Conquering learners and lessons through NiE

SHE “stole”, she taught, and she conquered. She is Shamsiah Samad.

The 32-year-old teacher from SMK Seri Permata, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, went the distance to ensure that her Newspaper-inEducation (NiE) session with students materialised by “stealing” The Star newspapers from her colleagues.

“I needed seven copies of the newspaper. I am in the afternoon session and I managed to get only three copies from teachers in this session.”

To make up for the remaining four, she discreetly went to the tables of the morning session teachers who were subscribers and as she candidly put it -- “stole” their copies.

“After the NiE lesson, I sent the teachers a message to tell them what had happened to their copies of The Star, of course!” she quipped, as she had the audience in stitches.

Last month, Shamsiah was an attendee at an NiE workshop held at Menara Star for Primary and Secondary school teachers in the Klang Valley. The workshops by The Star freelance NiE trainer Lucille Dass equipped teachers with techniques of using the newspaper as a language resource in the classroom.

This month, teachers who had attended NiE workshops in February and March at Menara Star returned to share discoveries, insights and challenges when incorporating the newspaper into class lessons.

Complemented with feedback from Dass and Institute of Teacher Education, International Languages Campus (IPGKBA), Kuala Lumpur, lecturer Manoharan Nalliah, the sharing session was a platform where the Klang Valley school teachers learnt new ideas from each other.

For Shamsiah, the engagement from her students said it all. “They had a lot of fun and even asked me to bring in the newspapers for the next lesson.

“I like the fact that they had the freedom to move around. Previously, they would just sit and listen to me. “The activity also allowed them to analyse the material they had,” she commented.

Also present were the IPGKBA director Dr Nagalingam Karuppiah and deputy director Dr Chong Poh Wan.

Dr Nagalingam said: “NiE gives a different dimension to teaching. It provides the element of creativity and there’s a lot of opportunity for students to express themselves. I believe that more can be done. NiE can also be expanded for other languages or subjects.”

He also added that NiE workshops helped provide more capacity for professional development among teachers.

Zaffirah Zaini, 32, from SK Jalan Enam, Bangi, carried out her NiE session with her low proficiency pupils in Year Five. To her surprise, the pupils were able to complete the activities without much guidance from her.

“I will never again underestimate my weakest pupils! Previously, I would give them simple exercises. For this NiE activity, they were confident enough to do everything on their own. I did not have to explain the instructions,” she said.

Teacher Nor Aqida Jeffridin, 25, from SMJK Kwang Hua, Klang, recalled how she had grown up with The Star. “I was able to answer my UPSR, PMR and SPM questions, thanks to The Star.”

“My uncle was an active advocate of using the newspaper in education. That is why I believe that we should use the newspaper in the teaching and learning process,” she said.

She noted that students and teachers have the same concern – which was to complete syllabus studies. “I think that by using the newspaper, we can actually follow the syllabus – it will make our lives easier.”

There were also many upsides to using the newspaper. “It can promote group work, introduce students to authentic material, get extra ideas as well as help students take charge of their own learning,” she said.

From the teachers’ feedback, Manoharan said that students showed “autonomous learning”,

Zaffirah was surprised that her low proficiency pupils were able to complete their activities with little guidance.

which is what the Education Ministry aims to achieve.

Agreeing, Dass said that students should be groomed to love the language so that they can take ownership of their development.

Shifa Husna Mohd Azmi from SMK USJ 20 had no qualms about putting this tried-and-trusted formula to the test.

For this discerning teacher who has been teaching for three years, seeing is believing. She was frank in stating that using the newspaper as a teaching tool would either be a “Yay” or “Nay”. And who best to judge the effectiveness of her lesson? Her students, no doubt.

“I tried NiE with my weaker students. These students would tell me that their parents didn’t really care about their grades,” she said.

Armed with her NiE lesson in hand, she carried out the lesson with her learners.

The verdict: a vehement “Yay” from this teacher.

“The newspaper is a very useful resource. It draws students’ attention and bridges the classroom to the real world,” she said.

All the sessions were part of the NiE workshops planned until September to mark Star-NiE’s 20th anniversary.

They are held in collaboration with the Selangor State and Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Education Departments and the IPGKBA.