Korean Job Discussion Forums

JacktheCat · Joined: 08 May 2004

That semi-lame ass co-teaching "meeting" some of us attended last week got me thinking.

It seems the powers that be in the Gyeonggido department of education believe all of us waegukin public school teachers are co-teaching with hangukin teachers.

How true is this?

Or, how many of you are like me, with the students all to themselves and are left alone by their schools?

Draven · Joined: 03 Feb 2003

I have a co-teacher scheduled for half my classes. I see each class twice a week - once solo, once with a co-teacher.

That is, of course, when the co-teacher isn't too busy (or otherwise disinclined) to attend. Doesn't matter much to me; the students get the same lesson either way.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

Offically yes. Unoffically no. I have two that reguarly don't show up to class. 1 that doesn't do much when she is there and the rest are there for crowd control and providing an explaination if needed. I do the lesson plans, I make the handouts, I lead the class.

I think co-teaching is just another education buzzword that isn't really defined well here.

jaderedux · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Lurking outside Seoul

Yes...in true team teaching style.

My lesson plans are now developed with that in mind.

We teach together. It isn't always easy but I find it to be most effective because of the multi-levels we have to communicate.

But that being said it was a long process to get us here. Very very rarely am I in the room without a Korean Teacher and never ever during true class time. Once in awhile during the holdiday class or the classes at the end of the year and only after finals.

I have great co-teachers. Luck of the draw I guess.

Jade

Ekuboko · Joined: 22 Dec 2004 Location: ex-Gyeonggi

I have a co-teacher, but only in so much as she helps me with stuff outside of class. That video you saw of her and I is a lie in most ways because the English teachers and I never teach together. The only things that are true are: that classroom is mine; I do teach half the class (20 students) at a time (the KET has the other half); and the students in that class are responsive.

During my time in Japan, I had co-teachers and we always taught together. I guess I was lucky I had younger, cooperative teachers. When I came to Korea, I was surprised to find out that most KETs do not and cannot team teach. It's sad, because I do think students benefit from team teaching.

deessell · Joined: 08 Jun 2005

I work in a co-ed highschool and don't have a co-teacher, which means that I am unable to do any structured classes. The boys classes are more of a divide and conquer type situation where I put them into groups and move around trying to engage and get them to use even a small bit of English. The students level of communication and comprehension are very low, contrary to what the KETs think. I think they would definately learn more with a co-teaching approach. Sometimes I get very frustrated at the lack of language practise they are acutally getting but I try my best. The boys classes are a lot about classroom mangement but they are getting better. For my sanity I have decided to focus less on objectives and more on engaging the students. On the downside my teaching skill sets are being left behind and it worries me when I leave Korea that I will forget all my "training".

peppermint · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 5:08 pm Post subject:

Officially, I have a co teacher. Unfortunately, the school's "English teacher" speaks the language at about the same level as an average student. I explain the grammar and things to her before we start a lesson. The two classes that I teach on my own are progressing much faster and are foar more fun to teach.

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

This year, I have ended up teaching classes myself, and the co-teachers grade papers or run to the office or occassionally take it upon themselves to hand out papers.

In the past, I've had awesome co-teachers. One of us would teach the content, while the other was responsible for language and structure, showing the students how to do the assignment. It was really awesome.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

The more I think about this the more I think that the Korean education system wants to have it's cake and eat it too. They want all these new wonderful concepts of 'communication based teaching' 'using differientiated learning styles' and 'team teaching' but the classroom enviroment is still stuck very much in the 1950s.

I teach 1200 students a week in classes of up to 45 of highly variable abilty. If I want to do anything even slightly new and creative the class descends into chaos. I can't have them into teams because the classroom layout dictates that I can't see all of their faces and the class management turns to custard.

If Korea was serious about actually implementing all these wonderful concepts. They need to start lowering class sizes. Having specialized classrooms for language teaching with a good classroom layout for teaching is need too. They also need to start sorting students into academic grouping so lessons could be better tailored towards their individual level. Instead everyone gets the same level of medicore teaching as teachers try to be everything to everyone and fails miserably.

However the biggest change that needs to happen is that the education culture needs to change. I think here in Korea, people view education as the filling of the pail. Students are just empty vessels and it's the teacher's job to fill them with knowledge. Students don't have any responsbilty over their own learning here. It's too passive. Teachers need to see their role as lighting a fire, arousing curisotiy, chanelling creativity, and letting students arrive at point b from point a by themselves so that they are more equipped to deal with the classroom enviroment that the policy wants to create.