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7 Steps to Being a Professional Teacher
A note by Mansur Eppe, Teacher at SMPN 2 Pangkep, on Implementing better teaching and learning
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A meaningful lesson facilitated by Pak Mansur
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1. Why is competency mapping important?
Competency mapping is the first step of a series in contextual learning. During competency mapping teachers look at all basic competences that have
to be attained in one semester, as a whole. Teachers see the differences, similarities and links and how to teach and assess them. To create contextual learning the basic competencies should be linked up into one context/theme. The context/theme has to be something that has to do with student's daily life. This chosen context/theme is the umbrella for all the competencies that have to be taught to students.
2. How does the lesson plan aid contextual learning?
A contextual lesson plan is one that is derived from the context/theme that results from the curriculum mapping. In other words, context is used as a reference for the lesson plan. Therefore a contextual lesson plan will show a learning activity that is student centered and which uses the environment or the community as learning resources. Contextual lesson plans also include worksheets, media as well as the assessment tool to be used by teacher.
3. Why is it important to create a worksheet that promotes critical thinking?
A good worksheet is one that helps teacher to achieve learning objectives effectively and efficiently, as well as in promoting critical thinking. A bad worksheet is only made to keep students busy without promoting critical thinking. A lesson that uses a good worksheet can help students to develop high level thinking skill, which is one of the important life skills. It is not easy to make a good worksheet, but teachers can find inspiration by discussing with their colleagues.
4. Why is it important to develop learning media?
Learning media helps teachers and students achieve the learning objectives. It helps teachers in delivering learning materials and it helps students in understanding them. However, not all the media needed for contextual learning are available at school. If it is available to buy, the price may be too
high. It is therefore important for teachers to develop their own learning materials. Teachers can make learning media from things that are freely avail-
able in their environment, easy to use, and also interesting.
5. How do we do holistic assessment of student's performance?
Students have different levels of intelligence and it affects their learning performance. It would be unfair to only assess student's performance against only one criterion, e.g. academic. It would be beneficial for those with high performance but detrimental to low performing students. Academic performance, attitude, assessment of written work, projects, products, use of portfolio and self assessment can all be used to assess student's performance holistically.
Authentic assessment must be done in evaluating learning results. Assessment rubrics used in authentic assessment give comprehensive information about student performance, based on their own capabilities.
6. Why is student's work important?
Student's work is the concrete result of contextual learning that is wellplanned and implemented. Good student's work can be used as a model and learning resource for other students. Besides representing the learning results, students’ works also reflects and fosters student's multiple intelligence.
7. Why is a reflective journal important?
A reflective journal is a record of teacher's successes, failures, satisfaction or feelings that are related to contextual the teaching and learning processes. It can be used to analyze whether learning is a success or otherwise. Reflective journals can be used as a base to improve lesson plans for the
betterment of future learning.
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