#malufirst, then #malutogether

The year was 2013. I was in my 13th year of teaching. A host of international and local panelists descended upon Beacon Primary School to observe a lesson I was about to teach, as part of the groundbreaking PE, Art & Music (PAM) Research. It was a P4 gymnastics lesson. Among them were giants in the field, such as Judith Rink and Ralph Pim, alongside local school leaders, academics and HQ officers. In the 13 years that I taught back then, I could count the number of times - with one hand - I was observed formally, especially as a key personnel (KP). So to have close to 20 people spread out in the ISH watching my every move, noting my every word, and listening to the students’ interactions was truly a career-changing experience. Cameras followed wherever I went, and I was wired to ensure my every word (and breath) was captured. 

Being a naturally confident person, I thought I would ‘wow’ them with my so-called bag of tricks. I thought I was already infusing values in my lessons seamlessly. I thought my teaching was already ‘somewhere’. I had task cards, music, warm-ups and questions! I had questions! The lesson felt right, and I did most of what I intended to do. My students were well-behaved and responded actively to my questions and instructions.

After the observation, I sat in a room with a small group of panel members to talk about the lesson. That’s when reality set in. While they were encouraging, positive and affirming in most parts, there were many other areas that I could do better in. In a way, it brought me back down to earth like durians during the durian season. Thud, after thud, after thud. But it wasn’t so much about what was said, or how they were delivered. As I sat there listening to them, I couldn’t help but realise…”Hey, I’m actually receiving honest feedback about my teaching here! And how long ago did I experience this? And from an international panel of gurus, some more! Wow!” It was direct, useful and gave me a clear direction on what I needed to do to be a better teacher.  

Following that session, I was put through a series of on-the-go professional development, this time with Dr Katalin Kovacs, a Hungarian professor of PE who was then attached to PESTA in its earlier years. She stripped my pedagogical knowledge and strategies naked. It felt like I was a beginning teacher all over again. No, as if I was an untrained teacher all over again! I reflected, unlearnt, relearnt, learnt new things, applied, reflected some more, applied, reflected. And that was what it was like for about three months! It was intense! But I loved it! Every minute of it! What I got was beyond “Good job! Well done! Good lesson!” I received a detailed analysis of everything I said and did - my decision-making was scrutinised, my lesson plans were torn to pieces, and I had to reflect on my lessons after each lesson! It was ego-crushing at times, but I guess I gave up on my ego by the end of the first week. I was not about to lose the learning opportunity just because of my perception of how good a teacher I thought I was.

Since that experience, I’ve never looked back. I resolved to keep learning, trying new pedagogies and strategies, reading up on the latest research and trying them out. But I didn’t stop there. I knew that the best way to learn was to share that learning with others, get their feedback, ask them to try out the strategies and refine them after getting feedback from peers and colleagues. I jumped at every chance to share my experiences, strategies and pedagogies with the fraternity. 

If you want to encourage reflective teaching among your team, you do it first. You share your reflections. You show how you did it. What successes or challenges did you face in the week, or fortnight or month. Ask them what they think. Ask them for their inputs or advice. Ask if anyone felt the same way. If you need more clarification on an issue such as formative assessment, or inclusive PE, then do it with someone who is also not too sure, or someone who is very knowledgeable. Do it together. Then share what you’ve learnt with the rest of the team. That’s ‘malutogether’.

These are not magic potions. These are genuine attempts to ‘instigate’ change or new habits in a way befitting of adults and experienced professionals. It’s called role modelling. If you believe in it that much, then you do first. How do you know you’ve succeeded? When you get that notification in your department chat group of a lesson snippet. Asking you what you think of the lesson. Asking you to try it out too. Telling you that your idea had worked, or was adapted, or was tweaked. And then you get another one, and another one. You’ve started a fire.

Then, together, you ’malu’. By sharing your newfound knowledge with others in the fraternity via cluster sharing, teacher-led network, conferences, or online sharing platforms such as the PESTA Facebook page, Grounds Up Teaching Strategies (GUTS) or SPARK. Share your mistakes and all. Share the journey and process, so that the rest of the fraternity could avoid them. That’s also ‘malutogether’.

Here are some ways to nurture a culture of continuous learning within our PE department, thus spreading the ‘malumovement’ and ‘malumindset’.

Open up your classrooms

PE is an open subject. Our PE venues are open. Our colleagues could see what we do, how we teach and how our students learn. Leverage this opportunity. Use this openness to invite our colleagues (both PE and non-PE) to sit in at any time and give us some feedback about what they see. One of my ex-colleagues, a Senior Teacher, would bring in his mentees (during their timetabled instructional mentoring periods) to ongoing PE lessons. They would then sit at the back of the hall to watch our lessons. At the end of the lesson, the mentee would be asked to give feedback to the teacher being observed using a 3-2-1 feedback approach: 

• 3 things that you liked or saw, 

• 2 things that you would like to suggest, and

• one thing that you would apply in your next lesson. 

It was effective as it allowed us to receive useful feedback, reflect on our own teaching on the spot, and honed the mentee’s observation and feedback skills. Thus, the objectives and outcomes are multi-faceted. 

Record, reflect, share

We are surrounded by a lot of advanced technology for teaching. However, the simplest one could help us attain the largest impact. As shared in the earlier paragraphs, I like to take snippets of my lessons, especially if I’m trying out new pedagogies or strategies. It could be a short 30-second or a 2-minute video which I capture during my lessons. I then send them out in the department’s Whatsapp group, invite critique, feedback and encourage my colleagues to try out too. This is one channel for informal professional learning. It is quick, feedback can be obtained immediately, and we could affirm our colleagues immediately. The aim is to share the strategy, reflect and invite feedback. 

You will never have arrived

Do we wait to be ‘perfect’ before we share, or do we share because we are imperfect? I think the answer is obvious. We will never have arrived. The most experienced teachers and teacher leaders I know will be the first to tell me that they do not know everything. They are also on a continuous journey of learning. Thus, be vulnerable. When we invite critique, do so with an open mind and a growth mindset. Furthermore, we can’t wait to be ‘perfect’ before we begin to share because that will never happen. Embrace our shortcomings, but be resolute on the journey towards growth and mastery.

Nothing is too small to share

Share, even the simplest strategy, or idea, or innovation. Nothing is too small or simple. This could be a new approach, a new assessment tool, students’ feedback, classroom management technique, dance performance, and so on. Share them! Once you have shared the first one, the floodgates will open! There are many more opportunities to do so now, especially on the PESTA Facebook page. You will be surprised at how a simple sharing can benefit many other teachers who may not see your idea as simple. To some, your ‘simple’ idea is something they have not considered before and maybe that one thing that they need to transform their teaching.

Learn for, with, from and on behalf of

The sharing can also be in the form of what you have learnt through workshops, online materials, informal professional learning episodes, books or articles you’ve read or even social media materials that appear on your feed. This is in line with the concept of learning on behalf of others. When we attend professional learning workshops or conferences, we could go with the intention to learn on behalf of our colleagues. This means sharing with them your key takeaways and reflections, or new ideas that you find impactful and practical to be applied in your classroom in the very near future. Again, these sharing can be effected through a variety of ways - department Whatsapp chats, department meetings or professional learning time, Facebook posts or even a simple conversation with a colleague along the corridor. The concept of ‘learning from’ has also expanded in this day and age. 

Beyond formal professional learning channels such as workshops and courses, we can now consume high-quality materials via podcasts and webcasts from local and international PE practitioners. And the wonderful thing about these learning modes is that you can do it anytime, anywhere - while driving, on the train or even while waiting to fetch your spouse or child. There are also many grounds up efforts to provide free access to teaching and learning resources via websites and various social media platforms. In short, there is an abundance of resources at our perusal. We just have to know how and where to look for them. Once found, apply them, and then…share!

Spreading the malumovement and malumindset

In summary,  our zest for knowledge is critical in ensuring that PE remains an important and relevant subject in our education system regardless of the unpredictable challenges that will surely come our way in the near and far future. We cannot afford to rest on our laurels or even wait for that knowledge to arrive at our doorstep. Being a small fraternity, we can help one another deal with the challenges better by sharing our knowledge and pervading the practice, one idea at a time.

If you want to go fast, go alone

If you want to go far, go together

References

https://www.schoolbag.edu.sg/story/he-places-the-student-first-before-the-outcome

https://pesta.moe.edu.sg/pesta/about-pesta/the-pesta-team/nasrun-mizzy-2023/

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