Changing Paradigm on Assessment dan Classroom Practice
CHANGING PARADIGM ON ASSESSIMENT
AND CLASSROOM PRACTICE
By Agustinus Prih Adiartanto
The National Exam for the XII grade students has just finished a few days ago. It was really not an easy job for me to assist the students to prepare and to go through the exam altogether. How come? Most of the students cried just after they finished the Math exam on the first day. It was ironic to see the students got desperate at the very first day of all the three days of the National Exam. The worst news I have got was that a student of the XII grade in my neighborhood had to be hospitalized because of psychosomatic stomachache. She was afraid of being failed in the final exam.
All the bad situations above would have not happened if Stenberg’s idea in the “Assessing What Matters” had been fully applied in Indonesia. The issue of assessment seems to meet my concern in accompanying the students in the last few weeks.
I agree with what Stenberg stated in his article that assessment should not merely based on set of tests that measured students’ recall and basic understanding of the subjects taught in school but also the other aspects that called WICS (Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity, Synthesized). In Indonesia, as long as the government still intervenes the educational process even in private schools, this kind of assessment model is surely hard to be applied
I have got an impressive experience with my daughter’s school when she was in Kindergarten. The students’ assessment practiced in the school was more or less the same as stated by Stenberg. Everyday, my daughter always came home with a book called “WISDOM”. The whole things happened to my daughter in the two hours of schooling were reported in that book by her teacher. In reverse, my wife and I as parents had to report back to the teachers what had happened to my daughter all day long at home. In that way both parents and teachers had the same responsibilities to convey the little students to the expected characters. Similar to Stenberg’s idea that assessment better reflect the kinds of skill that matter-not just in school, but also in life beyond school.
Reading the practical and ideal guide of William’s in “Changing Classroom Practice”, has brought me the insight that teacher learning communities is not to develop teacher’s content knowledge but to change day-to-day classroom practice. When I was the vice principals of curriculum affair, I once built teaching learning community that I call Team Teaching. The meeting of this team was commonly held once in a year. Moreover, there were Indonesian Language and Biology Team Teaching that routinely met once in two month. Indonesian Language Team Teaching even has ever held two meetings with the Indonesian Language teachers of other Jesuit Schools – as William said, meeting with teachers from other schools is a good way to get new ideas. I have just realized that the Indonesian Language Team Teaching meetings held was to increase the teachers’ knowledge more than to get changes in day-to-day classroom practice.
Ideally, William’s idea has to be accomplished by the hard effort of the teachers. They have to spend much time at home just to prepare the practical methods to be used in the classrooms, to come to the meetings, and to make the evaluations of their own works. It seems to be an impossible mission to be carried out in Indonesia where the teachers themselves are trapped in family economic problems. It is often been reported in newspapers that most teachers still have to work overtime after school hours just to cover the family needs as the result of their low salary. Despite of the obstacles above, William’s practical idea has brought me an insight about how to create a conducive atmosphere to study at school and to push my spirit up to be a professional teacher.
Finally, to get the changes both in teaching practical in the classroom and in assessing system of the students, the principal as the instructional leader of the school institution, has to give the supreme support and to be a good leader, as written by Hoerr in his article titled “What Is Instructional Leadership?” I just hope I will not be trapped in my routines and administrative jobs that spend most of my time so that I can develop myself to be a better teacher. The change in teacher’s perspective, thinking, or paradigm on assessment and classroom practice in 21 century is a demand that can not wait any longer.***
AND CLASSROOM PRACTICE
By Agustinus Prih Adiartanto
The National Exam for the XII grade students has just finished a few days ago. It was really not an easy job for me to assist the students to prepare and to go through the exam altogether. How come? Most of the students cried just after they finished the Math exam on the first day. It was ironic to see the students got desperate at the very first day of all the three days of the National Exam. The worst news I have got was that a student of the XII grade in my neighborhood had to be hospitalized because of psychosomatic stomachache. She was afraid of being failed in the final exam.
All the bad situations above would have not happened if Stenberg’s idea in the “Assessing What Matters” had been fully applied in Indonesia. The issue of assessment seems to meet my concern in accompanying the students in the last few weeks.
I agree with what Stenberg stated in his article that assessment should not merely based on set of tests that measured students’ recall and basic understanding of the subjects taught in school but also the other aspects that called WICS (Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity, Synthesized). In Indonesia, as long as the government still intervenes the educational process even in private schools, this kind of assessment model is surely hard to be applied
I have got an impressive experience with my daughter’s school when she was in Kindergarten. The students’ assessment practiced in the school was more or less the same as stated by Stenberg. Everyday, my daughter always came home with a book called “WISDOM”. The whole things happened to my daughter in the two hours of schooling were reported in that book by her teacher. In reverse, my wife and I as parents had to report back to the teachers what had happened to my daughter all day long at home. In that way both parents and teachers had the same responsibilities to convey the little students to the expected characters. Similar to Stenberg’s idea that assessment better reflect the kinds of skill that matter-not just in school, but also in life beyond school.
Reading the practical and ideal guide of William’s in “Changing Classroom Practice”, has brought me the insight that teacher learning communities is not to develop teacher’s content knowledge but to change day-to-day classroom practice. When I was the vice principals of curriculum affair, I once built teaching learning community that I call Team Teaching. The meeting of this team was commonly held once in a year. Moreover, there were Indonesian Language and Biology Team Teaching that routinely met once in two month. Indonesian Language Team Teaching even has ever held two meetings with the Indonesian Language teachers of other Jesuit Schools – as William said, meeting with teachers from other schools is a good way to get new ideas. I have just realized that the Indonesian Language Team Teaching meetings held was to increase the teachers’ knowledge more than to get changes in day-to-day classroom practice.
Ideally, William’s idea has to be accomplished by the hard effort of the teachers. They have to spend much time at home just to prepare the practical methods to be used in the classrooms, to come to the meetings, and to make the evaluations of their own works. It seems to be an impossible mission to be carried out in Indonesia where the teachers themselves are trapped in family economic problems. It is often been reported in newspapers that most teachers still have to work overtime after school hours just to cover the family needs as the result of their low salary. Despite of the obstacles above, William’s practical idea has brought me an insight about how to create a conducive atmosphere to study at school and to push my spirit up to be a professional teacher.
Finally, to get the changes both in teaching practical in the classroom and in assessing system of the students, the principal as the instructional leader of the school institution, has to give the supreme support and to be a good leader, as written by Hoerr in his article titled “What Is Instructional Leadership?” I just hope I will not be trapped in my routines and administrative jobs that spend most of my time so that I can develop myself to be a better teacher. The change in teacher’s perspective, thinking, or paradigm on assessment and classroom practice in 21 century is a demand that can not wait any longer.***
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