managers of their own learning. While teaching I endeavor to make lessons as much a collaborative effort as possible, strengthening the cohesion of the learner group by low anxiety activities to create a comfortable environment, and giving ample room to the application of new knowledge in group work, partner work and guided peer interactions. Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh 4

Teaching Biology and Reflection § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & 7 M 1 S 44 § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning § Teaching Biology & Reflections § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & Worksheets Sample Lesson Study_Lecture Date 17/07/2014 Activity Reflections By the end of the lecture, students A. My Reflection: should be able to: B. Observer 1: C. Observer 2: Chapter 3. 4: i. define chromatid, synapsis, Meiosis bivalent, tetrad, chiasma, crossing D. Students: Class: 7 M 1 § Research & Development in Teaching § Research Papers § Contributions related over and centromere. ii. explain the position and changes of the chromosomes at each stage. iii. state the significance of meiosis. iv. compare meiosis and mitosis. to research Evaluation_Observers § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards Evaluation_Self Lecture Notes_Student’s Version Report on Lesson Study Lecture Notes_Teacher’s Version Meiosis Dance Animations Lesson highlights and Student’s Feedback § Others § Contributions Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh Lesson highlights for Observers 5

Research & Development in T&L § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & 7 M 1 S 44 TAJUK 1. § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning WHO IS MORE ANXIOUS IN LEARNING SCIENCE AND TAKING TEST: MALE OR FEMALE? SEMINAR PENYELIDIKAN PENDIDIKAN PROGRAM MATRIKULASI TAHUN 2012 (25 – 28 NOV 2012) PERINGKAT: KEBANGSAAN STUDENT’S UNDERSTANDING OF SEMINAR OSMOSIS AND WATER POTENTIAL: PENYELIDIKAN A CASE STUDY PENDIDIKAN PROGRAM MATRIKULASI TAHUN 2009 (2 – 3 OKT 2009) PEMBENTANG & PENYELIDIK PERINGKAT: KEBANGSAAN OSMOSIS AND WATER POTENTIAL WITHOUT TEARS: AN ACTION RESEARCH REPORT PERINGKAT: KEBANGSAAN § Teaching Biology & Reflections 2. Worksheets § Research & Development in Teaching PENGGUNAAN HEART TABLE DALAM MENINGKATKAN KEFAHAMAN PELAJAR SAINS HAYAT KMPH BAGI SUBTOPIK CARDIAC CYCLE PEMBENTANG & PENYELIDIK 3. § Research Papers § Contributions related to research STRESS AMONG PAHANG MATRICULATION COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THEIR COPING STRATEGIES PENYELIDIK § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards 4. 5. § Others § Contributions 6. PERINGKAT: KEBANGSAAN PEMBENTANG & PENYELIDIK § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & SEMINAR (TAHUN) SEMINAR PENYELIDIKAN PENDIDIKAN PROGRAM MATRIKULASI TAHUN 2012 (25 – 28 NOV 2012) SEMINAR PENYELIDIKAN PENDIDIKAN PROGRAM MATRIKULASI TAHUN 2009 (2 – 3 OKT 2009) PEMBENTANG & PENYELIDIK EFFECT OF CONCEPT MAPPING ON SEMINAR STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF PENYELIDIKAN OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION PENDIDIKAN PROGRAM MATRIKULASI TAHUN 2008 (2 – 5 DIS 2008) PEMBENTANG & PENYELIDIK Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh MODE: ORAL PRESENTATION PENCAPAIAN: SAGU HATI MODE: ORAL PRESENTATION PENCAPAIAN: TEMPAT KEDUA MODE: ORAL PRESENTATION PENCAPAIAN: SAGU HATI MODE: ORAL PRESENTATION KEBANGSAAN MODE: ORAL PRESENTATION PENCAPAIAN: TEMPAT KETIGA 6

Responsibilities (T&L) § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy "A bad teacher teaches students WHAT to think. A good teacher teaches students HOW to think The difference is wider than an ocean" (Confucius) § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & 7 M 1 S 44 § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning § Teaching Biology & Reflections § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & Worksheets § Research & Development in Teaching Senior Biology lecturer in KMPh § Research Papers § Contributions related to research § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards § Others § Contributions Heading PLC & R&D in KMPh Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh 7

Awards § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & 7 M 1 S 44 § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning § Teaching Biology & Reflections § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & Worksheets § Research & Development in Teaching § Research Papers § Contributions related to research § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards § Others § Contributions Award of Excellent Performance by the Malaysian Ministry of Education Year 2015 Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh 8

Others § Introduction § Personal Information § Teaching Philosophy § Teaching Goals & Strategies § VARK: 6 M 1 S 39 & 7 M 1 S 44 § Concept Mapping § Cooperative Learning Represent Matriculation in SEAMEC § Teaching Biology & Reflections § SB 016 Syllabus § Semester Schedule § Lecture § Tutorial § Practical § Quizzes & Worksheets § Research & Development in Teaching § Research Papers § Contributions related to research § Responsibilities § Teaching &Learning Biology (Unit & College) § Research & Development § Cleanliness of College Premise § Awards § Others § Contributions An Advocate of Concept Mapping in T&L Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh 9

Thank you for your Attention A Collaborative Culture With a Focus on Learning for All. I wouldn’t be here today without YOU. Tor Siong Hoon_Pensyarah Biologi_KMPh 10