Teaching in Malaysia: Round 1

As part of our #AgEd2Malaysia journey, all members of our team will be tasked with providing classroom instruction to Malaysian classrooms. At first, this task can seem daunting, but we will be paired with students from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia who are fluent in Malay and can assist with any translation.

The first topic of teaching was aquaponics. Since Malaysia does not have large amounts of land to grow vegetables and raise fish for protein, aquaponics is a current topic to increase agricultural outreach in urban areas. My teaching team consisted of Kristi Mensen, a student-teacher candidate from Iowa State University, and Ain & Suhana from UTM.

Our goals for the lesson included:

• Introduce the definition of aquaponics system
• Describe the purpose of a aquaponics system
• Explain the 6 components of a aquaponics system
• Construct a simple aquaponics system using recycled materials

Our UTM colleagues started the lesson (in Malay) and walked students through the opening routine of class (students stand to greet the teacher and exchange greetings) and instructed students to find the definition and purpose of aquaponics in the textbook. Fun fact--Malaysian schools are on a national curriculum (even for agriculture), so each school in the country has the same textbook. From a teacher's perspective, this is a great system because regardless of which school you will be placed to teach in, the curriculum is identical. However, this may not meet the local needs of the community in which you teach.

I was responsible for guiding students through an inquiry-based activity to brainstorm what the function and purpose of each component of an aquaponics system (Fish, Plant, Air Stone, Air Tube, Pump, and Small Plastic Pot). I provided instructions in English, then my Malaysian counterparts asked students if they had questions (in Malay). After 5 minutes of brainstorming, I asked each group to share their answers. I was originally worried that they would be reluctant to share, but each group confidently held up their poster and provided their answers to the class.

Finally, Kristi led the class through a demonstration on how to build a simple aquaponics system using a plastic bottle, shower loofa, and small plastic pots. For her first time teaching a group of students (ever), she did a phenomenal job and really connected with the class.

At the end of the class, we surprised the students with a goldfish for their completed aquaponics system and the entire class of students swarmed around the front desk to watch as Kristi put a fish in their system. Group photos and selfies quickly ensued and just as quickly as we started teaching, the lesson had come to a close. 

Overall, I didn't really know how the lesson would be received by the students, but our group was engaged, asked on-task questions, and smiled frequently during the lesson. We have 2 more teaching opportunities where we will be paired with a new team to plan a new lesson. 

Cheers!

~Rom