International Practicum at Wynnum West State School

I am Sukainah Mohsen, one of the students who went to Brisbane for International Practicum. We are attached to Griffith University as our host institution and Wynnum West State School as our host school. In Brisbane, we live in Pelican’s Nestle Inn, at a small and quiet suburb called Wynnum Esplanade. It is a lovely place near the waterfront and it provides a calm environment for us. 

Our supervisor from Griffith University is Dr Kay Hartwig and she is a lovely lady who is so encouraging and kind. On our 2^nd day in Brisbane, she visited our house to check on us and brought us out for lunch to discuss a few things. She constantly checks up on us, making sure we are adapting well in the host school and will provide assistance whenever we needed it.

Wynnum West State School is a primary school and the principal there is Mr David Brand. My Brand is very friendly and caring and will constantly check on our well-being. We were attached to different grades and classes. I was attached to Grade 3, Class 3 WK. There are 23 students in the class and 2 teachers in charge of the class. One teacher teaches every Monday and another teacher teaches from Tuesdays to Fridays. I was given the opportunity to observe all their classes such as Physical Education (PE), Health, History & Social Studies (HASS), Religion, Mathematics, Science, English, Reading Groups and Arts (Performing). My Cooperating Teacher (CT) teaches all subjects except for PE and Health. This school has 4 school rules which are Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe and Be a Learner. I think these 4 rules are simple to understand but are really important. Students abide by these rules and have these rules at the back of the minds. 

The school culture here is really different from schools in Singapore. There are 2 prep classes and classes from Grade 1 to Grade 6, and each class has approximately 20 to 25 students. This school has a small student population as compared to the local schools in Singapore. The classrooms in this school are designed nicely, filled with colours and many resources. The tables and chairs are arranged in a horse-shoe manner and it promotes room for interaction and discussions. There is also a slot called “playtime” during their first break and lunch time. They get to play at the field, playground, sandpit or library. Usually in the library, students will play board games, computer games or read a book.

The students here use journals to document their learning progress and class work. The schools here do not have textbooks or workbooks; teachers will print out worksheets and resources from online sources for students. Students are to paste their completed worksheets into their journals. There are many resources in class, such as colour pencils, water colour, crayons and scrap paper for students to draw on. The classroom also has paintings and drawings made by the students. There is a Class Treaty and Class Helpers board for students to carry out responsibilities in class. The responsibilities include giving out books, worksheets and collecting them back.

The school encourages reading a lot. They have a period called the Library period, once every week. During this period, students will visit the library to borrow a book or simply sit down to read a book. They are encouraged to borrow books so they can bring them home and read during their free time or silent reading period. Whenever there is time in between classes, students are also encouraged to sit down at their seats and read quietly. In the class, there is mini library, with books from different genre. Students can take books from the mini library if they have nothing to read.

Students here are really friendly, enthusiastic and participative in class. In the Grade 3 class, students enjoy raising up their hands to answer questions. They also are participative in Think-Pair-Share discussions and interact well with their peers. In class, there will be many Storytime sessions where the teacher will read a story out loud to the students. Usually, these stories serve as an inspiration for student’s narrative writing essays. Teachers will encourage students to gain inspiration from the plot of the story read to them. Students will then use their own creativity to write their own story.

In Mathematics class, teachers use different methods to teach calculations. For instance, there is the Number Line method, Hundreds Tens Ones method, Vertical Add Up method and using the Multibase Arithmetic Blocks method. My CT believes in introducing as many methods in Mathematics, so students can choose what works best for them and will not feel restricted to solve Maths equations in just one way. Hence, I feel that the class dynamics and environment is very encouraging for students. Students are encouraged to try their best in all that they do, have their eyes on the target and continue making mistakes because these will make their minds grow. My CT emphasized on the importance of giving everything a shot even if it means making mistakes, because these mistakes are what will make their minds grow.

All in all, the experience in Wynnum West State School has been a meaningful and fulfilling one for me. I have observed various teaching strategies, student behaviour, class management styles and different student learning needs throughout my 5 weeks there. It is hoped that I am able to apply what I have learnt in my future classes and most importantly, I have learnt to be adaptable in my strategies because not every student is the same. They have different starting points and learning needs and styles, and it is my responsibility to discover what works well for each individual. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to do my International Practicum with Griffith University and at Wynnum West State School.