About PGDE course - Sem 1

In today’s post, I will be sharing with readers about PGDE course, as the title says.

PGDE is a shortform for Post Graduate Diploma in Education or in Malay we call it Diploma Perguruan Lepasan Ijazah (DPLI). For those who have a non-education bachelor degree but wanting to be a teacher in public school, it is a requirement to have PGDE cert. But if you do not have PGDE cert, you can still become a teacher but in private school. Some private school do not require you to have PGDE cert.

For PGDE semester 1 in City University of Malaysia, the duration is six weeks of classes. I am currently at the end of semester 1. Final class will be this weekend. Still have a few assignments need to submitted. One of it is this blog post.

For this course, there is no exam. So, assignments is a big deal as it took 100% marks for each subjects. In semester 1, there are four subjects that we need to take which are:

1. Psychology in Education

2. Curriculum & Co-curriculum Management

3. Assessment & Evaluation

4. Philosophy of Education

The classes are all during weekend (Saturday & Sunday) every morning (0900-1200) and afternoon (1300-1600). And all the classes are 100% online, as of now. Last time I heard maybe we need to attend the class physically at least once, but I don’t think it’s happening this semester. Maybe it will happen next semester. Or maybe it won’t happen. Honestly I don’t mind attending physical class once for the semester. At least I can meet my lecturers and classmates in person. It will be a different experience to attend classes physically.

For online classes, we use LMS (Learning management system) by the university. If only the LMS got hiccups, then we will be using other platforms like Google Meet.

At first I find psychology class is not in my interest. But as the topic goes on, until I can relate to the teaching method, I find it is interesting actually. As someone who is not confident enough to teach students especially male students (I came from all girls school), I think it is very important to understand and apply the psychology in education so P&P can be done smoothly during lessons. P&P is ‘pengajaran & pembelajaran’.

Curriculum & Co-curriculum Management subject is also interesting and I understand why we need to learn this. Even though the curriculum in Malaysia education has already been developed by Ministry of Education (MOE), but we can be creative on the teaching technique and lesson plan. We cannot change the syllabus, obviously. But the teaching technique when delivering the curriculum in classroom is crucial.

Assessment and evaluation subject - we learned about what is assessment, and why do we need to assess students, as a teacher. What caught my eyes is the types of assesments available and have been implemented in school. Now I understand why there is certain exams, tests, and assignments need to be done. Each tasks assesed different things.

For philosphy class, I just want to say it is important to learn as you will have a bigger picture about education philosophy in Malaysia and you know the direction of MOE.

Postgraduate programme is not like during bachelor degree. We do not need to attend other extra classes like co-curriculum activity, and minor subjects.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I really enjoy taking this course. And it is my hope to be a teacher, to educate the younger generations as they are the future of Malaysia.

Till the next post. Bye.

Amalina

A Little Background

Dearest Gentle Reader,

My name is Amalina. Currently studying Postgraduate Diploma Education in City University. This whole blog is part of the assignments for subject PGDE 7043 - Assessment and Evaluation.

Just a little background story about me. I did my Bachelor Degree and Masters Degree in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). I have a Bachelor Degree in Construction Management and Masters Degree in Building Technology. After graduated, I worked in corporate. Working on projects related to public realm, placemaking, conservation and restoration, and etc. We worked closely with local authority and community in the area to implement those projects. After four years plus working with corporate, I just want to quit. Without any backup plan.

I ventured in new things - sales, marketing, and business. It lasted for about three years, and I quit again. Took a career break for almost a year. Trying to find myself again. And look into opportunities. Also, I am very super grateful. The career break does wonder to me. Not just I learnt a lot, I also explore new hobbies and interests. That I do not think I could have done it back in the days where I worked in corporate.

Frankly speaking, being a teacher is not really my choice. Well, back then during primary school I did put “ustazah” as my ambition in the report card just because I always got an A for Pendidikan Islam. But growing up during my teenage years, even adolescents years, I never thought of being a teacher. It was my father who push me through. Me being a teacher is actually his dreams. So I am working on his dreams :D

Nevertheless, not even once I feel regret joining this course. In fact, I really do enjoy the course and even picturing myself becoming a teacher in the next few months in shaa Allah. As I think further, maybe this is the path that Allah has put me in. My career path may not go smooth like any of my friends, but I really enjoy the journey. The best part when I am really living my life after quitting my job.

Honestly it is a mixed feeling of excited and scared at the same time, thinking of going back in the workforce. Plus, I’ve heard that being a teacher in public school, you are not just going to teach, but you need to do other stuffs like planning school events and etc. But it’s okay. I will take it as a challenge. There are no perfect jobs anyway. There’s always pros and cons.

I think I already write quite a bit. Will write again next week. Bye!

Amalina.