Malaysia Waldorf Education Preparation

The 3-year Malaysian Waldorf Teachers’ Preparation (MWTP) course provides the prerequisite background for those planning to enter the Waldorf primary teaching field.  It is structured into 3 main elements that are integrated throughout the program :-

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(I)   Anthroposophy foundational studies

(II)  Curriculum applications in classes from One to Eight

(III) Transformation through the Arts

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Throughout the 3 years, courses will be delivered in 6 modules, approximately 2 weeks each, with a few inter-module workshops.

Module 1 will commence on 9-21 Jun 2018.
 

This course is 2-tiered, namely :-

(i) Certificate of Attendance, a basic certificate for participants who only want an introduction to Waldorf Education.

(ii) Certificate of Completion, the award of which requires practicum, class observation, reading and writing assignments and completion of logbook.For those interested to be Waldorf teachers, this certificate is the recommended.

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(I) ANTHROPOSOPHY FOUNDATIONAL STUDIES

Anthroposophy Foundational Studies is the central part of this course as it the basis of how a teacher would conduct in bringing her lessons to her students.It focuses on study of the written work by Rudolf Steiner in a contemplative inquiry form.

• Life & Work of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf Education.

  • This unit helps us gain insight into who Rudolf Steiner was, how he grew up, what experiences he had during his earlier life that led him to setup the first waldorf school and the innovative new impulses he initiated along with that.

• Understanding of the Human Being

  • Education of the Child : looking into the stages of human development proceeding in approximately seven-year cycles, with focus on addressing the needs of the growing child appropriately at any age. 

  • Child development and Waldorf curriculum : an overview of how the Waldorf curriculum is structured around the developing child and discusses what is developmentally appropriate from not just cognitive development but also emotional development and physical readiness.

  • Nature of the Human Being discusses the constitution of the human being from the perspective of 3-fold, 4-fold, 7-fold, 9-fold and 12-fold; the four temperaments and 12 senses; the pedagogical law and 7 life processes.

  • Study of Man : Rudolf Steiner inaugurated the Study of Man for the teachers of his first school. Here we discuss the fundamental lectures which contain the core of Steiner's view on the psychology of the human being or soul activities

  • Discussion with Teachers : In this book, Rudolf Steiner gives practical examples in numerous subjects to assist teachers in their striving to bring the material to the students in a healthy way. The first five lectures are dealing with the temperament and will support our studies of this topic.

  • Reflective biography looks at how the earlier life experiences mirror upon the later stages of life through our own personal reflection.  Can we wake up to our unique self as it grows through interaction with the world and other human beings so that it helps us to recognize the significance we all play in one another’s biographies.

• Evolution of Consciousness & Culture

  • Cosmology - evolution of consciousness up to modern time

  • Mythology and history - Important historical events in the various culture from Grade 5 through 8

• Teachers Inner Development

  • How to know the higher worlds : provides practical advice to developing a higher sensitivity to the spirit, with clarity of thinking and judgement needed in order to be able to evaluate perceptions, relate them to each other, and thus know them.

  • Inner Work - meditation, contemplation and practice : How do we work well together as teachers? There are qualities that are necessary for a Waldorf teacher, some were described by R. Steiner. Self development is essential for the social well being of the school. We will look at faculty meetings, at child study and at the year end reports written by the teacher.

  • Necessary Qualities of the Teacher, Faculty Meeting

  • Teachers and Parents, Classroom management : What does a teacher need in order to be able hold a class? We will look at the flow and imagery necessary for a lesson. Rhythm and breathing have to be in place. How does a teacher work with her voice to keep children attentive. We will look at pedagogical stories recommended by R. Steiner. We will look at seating in the class and at the circle time and at individual responses to children.

  • Remedial work

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(II) CURRICULUM APPLICATIONS IN CLASSES FROM 1 TO 8.

• Practical Advice to Teachers : This is one of the basic books by Rudolf Steiner for Waldorf teachers to become familiar and understand the deeper aspects of Waldorf Education. Every Waldorf teacher should be familiar with this material.

  • Development of the Language Arts Curriculum through Grades 1 to 8.
    Grade 1
    Introduction from letters to phonics, sentence writing and reading. Story-telling, poetry, verses and speech exercises will be covered.
    Grade 2 
    This grade concentrates on the further development of writing, reading, and phonics. Learn how to introduce fables to children and a list of suggestions for Saint stories will be developed. Poetry, verses and speech exercises will complete the work. 
    Grade 3
    In this grade, we focus on the Creation stories and the Old Testament stories. We will develop a list of suggestions for the Old Testament stories and further concentrate on how to increase the students' skills in writing, reading, spelling. Grammar begins in this grade so we will look at what needs to be covered. The work with poetry, verses and speech exercises continues.
    Grade 4
    Mythologies debut with the focus on background understanding of Norse Mythology and why this meets the developmental step of the students of grade 4. Learn how to develop the students' writing and reading skills further as well as expanding their knowledge of grammar. We will discuss how to bring dictations, spelling and homework.
    Grade 5
    Expands the focus of the students on Mythologies world wide. It parallels the history of ancient cultures that now begins. Composition writing gains in importance, grammar continues, as does spelling and dictation writing. Book-reading is assigned and the students learn how to write book reports. We will look at how to bring all these to the students of grade 5.
    Grade 6 to 8 - To be updated.

• Mathematics

Grade 1
Working with Arithmetic in grade 1, focus will be on the introduction of numbers and the writing of them up to about 100. Learn how to integrate movement actively when introducing times tables and work with the four processes with both manipulatives and in written form. Further to this, learn how to introduce mental arithmetic and word problems. 
Grade 2
Continue with the active engagement in math in grade 2. We will develop and expand our work with the time tables and the 4 processes. Focus will also be on how to introduce place value and work with it in addition and subtraction. The practice with mental arithmetic is expanded in this grade, as well as the work with word problems. 
Grade 3
In Grade 3, we take a big leap forward in math, as the children learn about time, money, and measurements in connection with the practical activities. In addition, we work with all 12 times tables. We will solidify the work with addition and subtraction and add long multiplication and division with carrying and borrowing.
Grade 4 to 8 - To be updated.

• Form drawing, Geometry, Perspective drawing and Platonic Solids

• Geography and History

• Man and Animal, Plants and Mineralogy

• Astronomy

• Physics & Chemistry

• Physiology, Nutrition & Anatomy

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(III) TRANSFORMATION THROUGH THE ARTS

Actively working with the arts transforms the teacher by developing a flexibility of soul and that enables him to enhance his powers of perception and imagination.

• Drawing and Painting

• Music & Singing

• Woodwork

• Claywork

• Handwork

• Speech

• Eurythmy

Bothmer / Movement education.