Please Regard Them as Human, not Robots!

Every teacher must agree that assessing student is a must but not all of them know what must be assessed and how they should assess. As we have seen and experienced during primary and secondary school, teachers mostly focuses merely on the final result, without considering the process students do to get it. In many cases, the result only shows students’ cognitive ability—which is the little piece of their ability. Meanwhile the bigger parts of their understanding are shown in the learning process, and it ‘s seldom assessed until it buried under the surface . Just like an iceberg.

In my opinion, if a teacher just concern on this kind of treatment, then s/he cannot see the students as a human. Students are seen as robots, who are just given some orders to be finished and then s/he will recognized them by looking at the result. If they can’t do the test successfully, then they will not be regarded as a good robot. –( This is happened in our country—I bet you realized it—especially in the national examination)—

Whereas actually, if the teachers have a will to dive deeper in to The Ocean of Students Soul, they will see a lot of hidden potencies that are buried because they never give attention to. There are many aspects to be assessed since students are diverse human, so not of them can be treated as the same. I remember a story about a teacher who used to assess her students simply using worksheet, and when there is a student who can’t answer it, she evaluated her teaching way. When she changed the model of assessment, the miracle happened; the students who are weak in answering the sheet can show better performance in another task, e.g. exhibition or presentation.

Well, if we want to regard students as whole human, we shouldn’t use Iceberg model to assess them, yet a house-building process—borrowing Yosea’s term. We shouldn’t use summative assessment only, but also formative and diagnostic ones.

The proper application of those assessments can be analogized as the process of building a house. The diagnostic assessment is used at the beginning of the learning period so that teacher can use the result to determine the appropriate treatment for students—a strong foundation. The following process is also important, how to construct and combine all elements needed to build the house. Teacher should give a lot attention in this stage because students often show their real understanding here through their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor ability. And by seeing the result of formative assessments, teacher can give them feedback which parts of the lesson still need improvement. Finally, to finish the process, we put roof on the top of the building. This is the time when summative assessment needed; to cover what students have learnt during a period of lesson.

If we use this analogy, we can see that when we build a house, the proportion of each part is not same. The height of the wall is not same with the roof. That’s why a teacher should share a fair proportion among those kinds of assessment. Just like in SSE, we are assessed by using many variation of assessment, and the final exam is not the only decision. I feel be regarded as a whole human, with all characteristics, uniqueness, and talents. How lucky I am...

It's Time to Re-reflect...

Guys, do you feel sometimes Time runs so fast, even flies? As you see on the side-bar of my blog, the Hand of Time moves every single second, and it will hit back anyone who moves slower than it. Even sometimes its longer Hand will slap on your face if you waste it to do useless things.

Of course that's just a metaphore, but let's ask ourselves and answer honestly: have we learned a lot so far--at least for this half-semester term--either from lectures, routines, or any activities in our life?

To be honest, it's such a difficult question for me. Sometimes, I just run my schedule without taking any lesson from that. Maybe I learn something, but I just not realize it.

Living in the world without realizing its essence is like visiting a big library without touching its books
The Secret Teachings of All Ages_Dan Brown

That sentence inspires me to re-reflect on my life. Yes, reflection helps me so much in answering the question above. This blog is one of the tools, besides notes on my room wall I made at the beginning of the semester.

2 months ago, I listed all assignments I have to do in the 3rd semester. Once finishing one assignment, I will cross it out, and up to now I have crossed some of them.

Those notes are not just a reflection tool, but also a planner and a reminder. By looking at it, I can know what should I do at the moment, or what I can postpone, or what I can explore before it's explained by the lecturers.

Now, after 2 months, I admit that sometimes, I postpone what I should do at the scheduled time and it makes me doing the assignments in hurry limit to the deadline. I'm not satisfied enough with the results, honestly.

Friends, I need your help to pump up my spirit. I need your motivation to cheer my life up, because those motivational sticker doesn't really work...

Moving Classes (that) Don’t Really Move

SMA **, the school where I did teaching assistance has applied moving class system. To me, moving class is a big movement in Indonesian learning system. Unfortunately, this school hasn’t (really) moved, which means move from traditional learning method into ICT-based method, especially in language learning. Actually, the school has provided the facilities, such as LCD and projector in every classroom, but some teachers feel reluctant to use them, including my master teacher. She still uses a textbook only in almost meeting.

When I asked her, she said that she knows that her students tend to be more interested when she uses digital media but she has no enough time to make the presentation slides or another media. Besides, she doesn’t want wasting her time in teaching to operate the tools. To anticipate the technical problem, she prefers bring her own tools to use the school’s tools. For example, if she wants to give listening exercise to students, she will bring her own tape recorder from home. However it doesn’t mean that she rejects any implementation of new technology. She allows her students to use the built-in dictionary on their cell phone to translate some difficult words or to google any information. I think she is just a typical digital immigrant who sometimes afraid to try something new.

Although there are still many controversies about the effectiveness of using technology (especially computer-based technology) in language learning, we can conclude that students are more enthusiastic, engaged, and motivated when they study using computer or any digital media (Davies and Hewer, 2010). I noticed the difference when my master teacher taught her students using textbook only and when I taught them with some digital media. Some of them still had a chat when the teacher explained about something orally, but they paid all attention when I explained about procedure text using PowerPoint. They became more excited when I played a video from YouTube to give more example of it, though, in the middle the video had to be stopped due to a technical problem. This fact forced me to admit that she is true, sometimes there are unexpected things happened on those tools that disturb the learning process.

Technology is just a tool, and it cannot substitute the presence of teacher. It’s the teacher’s role to create a lesson that integrating ICT-based experience into the curriculum (McFarlane, as cited in Davies, 2010). I have tried to do that as I told above. I was glad to see the students presented their own procedure text using PowerPoint and another digital media enthusiastically.

Even though it was short, I know from their e-reflection that they enjoyed the session when technology was used. Well, to really move their way in learning language into ICT-based classroom is not easy, but at least they have started doing something new through moving class system.

How Difficult to Avoid "Twin Sins of Design"

After doing two microteaching practices this week, I more realized that the “twin sins of design” is such a big problem for teacher. I, as a student who accustomed to experience fun learning in SSE, wanted to apply it in the class I practiced. But then I found that it can’t always work everywhere.

I tried to make students excited by playing “Spy Racing” game at the beginning of the class. In this game—which is actually modified from running dictation—I asked 3 people in a group to “steal” the “secret information” that were spread around the classroom. After that, they memorized the information and reported it to a “boss” of each group. The boss, then, arranged those unorganized sentences into a good paragraph, which was a procedure text.

I played a video (where the sentences taken from) to check their answer, but shockingly, the video didn’t work! Fortunately, I had written the correct arrangement as a back-up plan. After that, I explained the structure and the language features of procedure text, and then I asked each group to make their own procedure text based on certain topic I gave. All of these activities took 2×40 minutes.

My master teacher’s comment made me realized that my teaching is not really effective, “Well, actually for a teaching simulation, you have done a good job. Everything ran smoothly with the right flow. However, if you become a teacher in a public school you can’t do it every time. You have to fulfill the curriculum demand. You have a lot of topics to cover in certain time. For the activities you have done, I think 80 minutes is too much. Moreover, this topic has been delivered before in my class.”

I realized that the class condition was not really suitable for the game, which required a lot of movements. Imagine when more than 30 students move around the class that full with table quickly. Therefore, in the following day, I omitted the ‘puzzle’ game that has been scheduled in my lesson plan.

In the second day, I asked them to present their procedure text in front of the class while my partner assessed them with presentation rubric. We used it since we want to assess them objectively and systematically.

After that, I moved to the next topic; advertisement. We distributed the ads taken from Jakarta Post and then asked them to discuss some guiding question in some small groups. We designed the questions that can lead them to identify things related to advertisements. After small group discussion, we guide them to conclude it together. I was amazed since we could cover a topic in less than 20 minutes. However, due to limited time, we asked them to do e-reflection by sending it via email.

From their reflection, we know that almost every one enjoyed those two days experience. We’re very glad since they showed enthusiasm during the class, either when discussed, presented their products, or when we explained. The classroom rules we agreed at the beginning of the class really help us to control them. Well, reflecting from my master teacher’s experience–and also mine–I know that it’s rather difficult to fulfill the curriculum and students’ demand at once , especially in a big class. As solution, maybe we can schedule some fun learning activities once a week since students like it so much. :-)

Small Things, Big Impacts

What does come up in your mind if someone ask you to count how much water and electricity you consume in a day, or how many polybag you use? Just wasting your time?

Yup, it's just the same with me when Ms Stien Matakupan, the lecturer of Environmental Studies asked the class to do an environmental audit. But later on, I realized that those small things we often ignore really give impact to our life, now and later, even until hereafter.

Let's look the closest place for us, our room.How many electronic tools do you have? How long you switch on each of them in a day? It sounds worthless, but if you count the power you use (Watt x minutes used, and then multiply it with the amount of CO2 released, you will realized that you have just contributed kilos of carbon into the atmosphere. You can take this quiz to measure how much "poison" you release and how your lifestyle impact to our earth.

Still in your house, take a look how many plastic bag there are.I bet, you will find a lot in your room and your kitchen. The more we buy anything, the more plastic bag we have.

Did you know, if we throw it into the land now, the grandsons of our grandsons can still find the pieces of it in the layer of land? The plastic bag--the soft one--will be fully degraded after 500 years, and many more years for the hard one. I really appreciate the effort of some department store, which create the eco-friendly polybag that can be degraded only in 2 years.



Nevertheless, since there are sooooo many people buy goods there, there will be sooo many plastic bags thrown into the earth. These plastics will decrease the fertility of the soil, or if it is thrown into a river, it will make the stream stagnant and finally it will destruct the ecosystem of the river

So, is still there any way to save our earth? Of course, there are always solutions.One simple thing we can do is saving the use of electricity, as shown in below video.




Besides, there is a simple thing we can do. Buy a paper or canvas bag and bring it whenever we go shopping. When the cashier/merchant starts to put in your belongings into a plastic bag, refuse him/her assertively while giving your own bag, "I'm sorry, I have had my own bag."

Every Student is Smart!

Everyone is special in their own way
We make each other strong
We're not the same, We're different in a good way
Together's where we belong.
(We're All in This Together, OST High School Musical)

I’m always impressed with all things related to Multiple Intelligences. By this frame of mind, every people is viewed as a smart people. Not only one who wins Science Olympiad, or gets the best score in National Examination, but also people that can paint well, talkative, even people who look silent (but actually they think inside). That’s why I think teachers should look students through this framework.

Even though we cannot claim that one method is the best, I think this is the most appropriate way when teachers want to develop students’ skills and their various abilities. It’s suitable with the condition of Indonesia students, who have a lot differences one to each other, even in the same area. Different culture, family background, and parenting style also influence what the most dominant intelligences of a student.

Nevertheless, it’s impossible to accommodate all of the intelligences in one activity in one day. I have planned to give my students questionnaire to obtain what their stronger intelligences are at the beginning of the learning period. So later on, I can modify activities that support students multiple intelligences. Not only vary, the assignments given should also encourage them to think critically. We can use Integration Matrix—that is given in the MI workshop with Pak Iwan—to compose the assignments that are in higher level of Bloom’s taxonomy. Of course not every task support all intelligences but at least there are some intelligences accommodated in one activity. For instance, the teacher can ask students to discuss about a book in a literature circle. In the circle, students are given different roles such as the facilitator (to support students’ interpersonal and verbal-linguistic intelligence), the illustrator (visual-spatial), and the vocabulary developer (verbal linguistic). Since the discussion is done in a group, they can increase their interpersonal intelligence. The intrapersonal people are also given opportunity to express their feeling through reflection journal after the session. Imagine the fact that we can accommodate some intelligences only with one book!

We know that every student actually has all of the intelligences, though the compositions are not the same. To maximize all of the intelligences, teachers can ask students to work in group so they can complete to each other. Because every student is special in their own way--just like the song above--, and teacher's role is to facilitate them to make each other strengthen their intelligences.

The Best Language Teaching Method Ever

Let's travel back into the time when we were in junior/senior high school. Revisit our school that had given us many kind of stories. Enter our former class and sit over there. Remember when your English (or whatever subject you afraid of) teacher came to the class; what do you feel?



Do you feel like me that was afraid waiting him point you out to answer questions from him?

Yes, once upon a time (it sounds centuries ago ;-p ), I've ever had the unpleasant feeling when my English teacher come to the class. He very mastered his subject and is so kind, yet there's one thing made me afraid: he speaks so rapidly and loudly that made my friends and I felt as if he was a tribal elder who chanted incantations. He assumed that all of the students understand what he said, maybe. Whereas the fact, there's only a few students understand, including (I hope it won't sound arrogant,) me.

This small group students always become his target to talk and to tell some instructions in English, and then we spread it to another students in more 'understandable' language. Maybe he didn't realize it but actually I was uncomfortable with the treatment. Sometimes, he asked the whole class to make a group discussion while most of the students didn't know what they should do. According to you, was it effective?

I don't think so. We were asked to do something but he didn't give us any provision. We were stressed and feel threatened that we can't enjoy the class. Finally, we just got a little knowledge from his class. That's why, I'm really interested when Ms Vera showed us a video about Suggestopedia.



The setting and the way teacher teach make me impressed at the first time. I felt at home and enjoy the learning. I can record some new vocabularies and know the meaning at once because she performed some illustrations to describe the words. But then I think, I will need extra works to bring so many stuff into my class if I want to try this method in my class, one day. Besides, not all of Indonesian students like classic music. For some students, this kind of music can be a lullaby that will bring them into dream world. Moreover, if I apply this method in my class for the whole semester my students will be bored, I bet. They will laugh instead of study.

After Suggestopedia, I watched another method video, i.e. Silent Way (which is not really silent, actually), Audiolingualism, Communicative Approach, Community Language Learning, Total Physical Response. Every method has its uniqueness, advantages and disadvantages but not all of them can be applied in every classroom. None of them can be declared as the best one, I think. The best method is the most proper one with the condition of the class, either the place or the time.

I'm always impressed with method used by Pak Iwan. Even though I have known the methods used, it can feel new. As I know, he changes the strategies almost in every meeting. Maybe today we do debate, tomorrow we will make a literature circle or even a sketch! I also like the way he warms the class up and how he elicit us into a material. I wish I can be like him when I become a teacher, or even better.

PETA???

These images came up into my mind at the first time I came to PETA class...




I was thinking, were all of them related to our future as a language teacher? I'm not studying history or geography!, shouted my mind at that time. Ten minutes after the lesson began, I started nodding my head; yes, this is what I need to be an extraordinary teacher. I have to pay attention to this course since I need many knowledge about PETA. Not Pembela Tanah Air or map, but Principle of Effective Teaching and Learning.



From the first meeting, Ms Tika showed us an original song made by Pak Iwan that motivate us to be an awesome teacher who never stop learning. Unfortunately, she didn't want perform that song for us :( . That song became such an eliciting that bring us into the next activity, describing the characteristics of effective teaching. The most interesting part is, we didn't have to look at a long list listed by the experts; we decided by ourselves what the characteristics are. Our previous experience helped us developing the list. By doing this, I can know what are the effective teaching according to my friends. Since our age is not far from Senior High School students, the answers can help me identifying what my students want later on. Some of them are:

• consider students' need
• well-prepared and complete resources
• supporting students' potencies
• focus on the basic objectives

As the course title, this is not just about teaching but also how to assess students effectively. We were introduced to that since the second meeting on October 4, 2010. Ms Tika gave us a brief explanation how to make lesson design by using Backward design. Set the goals of the subject, design some assessments to see the students' understanding, and then elaborate them into learning activities. Since she only told us the technique at a glance, I think it's fair if we still made such a confusing lesson plan. However, from this activity I notice that most of us still do 'twin sins' of design. Sometimes we only focus on designing fun activities and forget about the goals we want to achieve, and vice versa. But when we are too stick into the curriculum demand that we have to finish all of the topic, it can be boring for students. Yes, interesting lesson is not always effective lesson but this is the challenge for us as the next generation of teacher. Can we make a lesson design that cover the topics yet fun at once? It's another role of teacher: we have to be an awesome designer!

Do We Run as Fast as Technology?

I bet, You, the Digital Natives will laugh at that Ad. If we convert the price into recent Rupiah (6/10), it will cost >31 million rupiah. Nowadays, we can't do much with those bytes of memory--it's same with the size of 2 digital files, such as songs or pictures--but have you ever imagined that in July 1980 it was a BIG invention? It's just 30 years ago, and may be 30 years from now is our turn to be laughed by the next generation. Maybe, 50 years later the price of a Core2Duo notebook will be as cheap as a liter of rice. Even it's still be laughed because the gadget that's very sophisticated today will be the primitive one in their era.


Yes, we can see that digital technology runs so fast. However, do we run as fast as those gadgets?


Have we moved from "primitive" thinking way into the modern one? Do you know, somewhere there are some people who are so conservative that they reject the penetration of technology into their life. I got this point from the debate activity in the last session of TLL lecture. As the "con" side (we acted as if we're the school board), we had to argue the opposite group that tried to convince us using technology in our school. When we're on that position and tried to think conservatively, we found many reasons to reject that idea. From a paranoid thought that digital technology can decrease students moral value, make students lazy and depend on it, until the cliche reason, lack of infrastructure.


Actually, all of the reasons stem from their paradigm. As we know, to change someone paradigm is not easy. There are so many reasons influence it, e.g. the background of their life, education and also culture. Maybe they think that people in the past can also grab knowledge even though modern technologies haven't exist yet. Even the students they've taught for years without technology can achieve some great achievements, maybe.


However, will they stick on their argument if they see the movement progress from another school that optimize the usage of technology for learning? While their 'isolated' students can only hear the teacher to get knowledge, the other students can gain as many information as they want just by click-ing! While another students can create and share their own 'chemistry experimental video' , for example, they can only wait to get opportunity having their own experimentation.


Well, let's say they can accept the idea to apply technology, they may still have some problems that avoid them to do that, such as the lack of fund and infrastructure. I think, it's job of government and us to balance the condition. We (as teacher or teacher candidates) can contribute by introducing the application of technology in the classroom. I have a good news, in 2010, PT Telkom and Indonesian government is developing "Internet Masuk Desa" program so 5700 villages all over Indonesia can access Internet. Hopefully, by this innovation, Indonesian students can run as fast as technology, even one step ahead by creating new technology. Why not?

We are Digital Natives!

Look at the baby! He's so cute, rite?
However, if you are a "digital immigrant",
you have to beware with him because
he is a "digital native"!

Yes, he is one of the Digital Natives that live on a new world with certain culture and rules. They have their own way and language to communicate each other. They can play with their friends even though they don't have any green field--virtual game! Yup, most of them live in virtual city but they are NOT a virtual creature. They are real, they were born by their mother, not be downloaded from internet.

Actually, their world is not far from us but there's a wall separate us: technology!
This wall is flexible and never reject people who want to pass it. Anyhow, most people who immigrate to this world--they called Digital Immigrants--feel strange with the new situation and have some reluctance to accept everything offered to them. So, which one are you suppose to be; the Native or the Immigrant?

According to John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, in their book "Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives", Digital Natives are the generation who was born after 1980 (or after technology was implemented in human life). While people born before that are Digital Immigrants who move to a new world to adapt and adopt the technology. For the Natives, digital technology is just like the air; they can't live without it. They use the technology almost in every activity.

Yeah, I was really impressed when Pak Iwan showed the video of this generation profile. It's very different with the past condition, even when I was in primary school. Digital natives can create some real project (not only to finish their school assignments, but also social work) productively with gadgets they have. They can also build good social relationship with their environment. So, it ruins some opinions that digital natives can only have fun with technologies. Great!

Therefore, since we are in 2010--means that we have entered their world--we (as a teacher candidates) have to prepare well to teach the next generation of Digital Natives. That's why I'm really eager to follow this course. I want to know further how technology can help me as a future English teacher at Senior High School. Hmm, I can't imagine how "futuristic" my students will be in 5 years later.

Fortunately, I found this video that gives us a little clue how to teach this amazing generation. Unfortunately, I can't show you the videos because of some technical problems. Anyway, I hope it helps!

...and the Journey Begins...

When someone ask us the bad things from someone else, usually we can mention as many as we can write it down in pages of paper. But can we do the same when we asked the bad (also the good) things of ourselves?

Not all person can do that, so do I.

"The Longest Journey of any Person is the Journey Inward..."

(Dag Hammerskjvld)

How do we know our strength and weakness? One of the best ways is by reflecting. I have done many things since I was a child, but sometimes those activities don't remain anything for me. That's why I need this blog to review what I've done and what I've learned so far, especially during I study in Sampoerna School of Education.
I'm sure, when I become an (awesome) teacher one day, I need these notes to reflect and I hope there will be many advantages I get.
Since I believe, experience is the best teacher.