TASK 3: CRITICAL REVIEW

This critical review is motivated by my personal desire to learn more about reflective
teaching, and by the fact that the language teaching of this coursework highlighted the need
to accumulate a body of knowledge addressing local issues in all disciplines, including
teaching and learning. The purpose of this critical review was to provide a practically
adequate understanding of lesson planning, implementation, and evaluation from the
perspective of selected activities in two stages of lesson plan and their use of elements of
reflective teaching in these areas.
I made a decision to focus my research in the area of reflective teaching, which are
the practice and production stages. I organise the practice stages by first dividing the class
into five groups. Each group will get manila card and marker pen. After then, I instruct, in
their respective group, pupils will construct a mind map regarding camel, based on what they
read in the previous activity (reading material about camel). This activity is the continuity
from the presentation stage. Next, I will ask group will be call randomly to present their work.
In the macro teaching, all of the groups were asked to present to engage all of pupils
engagement and application of what have they done. Moving on to the production stage, I
distribute each pupil with a worksheet. Pupils are asked to complete the worksheet in
allocated time. The worksheet is divided into two parts. One part is to fill in the blanks on the
table about goats based on the article about goats. Example, what goat eat:..............
Another part is to label and construct a simple mind map using a picture of a goat and
describe what they can produce/do or have. This activity is the practiced in the practice
stage where they done in groups. The information is derived directly from the article.
My experience in carrying out these two stages is there is a growing interest in
teaching as a process of making decisions and judgements in order to carry out intentions in
a classroom. It seems to me that reflective lesson plans, when used in a lesson series,
reflective are helpful for two principal reasons. Firstly, the procedure operates practice helps
effectively on the repeated theory of reflection in action research. Reflective practice is
useful because the lesson arrangement automatically forces the teacher to reflect
systematically. As I go through the lesson series, experience is reconstructed. Problems are
identified, and then solutions to the problems are generated. These new ideas are
immediately applied in my subsequent lesson. Results are examined to see if further
improvement is needed. This process operates effectively on the principles underlying the
reflection spiral suggested by Kemmis and McTaggart (1982) in action research, which is to
reflect, plan, act, and observe. This process is automatically and conveniently carried out
within each lesson series. The next cycle of reflection and action can recur when I teach the
course again later. It is through such sets of reflective processes that a professional may
learn from experience. Secondly, it bridges the gap between the micro and macro
dimensions of teaching. Richards (1990) has identified two approaches in teacher education:
the micro approach, which looks at teaching in terms of its directly observable
characteristics and what the teacher does in the classroom, and the macro approach,
which involves making generalizations and inferences that go beyond what can be observed
directly in the way of quantifiable classroom processes. While looking at teaching only from
the micro perspective reduces teaching to mechanics, looking at it only from the macro
perspective results in abstract thinking, which may become remote from the reality of
classroom teaching. Larsen-Freeman (1983) is right in suggesting that both the micro and
macro dimensions of teaching must be addressed.
In my opinion, macro teaching allows a teacher to introduce new information to
everyone at once. While that's sometimes an advantage, it can be a drawback if several
students are performing below grade level and aren't yet ready academically to learn the
new material. At the same time, macro teaching can give me an idea of what subjects or
concepts I needs to spend more time on, as well who in my class needs additional help.
Planning lessons at the macro level helps me to stay on track so I am able to meet my goals
and cover the entire curriculum before the school year ends. Macro easily automates
repetitive processes. Macros can help to ensure more accurate results than doing the task
manually.
My school did have a set curriculum in terms of grammar points, but themes and
supplementary materials were up to us. Doing a bit of planning before the school started
ensured that we stayed organized and kept the students interest throughout the year.
Another benefit of macro lesson planning is that teachers can share the overall goals of the
course with their students on the first day, and they can go over those goals as the semester
progresses. Students often lose sight of the big picture and get discouraged with their
English level, and having clear goals that they see themselves reaching helps prevent this.
In a sense, macro planning is not writing lesson plans for specific lessons but rather helping
teachers get an overall felling or idea about the course and also get familiarized with the
context in which language teaching takes place.
From what I can conclude is Macro planning involves the following. First is knowing
about the profession: The teacher should get to know which language areas and language
skills should be taught or practised in the course, what materials and teaching aids are
available, and what methods and techniques can be used. Secondly, knowing about the
institution. The teacher should get to know the institutions arrangements regarding time,
length, frequency of lessons, physical conditions of classrooms, and exam requirements.
Lastly is to know about the learners. The teacher should acquire information about the
students age range, sex ratio, social background, motivation, attitudes, interests, learning
needs and other individual factors.
Conclusively, Solid macro-planning also dramatically reduces your stress when you
miss a day of school, which may happen multiple times during your rookie year. It's easier to
make plans for your substitute, slotted into your coherent units, than it is to build time-filling
material from scratch. And my students will continue learning. Communication is the key
progress and advancement in continuing to learn things more accurately and effectively.
Without communication nothing would get done and the world would pretty much stand still.
All macro skills of communication are indispensable in everyday life and should never be
underestimated.















REFERENCES

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