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To improve teachers' competencies, stake-holders have to show initiative and develop the function of the school MGMP (teachers' dis-cussion group) so that it becomes a teachers' forum for discussing teaching and learning issues. SMPN 1 Jakenan conducted an MGMP on the 23 September 2004 that was attended by all teachers.
The district MBE facilitators for all subject areas attended as guest speakers, including Ibu Sri Suryanti. S.Pd and Bpk Zaini. S.Pd. The MGMP can help teachers to improve teaching and learning activities and at monthly workshops, teaching and learning issues are discussed and addressed. In the picture Ibu Sri is engaged in a dialogue with other teachers.
School Committee Joining in the Teaching at SD Bentul
SD Bentul, one of the MBE target schools in Banyumas district which is headed by Bpk Syukur Iskandar, is among those primary schools showing impressive development. This school has chalked up a rare achievement. This year SD Bentul has been recognised as having the most succesful school committee in Central Java.
The environment of SD Bentul is shady and clean, and the terraces and schoolyard have been cultivated and planted. Many of the plants have been given labels with the names of the plants in Indonesian. Bpk Suyanto, the school's science facilitator plans to gradually complete the labeling in Javanese language and also in Latin. This task will be completed with the assistance of the whole school community.
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Np. 1 : The school yard is filled with coconut and salak trees
No. 2 : Practical teaching in Kebasen, a member of the community teaching class four children to make environmentally friendly fertiliser
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Bpk Ahmad Wahyudin one of the agriculture officials in Kebasan, Banyumas is currently developing the production of fertilizer which utilizes leftover products from the fields which until now have been discarded. The production of this fertilizer is being done with the students of grade 4 as an investment in the future.
Learning Science is Easy
POE (Prediction, Observation, Explanation) is a strategy introduced in PAKEM. Students engage in prediction exercises about something that will happen. After they make the predictions they conduct an experiment and make observations. The results of the experiment are then explained and related to their predictions before the experiment was conducted.
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During the PAKEM training in Kebumen and Banyumas the POE strategy was frequently used during the teaching of science (IPA). This strategy is also compatible with the learning of other subjects like mathematics and languages.
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No cost PAKEM in a science lesson. Some of the students are doing an experiment, while the rest watch them.
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In general, the students learning science and Indonesian language in this way said that learning science and reading is easy. Some people said that using the prediction activity, the students felt it offered guidance when they were conducting their experiments.
Fomula Funding, a Ray of Sunlight
MBE ran a workshop on Formula Funding of schools for the districts which recently joined the program in 2004. Kebumen, Banyumas, Blitar, Kota Madiun and Batu each sent 9 people representing the MBE facilitators, Dinas Pendidikan, the Finance Section, Bappeda (Planning Agency), Dewan Pendidikan, Religious Affairs Department and the local parliament (Komisi A).
The representatives of each district drew up a formula to funds schools which was approp-riate to their area. As a result various formulae were developed, which differed in the variables used or the weightings given to each variable.
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Ibu Erna and friends from Banyumas agreeing to implement formula funding (DAS) in their district
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The target of the workshop was for each district to have a formula for allocating funding (the DAS) to schools which was equitable, transparent, participative and easy for all parties to understand. Evidently none of the participants disagreed with these aims. Eno Syafrudin called the funding formula introduced by Prima Setiawan and his colleagues a ray of sunlight.
While Agus Purwanto said that the funding formula was indeed something the community had been waiting for. Erna and Lis were two education observers from Banyumas who feel a heavy responsibilty for education in their area. As a result they have both worked hard to help Dinas Pendidikan to draw up a formula for funding education which is transparent and equitable and easy for everyone to understand.
Agriculture Official as Guest Expert
As planned, teachers, principals, and supervisors for the MBE target areas received three days PAKEM training in mid-November 2004. While the teachers were receiving the training, the students of the target schools were on holiday or were learning in their homes.
Unlike the other schools, the principal, Bpk Sahut of SD Bentul, Kebasen sub-district, Banyumas, decided to invite guests from the local agriculture office (Bpk Achmad Wahyudin and Bpk Suparno) to teach the students of grade 3, 4, 5 and 6 how to make boka fertilizer.
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