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The Training in Pati
At the PAKEM training in Pati district the primary school teachers tried using the environment as a learning resource and using simple teaching aids and role playing in Social Studies lessons. The children in class 5 were given the task of finding information about different kinds of work by doing interviews with meatball and other sellers in the school yard.
To explain solar and lunar eclipses three students demonstrated how the earth orbits the sun and the moon orbits the earth. (above). The teacher asked the children to predict when a lunar or solar eclipse would occur (at times when the sun, earth and moon are in a straight line).
JSS Training in Batang
Optimism reigned in Batang. The participants were very enthusiastic about taking part in the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Teacher Training in Batang district which took place from 7-10 March 2004. The model lesson scenarios had already been very well prepared by the facilitators with the active involvement of all the participants. For example, in Science the facilitator gave a lesson on the topic of the 'ecosystem', including observing living and dead objects. The children were taken out of class to undertake an observation, then returned to class for discussion, tabulation and analysis. In the Bahasa Indonesia lesson the participants wrote sentences, poetry and developed interviewing techniques. In English lessons they developed language games and a strategy for learning vocabulary linked to certainty and uncertainty..
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The PAKEM / Contextual Learning training in Batang was active in nature and resulted in active lessons for JSS students.
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The practical teaching took place in five schools, each school receiving the participants from one of the subject groups. The participants had the opportunity both of teaching and of watching how other teachers taught. For example eight Bahasa Indonesia teachers were timetabled to do their practical teaching in two shifts. This way also had the advantage that the facilitators were able to observe the participants while they were teaching.
However, it meant that they were unable to watch other subjects being taught, as each school only received participants from one subject area. Lessons learned included experience in learning by interviewing community members and shopkeepers, and doing simple science experiments. Because the teaching practice only took place for one subject in each school they didn't have the opportunity to see all the subjects. Nevertheless the reflection and feedback took place at the end of the teaching practice.
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PAKEM and the Competency Based Curriculum
We have received many questions about Active, Creative, Joyful and Effective Learning (PAKEM), especially concerning the extent to which PAKEM supports the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
Does PAKEM guarantee learning in line with the CBC?
With PAKEM children learn in much greater depth than by using conventional methods (a lot of teacher lecturing). Using PAKEM will develop the variety of skills required by the CBC.
Will we be able to complete all the material in the curriculum if we use PAKEM?
One of the advantages of PAKEM is that it trains children to learn independently, including finding and using information.
The essential part of the lesson should be learnt with the teacher whereas less essential material can be read by the children themselves. In this way we can be confident of completing the curriculum.
Will PAKEM make all children clever, remembering that children have very differing abilities?
Until now, with the old style of teaching all children got the same treatment from the teacher both in teaching and assessment. One of the strengths of PAKEM is that it treats children according to their differing abilities.
PAKEM aims to raise the abilities of able, average and below average children. Developed countries which already practice PAKEM produce capable citizens who do a variety research and make new inventions which are benefit to the whole world.
Does PAKEM guarantee children's success.
Students' success has to date only been measured in terms of UAN and a high NEM (scores in the school leaving exam). In fact we all know that the UAN only measures cognitive elements of children's learning (a low level in Bloom's taxonomy).
In PAKEM a variety of abilities are developed (independent learning, cooperation, critical thinking, finding information, problem solving, decision making etc.). This prepares them for living in the modern world which is full of challenges and international competition.
Will PAKEM make teaching successful? For how long?
Successful teaching is teaching which raises a variety of children's abilities. If teachers spend a lot of time lecturing this merely develops the children's skills in listening, memorising and answering questions based on memorised information.
The retention of information using these methods is very low. On the other hand with PAKEM students are trained to find, select and use information, to discuss, ask questions, observe, research and do experiments, make reports etc. Once these skills have been acquired they last for life and can be used in daily life.
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