A Pre-Service Teacher: Building the Foundation for Teaching Excellency

Currently, I am at the very beginning of my professional journey, serving as a pre-service teacher, learning the professionalism of the teaching profession. In my opinion, this early stage is already crucial in order to shape my future as an educator. According to Castaneda-Trujillo & Aguirre-Hernandez (2018), the process or the training of a pre-service teacher basically refers to the experiences and the activities an individual has to go through to become a teacher. Based on my experience in the aforementioned training, it combines both theoretical knowledge and practicum session, in order to prepare better teachers for the future learners.

According to Fuller's Concerns Theory (1969), I found myself still in the 'Self' stage, in which I am focusing on how to master or implement my teaching skills, managing the classroom dynamics and having my anxieties regarding the profession under control. This is related to my first practicum experience, where I realized the struggles I was facing in managing the classroom interactions, as well as keeping my emotions in real time. Aside from classroom control, I have to make sure the smoothness of my teaching and learning sessions that I have conducted in the classroom as well as planning the future lessons with better improvements from time to time. All the feedback that I have received, regardless if they came from my supervising lecturer, school teachers or even my pupils, I took them as a stepping stone towards becoming a more competent and confident teacher in the future.

In order to further develop my skills in the pre-service stage, I have to ensure the teacher qualities are met according to the Malaysia's Teacher Quality Standards or SGM 2.0. SGM 2.0 or Standard Guru Malaysia 2.0 generally serves as a guideline for professional competencies that every teacher in Malaysia must achieve in becoming an excellent teacher. For instance, I am actively working on developing core competencies such as pedagogical knowledge and classroom ethics. Again, I am making my practicum experiences as an example. During the practicum session, I have designed several lessons using HOTS (Higher-Order Thinking Skills), such as problem-based learning. This proved to help encourage my pupils to think critically among them. Through this approach, I could observe and analyze the pupils' responses to the challenge, which I defined as a process that mirrors Guskey's Teacher Change Model (1986), where the trial, reflection and adjustment will lead to continuous growth in the teaching and learning session.

To further enhance a teacher's full development, SGM 2.0 also highlights how an excellent teacher is a transformative figure who contributed in shaping the youth's minds, nurtures their potential and inspires the pupils' lifelong learning, rather than being a mere transmitter of knowledge. Aside from working on developing my pedagogical knowledge and classroom ethics, I find emotional intelligence counts as one important quality that a teacher should have. In my opinion, a safe, structured and inclusive learning environment can be created when the teacher is able to balance their firmness with a sense of empathy and using restorative practices rather than implementing punishments in the classroom session, which can instill unwanted fear and discomfort among the pupils. The restorative practices that can be used include class discussions and agreements, also conflict resolution circles. This is supported by a study conducted by Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2016) which enlightens the fact that pupils thrive academically under teachers who are professionally ethical, having patience as their virtue and being an active listener to their pupils. 

Aside from that, I also recognize the importance of collaboration, even in this stage. I have gained such invaluable insights by collaborating with fellow pre-service teachers. Discussing learning materials innovations, troubleshooting classroom scenarios and sharing lesson plannings are the examples of practices that I have done with my peers. Peer learning is very essential as it helps the parties included to rise up and be more encouraged to develop self improvement or self growth among themselves. Additionally, mentorship is also important as it will contribute to bridge the gap between theory and practice. I seek mentorship from much experienced teachers, especially during practicum. Based on my previous experiences on receiving the mentorship guidance, it helped a lot in ensuring my methods and teaching and learning process align with the required standards of the national curriculum for teaching and learning.

Looking ahead, I am committed to lifelong learning, which means focusing on my continuous development after completing the pre-service stage. The concept of lifelong learning is an open opportunity for all individuals to improve their knowledge and skills. I find it important as I want to further develop my expertise in the education field, then increasing my satisfaction in doing my responsibilities well. My goal is to progress from the Novice stage (DG41) to the Inspire stage (DG44) by implementing a continuous professional development in my career path. That can be done through various opportunities such as attending future training lessons or courses and delivering appropriate lessons following the national curriculum. By documenting this journey through lesson reflections and progress tracking, I would not only be able to hold myself accountable but also inspire myself to embrace personal growth intentionally.