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Far from the town, to reach SD Tulakan 3 we have to travel for approximately 1 hour from Pacitan, on a route that winds and climbs through mountains. This school which was built 21 years ago has a very simple design, but the environment is fresh and fertile.
It has a teaching staff of 8, and has 93 students, and since they received the PAKEM training 7 months ago this primary school has developed steadily and enthusiastically. To improve the learning processes they have moved away from the lecturing style of teaching, and are now practicing active learning in which the students are now actively engaged in the learning process.
All stakeholders now contribute to the effort. Bpk Triono,S.Pd, the Principal regularly encourages and motivates the teachers by holding coordination and evaluation meetings at least once every two weeks. The Principal, who is always calm, continually empha-sizes the teachers' duties and responsibilities.
Teachers are always being reminded that the important thing is preparation, as they are classroom managers, and are responsible for the effective delivery of the curriculum and the students' learning. Frequently more specific materials and preparation may be required for example through the use of guest speakers from various professions.
One afternoon several children arrived at Ibu Sri's house. Soon she discovered that they were all grade 6 students from SD Tulakan III. Sri Widayati, her full name, thought it might have something to do with school work. It appeared that she was right after one of the students told her why they had come and she understood what she had to do. When they had held a school committee meeting several months previously, the Principal had -
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explained about the potential role of committee members as guest speakers and subject experts for the students.
"This is not the first time I have acted as a subject expert, I have had an invitation to be a guest speaker before." The students in turn asked questions about throat infections which had been prepared by their group. Like a teacher, the midwife who works at a public health centre in Tulakan, patiently answered their questions. Later Ibu Sri asked the teacher about the students' assignment and he said that the assignment had started with a group activity/session at school.
The students had prepared a list of individual questions and then discussed them in a group to make sure the list was complete and ready to use in the interview. According to Pak Sediono, the teacher of grade 6, the learning assignment was designed to teach the students to identify and develop appropriate questions to ask the community. Besides this, it raises the confidence of the students to express their ideas and to be critical.
On another occassion, SD Tulakan 3 also invited Pak Joko, a member of the sub-district military office, to visit the school and explain to the students about security and defence. As well as the above two subject experts, the local neighbourhood head was also invited to explain about social issues in the community as a expert resurce for Social Science. Isn't this interesting!!??
These are only a few of the learning resources and methods that we use to ensure that students are not isolated from the real issues in their community. In fact the students very much enjoy variety in their lessons and the parents are also very happy. With a model like this, is it possible in the time available to teach the curriculum effectively? The teachers are optimistic that in the mornings they can learn by process and in the afternoons they can drill.
Pak Sujarno, an MBE facilitator's opinion is that time has to be used effectively. Drilling practice is given to the students to prepare them for the End of Semester Tests (TPB) and Final Examinations (UAS) etc. Through this process it is hoped that the students will develop logical thinking to help them cope with with open ended or closed questions, and the achievement of the students can be improved to match the demands of the Competency Based Curriculum.
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