|
News from the Provinces
|
Page 14
|
|
Building Model Minarets
M. AMIN, S.Pd, a District Facilitator from Boyolali came up with an idea for making learning media that help student to solve mathematics problems related to cone, tube, and sphere.
This activity involved making a model minaret using simple materials. How to do it:
- Cut a medium sized ball in half (+ 3.5 cm)
- Make a 14cm tall tube out of card with the same diameter as the sphere
- Cut out card to cover the tube
- Trace the perimeter of the half sphere to make two circles with the same area.
Lesson steps:
The above tasks were done as homework. The ratio between the model and the real minaret is 1:100. It was hoped that students will get an idea about minarets discussed in the worksheet.
Students measured the tube surface area by measuring the area of the cardboard cover. The teacher helped when students face problems in analyzing the learning media, by explaining the relationship between the media and the questions on the worksheet.
Students measured the area of the half sphere by using the two circles that they got from tracing the perimeter of the sphere to cover the half-sphere. To get the surface area of the whole minaret students had to combine the areas of the objects they have measured earlier (the tube cover and the two circles).
Students made a list of materials and services needed to build a real minaret and then calculated the total cost.
The worksheet included some complex data and if students had any difficulties teacher guided them to choose simpler materials.
Different answers and discussion results were bound to arise. Students were able to use them as learning resources by comparing different answers to the same problem.
Assessment focused on the accuracy of data, which included: list of materials and services needed and the calculation of the budget.
|
Student Group Exhange Boost Performance
THE Classroom Action Research (CAR) done by Misri Prihatin, a teacher at SMPN 6 Blora showed that student group exchange is effective in improving students' performance in Mathematics. This two-cycle CAR also showed an increase in student activities during lessons. In the first cycle the average of student activity was 69%, with average students' achievement of 61.08.
|
Student group exchange helps improve students' performance
|
In the second cycle the average of student activity increased to 75%, with average students' achievement of 63.55. There was 11.1% improvement when compared to initial average of students' achievement which was only 57.20. "So we can conclude that students' activity and achievement improved through the use of student group exchange," said Ms Misri who collaborated with Dra. Sumarwati, M.Pd., a lecturer at UNS, in doing the Classroom Action Research.
|
The followings are the steps in doing student group exchange :
- Students are divided into several groups. Teacher then distributes a worksheet and asks the students to prepare materials needed for the group work.
- Teacher guides each group discussion. Students write their answers on manila card.
- Each group appoints two members to represent the group and to present their work to another group in the class. After presenting their work to the other group, the students ask for feedback. This is what is called a student group exchange.
- Students come back to their own group and make corrections to their work based on the input given by other groups. Two students from each group present their work in front of the class.
- The teacher gives feedback on the discussion.
- Each group submits their work and assesses their group's work.
- A reward is given for the best group and teacher gives individual homework for students.
- Finally students reflect on the lesson by writing their reflection
|
|
Sharing Innovation in Junior Secondary Education
|
Edition 11 / September 2011
|
|
