News From PAKEM Training in Madiun

In the beginning, learning with PAKEM had big question marks over it for many teachers in Madiun, but during the training many interesting issues emerged. One of the most exciting moments was when the participants from the education offices competed to join in doing teaching practice.

This rarely happens in other areas. Ibu Sunarni (Head of the MI Section at MORA), Bpk Sunarjo (Head of the SMP Section in Dinas Pendidikan) and the primary and secondary school supervisors were very enthusiastic about doing teaching practice, even when they received constructive feedback from the participants, who were actual practicing principals and teachers.

Picture 1 : Bpk Gofar from SD 07 Madiun Lor. Early in the training Bpk Gofar was worried about doing teaching practice because he thought that the students wouldn't like it. But after the PAKEM practice he was surprised by the depth of answers provided by his students. His opinion and observations were that this way of learning provides great potential for students to develop. The PAKEM method helped him to understand the students better.

Picture 2 : Bpk Eko Arjono, a SMP supervisor during his presentation explaining his role as a supervisor. During the PAKEM training all the participants provided feedback. During the principal and supervisor training session, the teachers could express their aspirations to the supervisors and principals and the principals expressed their aspirations to the supervisors and teachers.

This led to an open discussion which was very constructive and useful because the parties seldom meet together in one forum. Facilitators, National Trainers and MBE consultants acted as moderators. For coming events it is hoped that MBE can continue to support general educational development, and especially HRD education in Madiun.

Picture 3: Not to be left behind the principals also competed to do teaching practice. Almost all SD principals did teaching practice during the training. In the picture you can see Bpk Bambang, principal of MI Islamiah 03 Madiun. For his teaching practice he taught Social Science to grade 6.

The students were very enthusiastic and they didn't realize that the time had gone so quickly. Bpk Bambang said PAKEM learning is very really effective and within a short time the students learnt a lot.

PAKEM Spreading in Madiun

The echoes of PAKEM teaching are being heard around Madiun. At their own initiative teachers requested that the MBE facilitators conduct training on the 27 - 28 December 2004, for all Madiun MI teachers. The training was conducted at MI Islamiyah 01 Madiun and materials about KBK were also presented by the Islamic Education Consortium (KPI) Surabaya. Many of the MI schools at Madiun have become favorite schools for the community and so they have similar problems, like their classes are too large ( 40 - 50 students per classroom).

In order to deliver the KBK curriculum they need the best strategies possible. After 2 days training and intensive discussions with the MBE facilitators, the participants believed that the PAKEM method could fulfil the needs of the teachers and students. Oversized or small classes are not a problem using PAKEM methods. Ibu Diana Rahmawati from MI Islamiyah 02, an early years participant said that by using PAKEM methods she and her students felt happier when teaching and that the learning was more effective.

Photo: In the picture the grade 4 students are using practical media to learn about fractions in mathematics. When they were asked to reflect about the learning they wrote that in the early stages they were anxious when given the task of arranging such a lot of numbers. But finally they enjoyed it because they could manage the task, and additionally because they could discuss it with their friends. Discoveries like this give the Madiun MI teachers confidence that the PAKEM method could be applied in their schools.

Community Participation at SDN 04 Kartoharjo

One month ago 4 toilets for teachers were constructed at SDN 04 Kartoharjo Madiun. This illustrates the school committee's concern about the infrastructure needs at the school. The School Committee provided 100% of the funding for the toilets.

Breakfast at SDN 05 Manisrejo

This school, which is headed by Ibu Mamiek Sutarmi, has introduced a number of innovations to assist school development, one of these is the introduction of breakfast tasks. The breakfast tasks are displayed at a special place, and the students are allowed to choose the tasks themselves.

The earlier students come, the more choices they have, and likewise, latecomers find that they only have a choice of more difficult tasks. Because of this the students are more enthusiastic to come to school. The teachers sometimes include questions that involve social issues, for instance, the recent tsunami and earthquake disaster in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.