Journal Entry on Saturday 26th of September 2020

 

September 26^th September, 2020

On Saturday, my students and I went to Moroni High School(MHS) field to join the Touch Rugby Competition between all the Junior secondary schools. This time we were working as a team and I felt pride because being part of a team is something that in everything you do, not only you did by yourself but with that of the group (students) as a whole.

In the first match, between BTC JSS team and TUC 1 JSS team (our students) but before the match, I gathered all members of our team to give them advices. Because this was the first time they experienced this sport, I could see that they felt nervous, fear, anxiety, shame and so forth. And this was also going to me, I felt the same feelings but because it is a must to avoid, I pretended that there I felt so grateful. I told them to be focused and avoid other emotional feelings. This is because emotional feelings can be either negatively or positively affect everyone’s “effort, decision making, memory, behavioral responses, and interpersonal interactions” (Ruiz and Robazza, 2020).

 In this first match, we won because we got two (2) try and BTC JSS team got zero (0) try. So, in the first match we won and how proud we are of our students. The next following matches were performed by other junior secondary school teams which are Animwarao JSS Stdents and Moroni Junior Secondary. After that match, the winners which are Moroni Junior secondary and TUC 1 Junior secondary performed another match for finding the winner of this touch rugby. This time, my students looked so afraid of their opponents but what I did was trying to encourage them that they can make it. I reminded them of their techniques in playing this sport. This was the first time that I experienced a heart beating in which that all I wanted was to make this team win this game. While I was talking to them, they all listened very carefully. This shows that they have great heart in playing this game and they really want to win.

For the first time, both of the teams got 1 try, we were draw in getting a 1 try and this lead the team to find the final try. This means that in next match, the team that lose to get or break the rule is the winner of the game and this is more challenging in playing this game. I was happy because they got 1 try but a big worried is in the next action. Because of this, I took 5 to 10 second to ask God for giving my team the winner. And, surprisingly when I opened my eyes, my team were winning this match by getting a 1 try. Wow! They made it!!. This was the first time I felt so happy because everything we did during the trains and practices were very useful in which that they learnt very effective.

To conclude, this experience has given me a very important message in which that the more you train your students the better skill they performed. Not just that but also if your students got emotional feeling in sports then try your best to calm their emotional feelings and encourage them with the heart so that their feelings can be reduced. This is because feelings

Reference: 

Ruiz, M. C., & Robazza, C. (Eds.). (2020). Feelings in Sport: Theory, Research, and Practical Implications for Performance and Well-being. Routledge.

Journal Entry on the 27th August, 2020

 

Journal Entry on the 27th August, 2020

Today is a great day in having an experience of inviting a guest speaker to the classroom. Inviting someone who is the expert from the community on the subject (class topic) is one of the most important tool which can be used to deepen the student learning. Mullins (2001) mentioned that the reason of having someone who is an expert on the topic inside the classroom is not to make or prove our responsibilities, but to enhance the students’ learning. So that was why I invited this old man named Taebo Maritino who is an expert on how to perform one of the local dances that students need to learn.

First of all, because I already inform my students of having a guest speaker, they really eager to see and learn from someone new. They looked forward and when he came, they all sat down and pay respect to the oldman. How amazing was it!!  in the way they engaged by this old man. For the introduction part of the lesson plan, the guest speaker introduced himself to the students and he also introduced well the topic. Students were listening very carefully and they paid attention to this old man. In the development part, students were all stand up and do thehand-on learning with this old man. They did the practice of how to perform this local dance. By looking at them, I could see that they were really enjoying this learning style and this is because the lesson was related to their real-life experience and also since they experienced the learning of the dance.

However, throughout the learning process, for the first time and some of the students did not want to learn how to perform the dance. This is because some of them hated the local dance, they preferred the modern dance and some of them they were the members of the religious that banned the dance. So that was why they never do the practical. What I did was to forced them to do it and I think that this is very bad. Even though they found that this dancing was very fun but they were afraid of performing it so I forced them and they did it. This time, I hated myself because I forced them but what I all wanted was to achieve our learning objective in which to perform this local dance.

To conclude, inviting a guest speaker to the classroom has given my students a very important experience where they expose their learning through to real-world life situations. Not only that but for me, as a teacher, this experience has given me a very important lesson in which that it is a must for all teachers to invite someone who has a high knowledge and skill on the topic so that students can be helped to reach their learning potential.

Reference:

Mullins, P. (2001). Using outside speakers in the classroom. APS Observer, 14(8), 1-3.

Journal Entry on the 29th of May, 2020

 

On the 29^th of June, 2020, I was assigned to conduct a lesson delivery in the year 8D level. And this is the first time I met the disabled students. A few of the students in this class have different learning disabilities. There are four of them who are disorders in which that they have a problem in their sight, hearing, speaking and thinking. Also, in this class, there is a young man who was an interpreter. His job in this form is to help those kids in translating what the teacher is saying into the sign language.

I was grateful to have those kind of kids in this class because I learnt a lot of new things in having them. One of the things that I learnt was choosing the best teaching resources so that those students can be assisted in their learning process. In regarding to my teaching aids, I used big printed text on the charts and the black board. This is where I could help those who have a problem with their eye sight (low vision ones). Not just that, but also my voice was big that day so that they could hear me very well. It was a successful teaching-learning process, where those kids were really enjoying my delivering. Also, in the group, I mixed those kids with the normal students (capable ones). How happy they were in which that they really appreciated in the group work. This time, no child left behind throughout the teaching-learning process that would positively empower the students learning process.

Also, this time we I used the positive reinforcement and I treated both the boys and girls equally so that they could feel loved, accepted and valued. Walker and Buckley, (1968) suggested that practicing positive reinforcement in classrooms have significant positive effects on students and when they are all treated equally through the use of inclusion and positive reinforcement, the learning environment will be fruitful and encouraging. Because of this, when my students completed their individual work, I wrote positive comments such as 'fantastic!', 'you did great today', 'well done!!' and so forth and this is positive reinforcement. Not only that but because I always stayed positive even when they make mistakes, they felt that they are accepted and loved. 

However, throughout the learning process, I could find that there were few of them did not achieve the last learning outcomes. Even though they were very engaging but in achieving the last learning outcome which involved the application where they are needed to use their thinking skills (cognitive skills) to apply their knowledge and skill to solve the word problem. When it came to the marking, I found that a few of them including the disabled students could not answer the questions which are related to the solving problem. Those kids could not make it to reach or achieve this learning outcomes and this was the hardest part for them and what I felt was depressed. I also felt sorry for those kids and I learnt that next time, I will use another approach that is more powerful and effective for those kind of kids.

Finally, in order to tackle this kind of problem, I will use the most effective teaching approach which can make the students achieve all the learning outcomes. One of the strategies that I think the most powerful was a students centered approach which makes students learn through hands-on which is related to their real life experience. The second one is to make myself very clear in explanation. I will do this through repeating the question to make sure that they are all understand what I am talking about or what I am trying to explain the lesson. Therefore, this teaching experience has given me a very important lesson in dealing with the disability ones inside the classroom. Those weaknesses and strengths of this teaching-learning process are very important in which that I could use them for the betterment of my future teaching-learning process.

References: 
Walker, H. M., & Buckley, N. K. (1968). THE USE OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN CONDITIONING ATTENDING BEHAVIOR 1. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(3), 245-250.
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Journal Entry on the 29th May, 2020 Friday

 

Journal Entry

On the 29^th May, 2020 which is Friday, there were lot of meetings that I attended, mathematics department meeting, the year 8 staff meeting and the last is the school staff meeting where all of us, teachers, the principal, deputy principal and the committees gathered together in the mwaneaba.

In the department meeting, subject teachers (math teachers) and our Head of Department (HOD) were gathered together to share discussed and record new ideas from teachers.  This is a one team where we were working together to do our best to meet our student needs. This time, I heard about some of our colleagues issue which was students did not engage in learning mathematics. So, I gave them my idea based on using the strategies that more effective. One of the best strategies that I shared this time to teachers is the use of games or involving fun games throughout the teaching-learning process. In this case, we supported out students’ learning needs and this is very important because we shared together new ideas which can best satisfy our student needs.

After having a lunch, I went to another meeting which is the year 8 level meeting which is known as Block 2 staff meeting. In this meeting, all teachers in the year 8 level were gathering together to share and discussed things which are very essential for the benefits of the students’ learning process (Year 8 students). This meeting focused on the classroom management where all teachers (form teachers) should prepare and decorate their classroom with students’ work display. Also, subject teachers were told to fill in their subject corners inside their classroom. All of those things are very important which can also empower the students’ learning process. The classroom and that is full of many display can also attract the intention of students to learn effectively. For me, this meeting is very important in which that I learnt not only on how to make things beautiful inside the classroom but also on how to create the most effective and productive learning environment. This is because teachers, shared some of their strategies which can make the classroom more effective and comfortable for students to learn.

Finally, after the school hours, all staffs including the school committees were gathered together inside the mwaneaba. This is a formal meeting where it was opened with positive conversation made by the principal. The principal gave a welcoming speech to all staffs and school committees members. This meeting benefits the school in which that things were discussed related to the running of the school. We were collaborated as a team by providing feedback, sharing ideas and asking questions. Also, in this meeting, we discussed the school financial oversight and the scope of required school required needs to be carefully made decision on. The Budgets for the school needs was also discussed in this meeting. Everything was clearly discussed and because I was included in this discussion and decision, I felt motivated in this school.

To conclude, those three meetings were very important to me especially for my future teaching strategies in which that I learnt most of the things which can improve the student learning process. Not only that but I also learnt that I should be involved in all the meetings so that I can create the most effective and productive learning environment.

Journal Entry 20/11/20

 During this week, I discovered that it is very important to build good relationship through respecting others and caring others for their learning. In this case, you can build the most effective and productive learning environment. It is a good way to make things run smoothly throughout the teaching-learning process by creating the most amazing learning environment. 

In order for me to create an effective communication throughout this week, I was being an active listener to all my students so that they can feel free to ask more questions. When I did this, I found it very effective to make them learn at their fullest potential. Being a good listener and speaker to everyone in the school is the the best way to create the smoothest process of the teaching and learning process. And that is how I make the communication very effective in my teaching experience.

One more thing that I found which is very important is teaching the language throughout the teaching-learning process. And this is can create the communication more effective and productive (Richard & Schmidt, (2014) . In the reading activity, I taught students to decode the word when they hard to pronounce it. I did this because I wanted them to learn how to pronounce the word in an appropriate way. Not just that but also to let them understand the meaning of that word. Teaching them to pronounce the words is part of how to make communication very effective. Beside that, I provided them new vocabularies according to the note that they are going to learn. Because of this, students have no complaints and they really understood all the note. When students are fully satisfied, the communication will be also effective and most of all when they learn the language effectively, their communication will be in a high quality. 

Moreover, What I have done was to be always a good listener and speaker to everyone even to my colleagues and all staffs in the school. For me, by doing this I can make the learning environment the most effective learning environment. Inside the classroom, I always listened to each of everyone in the learning environment. When each of them asked a question, I did not ignore but I answered them very well. Not just that but in any meeting that I attended, I always pay attention to those who speak and pay respect to them. This is one of the good ways to create effective communication, the more you respected them, the more they respected you as well. 

Not only in the meeting but also inside the classroom, I respected each student so that they can feel accepted and valued throughout the learning process. When I respected students, I discovered that they feel motivated and they were always willing to participate throughout the learning process. Being oneself respect, everyone can move forward to do high-quality work. I respected the way they learnt no matter what. I stayed positive in front of them when something went wrong. I did this because all I wanted is to make them feel loved and from that they can produce positive outcomes. 

To conclude, effective communication is not only about having a conversation but also it includes how you develop good relationship which is the only way to make others feel comfortable, valued and accepted in the teaching and learning process.

Reference: 

Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. W. (2014). Language and communication. Routledge. 

Journal Entry on 21/10/2020

 My Journal Entry

Date: 21/10/2020

On the 21^st of October during the night, Rikate and I worked together and gathered all year 8A and year 8B students inside one classroom because of the choir practice as we were assigned to join the competition in the ‘Open Day’ ceremony of the House of Parliament from the Admin. The number of students is more than 40 students who are willing to participate in this choir competition.

In that night, we started with introducing what are going to do and then selecting student as the choir leader. By looking at them, I could see that they were all eager to do the practice and they really want to win this competition. But before doing our practice, I told students that in this choir we need a person as our leader so we have to select that person. I asked all of them, “who is willing to be a leader in this choir?”. Surprisingly, Bwataeru raised his hand, I wonder why and how he could be a leader. This is because this boy was the hyperactive student. He is very naughty and most of the time during normal classes, he did not complete his work. However, throughout doing the practice, he makes us very surprised in which that he can lead students very well. How surprising I was in which that in the normal classes, he could not speak on appropriate things but now he spoke very well and everyone inside the classroom was very happy and they pay attention to him.

I was very happy that night because I discovered that even the students cannot learn in the normal class but they were gifted and they have different talents which can be used effectively and productively. So, that night I learnt a lesson about respecting the way your student learns, I will not angry but I will try my best to make them blossom their talents. I will find more ways to do that so that each of them can flourish their secret talent. This time, I learnt that students were different and we, teachers should learn to accept those differences so that the child can feel comfortable, accepted and valued.

In summary, this experience has given me a very good lesson about students’ differences, all students inside the classroom have different capabilities. In this case, it is a must for all teachers to accept the way your student learns. Do not ignore him or her and do not hurt their feelings. All you need to do is to make them feel appreciated and by doing that, in the end you will be one to be proud of him or he just like I did this time.

Journal Entry 11 November, 2020

 

Journal Entry.

11/11/2020

About two more weeks and the school will end. This time, I was doing the marking of the examination papers. I marked my students’ health and Physical examination. This exam is considered as the summative assessment because everyone is assessed through doing the examination. And, this summative assessment is very important for both the teacher and students for keeping records and reporting students' learning progressions. 

While I was marking, I found that most of my students reached the pass benchmark. This means that their learning achievement is improved in which that they could answer the questions in the examination paper. More than 10 students reached above 80% of the examination and this is an amazing outcome that students made in this subject. Not only that but also it is clear that the teacher also reached the benchmark in her teaching. What I felt today was amazing and I was proud of my students in making great efforts in their examinations.

However, a few of them did not make it to reach the pass mark. This sounds bad for those kids and what I felt is feeling sorry for them. After marking their examination, I evaluated what I have been doing in this form. I looked back to the way I taught them, the way I behave and the way I attended their classes. What are the weaknesses and the strengths of the teaching and learning process? After evaluating, I found so many things which are considered as weaknesses of the teaching and learning process. One of those weaknesses is based on the students’ attendance. Most of the times those kids who failed in this examination have poor attendance in my class. What I was thinking of is that maybe because my teaching approach is not engaging so next time, I will make the use of teaching methods that are more engaging and productive. I believed that by doing this, there will be more participation in the learning process. From the weaknesses that I discovered, I am now thinking of what I should do in order to create improvement on those weaknesses. Therefore, summative assessment is very important since it can assist teachers to develop their teaching and learning strategies and that would be useful in making students success in the learning environment.

To conclude, even though I have a weakness this time, but I will never give up to make things better in the students’ learning process. I will try my best to find other way so that I make betterment in students’ academic results. I will put a lot of efforts to make this happen and in the future, they succeeded in finding their jobs so that they can have a good life.

Journal Entry

04/08/2020

 During this day, there are many things that I learnt about teaching strategies.  Things that I discovered are inclusion strategies which can be used to address the learning challenges of all students, especially those from marginalized groups, the second one is creating a classroom atmosphere of mutual respect and acceptance amongst students and the last but not the least is the engagement of both boys and girls equally in all learning activities. And this is also part of how you manage your classroom. 

First of all, one of the most important things that I should do in order to promote effective teaching in the school is to develop teaching strategies or methods that are inclusive so that I can easily meet all the learning challenges of all students, especially the disabled ones. What I have been discovered was that teachers need to be skillful and knowledgeable in how to cater the need of each student so that everyone can be fully satisfied and learn at their fullest potential. For the last activity that I provided to students, I provided them the marking rubric so that they could evaluate their own work and could make improvement . Also, during the presentation, I encouraged them to present their work with an interpreter. I showed them that I really care about their learning and because I did that, they fully participated in all learning activities since they felt motivated by me. For me, this experience is a very good one which I really enjoyed it because most of them including those kids achieved what I expected for them to achieve in the learning.

Secondly, in this week I also learnt how to create the learning environment of mutual respect and acceptance amongst students. For me, doing this I can create a very effective learning environment. For example, during classes I always let the student spoke their minds and after that even though he or she make mistakes but what most important is to give them back our positive reinforcement so that they could feel motivated, accepted and valued throughout the learning process. This is what is most important and this can possibly boost the students’ participation in the learning process. When they make outstanding efforts, I felt so happy and because of that, I told one of the students to show our appreciation to give a special applause. This strategy is one of the greatest ways that I found which can motivate the kid in the learning process.

Finally, engaging both boys and girls equally in all learning activities is one of the greatest way to promote inclusive education. I discovered that engaging them equally inside the classroom, each of everyone can feel safe, accepted, comfortable and valued. During the pair work, I allowed students to select their partners that opposite their sex to work together and share their ideas. By doing this, I found that those students really enjoyed working with their opposite sex and they contributed to the learning process. Not just that but also, in the group activity I always make the number of gender balanced. Also, doing other activities like the gardening, cleaning and so forth, I allowed girls to do the boys’ job and boys to do the girls’ job. By doing all of these, I engaged both boys and girls in the same way and that is fair for them to be treated as one.

To conclude, it is very important for the teacher to be creative in her or his teaching strategies in order for him or her to cater all the different needs of students’ learning. Also, the classroom that has a mutual respect and acceptance atmosphere is one of the best learning environment which can empower the participation and the performance of the students. In addition, it is crucial for all teachers to treat all students equally even though they are different but what is really important is to be fair to anyone and that could motivate their participation.

 

 Journal Entry

Date: 26/06/21

On Saturday of the 26^th of June, 2020, I invited one of the community members, an old man which is also called ‘Te Unimwane’ to come to the school and teach our team members, orange team the local dance which is called ‘Te Waanibwanga’. This dance is one of our ancestors’ local dances which is fun and amazing. We did this because, there will be a competition between each teams based on how to dance Te Waanibwanga during the upcoming event which is ‘Cultural Day’. The winner will be announced during the ‘Cultural Day’ and there will a prize. So, that is why my team members and I worked very hard to learn appropriate ways on how to perform this dance.

The learning started with how to sing the song of the dance and everyone pay attention to an old man and they respected him very well. What I saw in students, is the willingness that they have in practicing the song. They loved learning how to sing from this old man, what I was thinking about in that moment was maybe those kids very interested in learning cultures and traditions because it was very fun for them. After learning the song, the old man asked students to stand up because they are going to do the dance practice. Surprisingly, all of them raised up and they were captured by the old man when he did the practice. They pay attention and they did the practice by looking at the old man when he danced (see appendix 2.4a – 2.4c). This time, I felt so great and be proud that my team members learnt so much easily from this old man. Spending time in helping those students to learn this dance was a great experience for me. I was there as a helper in assisting the old man and students. I encouraged and support my team members to focus and to learn the skills on this dance. Things that students learnt from this practice is not the skill on how to sing the song of ‘Te Waanibwanga’ but also the skills and techniques on how to perform it in the most fantastic way.

However, there are some students who did not want to perform this dance so they came and did not do the practice. They just walked around the school compound and spent most of their times inside other classrooms. Because I was the only teacher, I could not leave an old man with students there because the old man really needed a teacher as an assistant in controlling the students’ behavior. Not just that but also students really needed me to be there with them to feel more secured and safe with the one who is new. I was tired of calling them when they walked around but they pretended they did not hear me. In this case, the number of teachers in doing the practice, should be more than two teachers so that each of everyone in a team will attend the learning and learn effectively. They did not want to perform this dance but I think if they get involved in learning this, they will find it very fun and they will participate in performing this dance. They just look at it from the outside but they never get in and they will never find it very amazing. Other kids who hated this dance but they get involved in practicing it and they found it very entertaining.

To conclude, celebrating the ‘Cultural Day’ is very important because it is a context of the school where students learn to value their cultures, language and traditions.  We, teachers in Kiribati should work together and help each other to promote the Cultural Day so that students can see us that we care about our culture and traditions and they will do the same thing. We should work together to find ways that could make students learn the culture and traditions.

 

Journal 18th August, 2020

 Journal Entry

On the 18^th of August, 2020, I taught the year 8 students mathematics and the topic that I taught is based on Number and Number Operation but specifically the uses of terminologies in whole numbers and calculate given digits of whole numbers using the four operations.

I started a lesson with a very good warm up that is involved not just the learning of numeracy but also literacy. This activity is called ‘Back to the Board’. This game is one of the famous game and it was really engaging for wakening students. Once I hit the board those at the front of the lines faced the board and read out the word that is written on the board. This game allows students to read and speak out the mathematic terms which are involved in learning this topic and that is how they did not just learn numeracy but also they learnt literacy in which that students learnt to read and pronounce that word

When we came to the introduction part of the lesson, I seek for the students’ prior knowledge about the new topic.  I allowed students to work in pairs and to discuss their different ideas on the new topic. In this activity students learnt from each other and they really enjoyed learning new things from their partners. After working in their pairs, I asked them for any volunteer to stand up and share what they have been discussed. In their presentation, they spoke English and everyone pay attention to them. By doing this, students also learnt through listening and that is learning literacy in which that the listening skill is used to learn new things from the others.

Throughout the development part of this lesson, students were working in groups and they really engaged in the learning process. In this part, the learning activity is based on describing the terms of dividend, divisor and quotient. And then they are going to divide the whole numbers working from 2 digits divided by 1 digit, 2 digits by 2 digits, 3 digits divided by 1, 3 digits by 2 digits and 1 digit by 2 digits using short and long division. As you can see, students in groups learnt literacy and numeracy in which that they read, speak, listen and write.

Finally, in the last part of the lesson, the learning activity was done by individually students were applying the operation on whole numbers using the order of operation rules (BEMA). In this learning activity, students were not just learning numeracy but they also learnt literacy in applying their knowledge and skills on the use of the order of operation rule which is BEMA on whole numbers. Each of everyone read and try to understand what problem they are going to solve. In this case, students learn to read and write and that is literacy whereas when they solve that problem then they learnt numeracy and that is how literacy and numeracy involved in the students learning activities.

In summary, learning literacy and numeracy inside the classroom have a positive impact in students’ real-life situations where they can solve real- life problems. So, in this case, subject teachers are needed to teach literacy and numeracy in their subject so that students can have the skills and knowledge on how to deal with real-life situations.

Journal Entry on 23/07/20

 Journal Entry

Date: 23/072020

On this day, I spent a one hour period in teaching mathematics and I tried my best to implement the NCAF throughout my teaching-learning process. Before I deliver the lesson, I planned a very good lesson with learning outcomes that relate to the learning objectives provided in the syllabus. There were three learning outcomes of the lesson that I unpacked from the syllabus and this how I related the learning outcomes with the learning objectives in the syllabus. All of the learning outcomes are created from the basic to the complex one. This means that the first learning outcome was basic, the second one was went deeper than the first one and then the last is more complex. For the last learning outcome, students are needed to go deeper and apply their understanding of the subject content to their learning activities. 

In addition, the teacher need to relate the subject content to real life situations. During this class, I tried my best to provide students their activities that related to real-life situations. For example, in the lesson, the learning activity that I provided them which is related to real-life situation was to calculate the area of the mwaneaba that has a square shape floor with a perimeter of 32 meters. This mathematic learning activity is related to real-life situation where they can use their skills and knowledge on calculating areas in real-life situations.

Not just that but also I used relevant teaching and learning materials/resources appropriate to achieve the standard objectives. In this class, I used the teachers' guide book as my teaching resources, chart papers for the summary notes of calculating the 2D perimeter and area. I used those two things as my teaching and learning resources which are appropriate to achieve the standard objectives. By entering the classroom with no teaching and learning materials/resources, the teaching and and learning process will be negatively affected in which that students cannot learn to their fullest. Also, students cannot achieve what most expected for them to achieve in the learning process. So, it is clear that you have to use appropriate teaching and learning resources so that learners can achieve the standard learning objectives. 

In summary, this experience has given me a greatest lesson on how to implement the NCAF throughout the teaching and learning process. Most importantly is to relate your students learning outcomes with the learning objectives provided in the syllabus. Also, it very crucial to provide students learning activities which are more related to real life situations, by doing this, you can help the kid to solve real-life situations. In addition, using appropriate teaching and learning materials, you can easily assist students to achieve the standard objectives. Therefore, implementing NCAF is very essential for teachers to do during their teaching practices so that they make students easily success in achieving the learning outcomes.