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Examples of PAKEM Lessons
Joyful and Effective English Language Lessons
English language lessons at SMP 1 Jakenan, Pati, are effective and the students really enjoy the learning experience. The teacher asked the students to make up lots of questions related to asking permission. After the students had written their questions on the blackboard, the teacher Ibu Herni, evaluated their questions (photos below).
Solving a Mathematics Problem
Students at MTs Banyuwangi were given this problem:
A big and a small chicken together weighed 4 kg
A medium and a small chicken together weighed 3 kg
A big and a medium chicken together weighed 5 kg
What is the weight of each chicken?
The students had to find the solutions themselves. Then a number of students were asked to explain how they solved the problem. In the photo (right), Lukman Hakim, a Banyuwangi MTs student is explaining how he arrived at his solution.
Comment: It is most important that the students look for the solutions by themselves rather than being shown by the teacher and learn that there are many ways to solve the same problem. This is a very useful skill for everyday life.
Drawing and Describing the Parts of a Flower
Grade 4 students at SD Sonorejo, Pati were given the task of observing, comparing, drawing and describing the parts of a flower. In the photo below Bpk Sulistyono, a grade 4 teacher is watching the students write (below). Below the photo of Bpk Sulistyono you can see the work of a student named Heni.
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Students Write Descriptions in English
While the local facilitator training was being held at Banyuwangi, Bpk Suyatno, who is a new English language facilitator from Probolinggo asked the SMPN 1 Banyuwangi students working in small groups to describe an animal in English. On the right Bpk Suyatno is holding up a good description of an elephant.
Students Make Up Their Own Mathematics Questions
Usually it's the teachers who provide the mathematics questions for their students, and generally they only provide about 10 questions. With PAKEM many teachers now ask their students to make up the questions themselves. The photo on the below shows the work of Sudharmono, a grade 2 student at SD Karaban 4, Gabus, Pati. He made 28 addition questions in 10 minutes.
The teacher can increase the level of difficulty by adding various conditions. For example: the questions should all have the same answer (for example: the answer to all the questions should be 120), or each question has to have a certain sign (for example: all questions must use + and -). Questions that are made up by one student can be given to a classmate to solve or to correct. This increases the interaction in the classroom as well as student motivation.
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Don't Worry About PAKEM
The application of PAKEM in MBE target schools in Pacitan started in 2003. Schools and teachers put much effort into planning lessons, managing classes, and developing their students with a focus on developing students' abilities. The learning methods emphasize process in achieving the competencies. However, teachers were worried about the achievements of their students.
They were worried that their students would show a lower achievement than the students from the schools that have not applied PAKEM and instead use rote learning in their lessons. The main concern was, will the new method prepare the students for the final examinations (UAN) for grade 6 students which will be held in 2005/2006? Furthermore, they have to take part in Dinas Pendidikan's annual program of activities. These include Student Performance Competitions, Subject Competitions, Mathematics and Science Olympics, etc. So far, these worries have not been justified by the facts in our school.
SD Negeri Ploso 1 Pacitan Sub-district, is one of the earliest MBE target primary schools and started to implement SBM, Community Participation and PAKEM at the same time as the other MBE target schools. As a school that has applied the PAKEM methods, its students certainly didn't disappoint anyone in the semester examinations, as proved by the increased average marks of the students in each grade level. In the early years, grades one and two, this improvement was quite significant. Even, in the regular events, such as subject competitions and the selection of students with high achievement, the results were always encouraging. For instance, in the 2005 Mathematics and Science Olympics, "Hamidah Budhi Amarta" was successful in achieving a bronze medal in the East Java Mathematics and Science Olympics. However, what is more important is that the learning processes in the classrooms have become more lively and enjoyable. The children have become critical, creative, and have the courage to ask their teachers questions when there is anything they don't understand. The work assignments given to the students are also very contextual and make use of the local school environment.
By Muhtarudin, School Principal of SD Ploso 1, Pacitan
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