Summary and Suggestion

Purposes of Practicum 

 Practicum is a platform to provide students who’ll graduate with practical work 

experience. It is the application of ―learning by doing‖.  It is the place where student 

teachers transfer their knowledge to the actual work.  

 Practicum also opens many opportunities to network and make important contacts 

within the industry and also internationally.  It allows student to earn a real hands-on 

experience with the best of local and international culture and ideas, arts and knowledge. It 

also gave way to truly delve into teaching and develop teaching skills and start collecting 

experiences to enrich and encapsulate the professional wisdom.  

Procedures of Practicum 

 In this practicum, St. Paul University Surigao (SPUS), Philippines was given an 

opportunity to be part of the SEAMEO-SEA Teachers Project 2018 Batch 6. Students who 

are willing to experience the program was given a letter of invitation from Chiang Rai 

Rajabhat University (CRRU) on behalf of the Ministry of Education of Thailand.  

 Practicum coordinators from our sending universities to our receiving universities and 

receiving schools then communicate with the process of this program. 

After that, the cooperating teachers and mentors from the receiving school will be responsible in 

supervising your work and responsibilities in the practicum school. Within the stay, student 

teacher must act on his or her responsibilities and give the best out of it every single way. 

Then, practicum evaluation will follow. You will be evaluated with your development from 

personality to instructional deliveries. And that is how a practicum will end.  

Outcomes of Practicum 

 This practicum helps me develop awareness, understanding and capacity in the 

specific roles and responsibilities of a teacher especially in my specialization. It also 

develops and refines our skills for classroom teaching including the student’s management 

knowing the barrier of language. This practicum also helps me demonstrate the ability to 

plan, implement and evaluate effective teaching and learning strategies with the guidance of 

excellent teachers as mentors. This practicum experience also hone me of professional and 

ethical practice within my co-workers.  

The challenges of Practicum 

 Because of the language diversity and culture difference, it is a big challenge as 

student teacher to relay or to transfer the knowledge you have to students. You need to 

adjust your speaking skills, your English communication, and your usual teaching strategy 

to perform best and to have mutual understanding inside the classroom.  

Another challenge for me is the degree of understanding my students will get every 

after class discussion. Why? Because as a teacher, it is your responsibility to take that 

moment of the students with you to learn and understand new things and not to compromise 

their need of learning and learn nothing.  

On the other hand, an external challenge also during this program is the 

transportation. Transportation is difficult in this area specially that we are living in the 

outskirts. Not in the city proper where you can grab a transport anytime anywhere. In this 

area, you need to have your own car, your own motorbike to go to the town. Unless you 

always have a friend with you to bike you around and help you around anytime you needed. 

Despite that, we got to shape our inner self with the values of adaptability, patience and 

positivity that helps us sustain the excitement and happiness within our stay.  

Overall impression 

 This program surely gave me the impression you get when you get to ride a roller 

coaster. You get too excited because of the new experience. You get nervous because you 

are still looking for stability in your new environment. You get too happy because of the 

first achievements you get. You get confused because you are now battling with 

differences. You also get frustrated because of the unfinished work that needs to be done. 

You also get sad because you are now starting to miss your family and your home.  

But one thing is for sure, I really felt loved and achieved because of the new family I 

know; a family not by blood but a family by heart which helped me develop as a human; a 

better human.  

This project doesn’t only help you with the exchange of knowledge and experience. 

But it is a project that makes you see how beautiful it is to be united with everyone despite 

the culture, the tradition, the beliefs and the language.  

Suggestions for Future Improvement

 I best know that to all schools that are in this project, they always put their best feet 

forward. If I am to suggest with my humble experience, what are the things that needs to be 

improved for future purposes, I would like to say that it would be the arrangement of the 

excursion activities and backgrounds and capacity of each participating students.

First, because we never know who we will be staying with. It would be safer if you know how much allowance a student have because there are tendencies that you will be paired by someone who will ask you for a money because she no longer have allowance, or even worse to steal something from you. It is also needed because as we all know, not all schools cater our meals. What if she can no longer eat proper food because she is out of budget. 

 Another thing is as a tourist and an alien to this country where we don’t know how to speak with the locals, how to go to places like tourist attractions and how we can experience the most of our 

stay, a proper plan during weekends would be a great idea. It only doesn’t consume the time 

properly, but it also does keep everyone safe from travelling somewhere to explore the beauty 

of each places and it shows fairness because as what we have heard, some schools arranged their activities already and some are not, just like mine.