HOW TO DEVELOP TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS OF MATHEMATICS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL OR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

 By : Arlian Bety Anjaswari (09301241010) / Mathematics Education Regular 2009

Yogyakarta of State University

A.    INTRODUCTION

            Nowdays, in Indonesia applied new curriculum that is school based competence curriculum. In this curriculum, school or teacher can choose indipendently method to communicated the lesson to their students. Among schools the one with the other schools may be different in the selection method of learning, it’s  depends on situation and condition in the school. Most the schools should to certainly applying meaningful learning in every lesson. Because meaningful learning not only the students know about the knowledge but the students also can appreciate the meaning of knowledge and can apply it in daily life.

            Until now, learning mathematics is still ordinary. There is no progress about that. Mostly the teacher using expositori method,such as : teacher explain the material, then give the example and the last give task for the students. From this method, the students gets bored to learning mathematics because felt there was no challenges to learn mathematics. The students just likes know that mathematics is learn about theorem, formula, calculate etc. Sometimes the students didn’t know that mathematics is queen of science or mathematics is basic to learn about everythings in this world. Learning mathematics is doing mathematics, so the students really thingking about mathematics. So learn mathematics is very important to our life.

B.     DEVELOPING TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS OF MATHEMATICS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL OR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

            There are many ways to develop or to enrich method of learning mathematics, it’s can based on creatifity and inovation of the teacher. The teacher can use the available method or can create a new one. But all of them can be generalizable become several components to develop teaching learning process of mathematics, such as : lesson plan, student’s worksheets, small group discussion, various interaction, various teaching method, students reflection/presentation, cognitive scheme, students conclusion, apperception, assasment, various media/various teaching aids. And all of them will described as follow:

1.      LESSON PLAN

      In Indonesia lesson plan is called RPP (Rencana Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran) it’s means that the teacher should make a plan before the teacher to teach in the class. This plan is about what will the teacher do, what teacher will write on the board or what material will the teacher be presented. Lesson plan can write in formaly form but it’s should not formaly, lesson plan is individual needs of teacher. In formaly form, ussualy in the lesson plan there are standard and basic competence, indicator, material, activity of learning, assasment, time alocation and source of learning. So lesson plan is vital step that the teacher must through.

      As a imagery in the film industry, the teacher can be like a film director. Film director have the duty and heavy responsibility. In the area, a director acts as a manager, creator, and also inspiration for members of the cast and production team. Such a big role requires directors to understand the right concept of the story, understand the environmental and psychological situation of the production support, and also must understand how to establish good relations with all the production support. As well as teacher, the teacher should to understand the right concept of the material which will be presented to the students and understand the envirolmental and psychological of the students.

      The advantages for teacher when making a lesson plan are to remind and to guide what the teacher will do in the class, to prevent teachers to teach arbitrary and create a more structured learning.

2.      STUDENT’S WORKSHEETS

      Student’s worksheets is a task which students had to do individually or in groups. The contains of student’s worksheets are informations, instructions and problems. Student’s worksheeets is to construct of mathematics knowledge the students by their self. Usually student’s worksheets is to guide the students to find a new knowledge or to prove the formula is given.

      But the teacher still misunderstand about student’s worksheets.  The teacher still assume that student’s worksheeets is colections of the problem. Usually teacher give student’s worksheet to the student and then ask the students to solve the problem without first explanation or with first a bit explanation. Teachers should give first explaination about the material then give the students time to work by their self or in groups, then if the students gets trouble the teacher can help them.

      The are many benefits and obstacles of the student’s worksheets. The benefits of the student’s worksheets are:

a)      the student can explore and built the knowledge by their self about the material

b)      the student can work individually or in group

c)      the teacher can increase activities of learning mathematics.

And the obstacles of the student’s worksheets are needs teacher’s skill and knowledge and increasing teacher workload.

3.      SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

      Sometimes divides the students in the class into some small group is important. But don’t divide too many of the members because if the numbers of  group is large isn’t efective. The teacher can divides into four or five students in one group. And the teacher must be fair in divide the group, at least in one group there is an intelligent student or active student and a quiet student for the group to be balanced.

      In the group, the students asked to discussion why what and how the formula or this problem should be solved. Sometimes in groups can be differences of opinion but is no problem because after the time of discussion has timed out, the result of the discussion in the small group will be presented in front of the class.

      There are many advantages and disadvantages from make small group discussion in learning mathematics in the class. The advantages of this method are:

a.       The students can learn together with their friends, because some students can easily to understand the material if they studying with friends

b.      The students can be relaxed to share the knowledge to the other students

c.       The students can exchanges the idea with the other student.

The disadvantages of small group discussion are:

a.       The discussion mostly dominated by active student and pasif student usually only in a silent

b.      Sometimes the discussion can’t work well because the students too much chatting with friends.

4.      VARIOUS INTERACTION

      Various interaction is interaction between the teacher and students or the students and the students in the learning process in the class. There are three kinds of various interaction such as whole class teaching, small group and indicidual. If the teacher using whole class teaching, the teacher stand in front of the class and speak to all of students or the teacher gives little description about the what material will be discussed together.

      Then the teacher divided all of the students into several groups and teacher distributed the student’s worksheets to the students. Then the students work and discussion in group. During the students discussion, the teacher can walk around the class to monitoring the discussion. If there is a group have difficulty, the teacher can help this group to solved the trouble. It’s called small group teaching, because the teacher is only give a bit explanations into one group. Afterward, if in the small group there is a student still don’t understand with the material, the teacher must present again the material individully to this student. And it’s referred to individual teaching.

      The profit of the various interaction is making the learning process colorfull and not only using traditional method to study. And to enrich the method of learning mathematics.

5.      VARIOUS TEACHING METHOD

      Teaching method is methods that teachers use to teach the lesson in the class. There are many kinds of teaching method starting from traditional to modern method. Most teachers are still using traditional methods of such the teacher provide the material in front of the class and the students just listen what the teacher say in front of the class without give the students role in the learning. The teacher likes feeding the students material of study. After the teacher gives explanation of the material then the teacher gives example to do the question, usually the teacher just present one way to solve the problem. The last step is the teacher give the problem for the students to finish the problem. And it’s called expository method.

      The teacher should be modern, creative and innovative in teach the students. To be a modern teacher, at least the teacher have to implement this method in the learning, such expository, discussion, investigation, practical work and contextual. If the teacher use this method, the teacher help the students to be active students.

6.      STUDENT’S REFLECTION

      Student’s reflection or student presentation is very substantial because this stage is to construct the knowledge of mathematics. Because the best way to understands of the material if students can explain or describes again into the other people or studets. Learning mathematics is doing the mathematics, so the the students really thingking about mathematics and then the student can described again in the other students. In this step the student presented the result of discussion in small group, it’s can also the student opinion about the problem.

      In the otherside, student’s reflection also important to train students to dare to speak in front of the other people. Because there are many students who when speaking in front the class or in front of the other people still feel nervous and not confident. So this stage can be use to practice the ability to speak in front of people. Beside the benefit which have been submitted there are also disadvantages that is if the shyness student is required to presented the result of the discussion in front of the class, this is very pressing to speak in front of the people.

      Hence, courage to speak in front the class or people is very important and it’s can train through student’s reflection.

7.      COGNITIVE SCHEME

      In our brain there is a named schema is a kind of file that contains the information and knowledge. This scheme is in a collection of called schemata or schemas (plural of schema) stored in a permanent sense of human sub-systems. So cognitive scheme is a frame of thinking or knowledge that has been owned by someone who has saved in the brain.

      The teacher can applied the cognitive scheme in the learning process when the lesson will begin. Teacher should construct the knowledge of the student then teacher gives the material from the easier to more difficult.

      The form of cognitive scheme is teaching content. So the teacher should to match the approximate frame of thingking or knowledge that students have with content of material which be presented in the class. In order to make learning that teachers do in order to build students' cognitive structure so that students get knowledge of the invention alone or with a little help from the teacher.

8.      STUDENTS CONCLUSION

      After all of the steps has been passed, the students can get a result or conclusion about what has been learned today. Some students presented the result of discussion from small group, it means that we need to compare the result among groups. After all of the group displayed the result teacher must to give corrections about that. Because there is always differences of opinion between groups. Teacher just a little repairing and guide the students if there are errors in student’s comprehension.

      Then teacher speak to all of the students in front of claas, suggested students to takes a or some conlusions from discussions and lessons just discussed together in the class. The teacher didn’t give the conclusion, but the students themselves who take the conclusions. Because the conclusions are belongs to the student. Teacher only acts as guide of students to find the conclusion, teacher just provided hints for students.

9.      APPERCEPTION

      Apperception is introductory explanation before the lesson begin. Apperception prepare students to be ready to accept the lesson. Talkactive method is not enough to communicate this apperception, the teacher should use variety method in apperception. For example, the teacher ask the students a question about the students knowledge of the material which will learn. At least if the students little know about the topic what will we learn, student all ready to discuss, to learn and explore the material.

      But if the students didn’t know about the next topic what will we learn, in the apperception teacher can give stimulate or a bit general knowledge of the material before teacher explain more the material. So if we as student, we don’t panic if we not yet know about the next material of study.

      In apperception, teacher usually connected the topic with daily life. It means that students easily to understand the topic, if teacher connected with uncontextual subject the student will have difficult. The teacher must be attractive when give apperception, because if teacher looks bored the student certainly not going curious about the next material will we disscuss.

10.  ASSASSMENTS

      Assassment is to record of the lesson about students achievment evaluate the lesson from the lesson begin until the end. Assassment and evaluate is different, evaluate is to use assessment at the end of the lesson.

      Teacher should know and understand each student so that can judge the students in everytime in the learning, not only in the final exam. Because the students sometimes still cheating with their friends when in the final exam. This effect teachers may misjudge the student. When teacher giving assassment should be objective, don’t assessing because the student is pretty or handsome or student is a child of an important person in school, in society or in goverment. But judge student from their ability.

      Assassment even had strengths and weaknesses in the applying, that are the strengths of the assassment such:

a)      The teacher can assess students in more detail and accurate

b)      The teacher can assess students in right earnest

c)      The teachers will be more familiar with student

Then the weaknesses of the assassment such:

a)      If there is passive student, teacher will get difficult to assass this student

b)      The teacher must had patience in assessing

11.  VARIOUS MEDIA/VARIOUS TEACHING AIDS

      To supporting teacher learning requires aids or media. There are  many tipes of media which can help the teacher to teach the students,such traditional media and modern media. Traditional method consist of blackboard, whiteboard, chalk, etc. And mordern method consist of computer, software of computer, many kinds sources of study like internet, journal, etc.

      The teachers should be able to follow the development of the era. Don’t be less people that not know the developments in technology and science. As a teacher must to know and monitoring the changing of technology or science, so the teacher can become a modern teacher. Teachers should has a skill to use facilities media that school or goverment provided, not only skill but teachers had to  awareness for the caring and save it.

      Not every lessons can using media, so teacher should know which lesson can using teaching ais and which lesson no need taeching aids. So skill of teacher is an important key in delivering lessons through using media of learning or teaching aids. In the application this various also have some advantages and disadvantages that can be enhance and inhibit the lessons. The advantages of using media in the learning process are:

a)      The creative teacher can increasingly improving its capabilities use of learning media

b)      The students not feel bored when the learning in progress

c)      The teacher can trying to many kinds of media that available in school or teacher  provide its own.

Beside that, the disadvantages of using teaching aids are:

a)      The teacher not have skill and comprehension to using available teaching aids

b)      In the school not available teaching aids or media which can support learning process

C.    CONCLUSION

      From the explanation of the above can take concluded that teacher must be a modern, creative and innovative teacher to develop teaching learning process of mathematics in school, junior high school or senior high school. There are many kinds and ways to improve learning process of mathematics, teacher can selects the method to make learning enjoyable. Learning mathematics not only calculate or prove the theorem but learning mathematics is doing mathematics, so the students really thingking about mathematics.

      The rule of teacher is to facilitated the students need to learn mathematics, so teacher shouldn’t to using traditional method of learning mathematics as though transfer the knowledge from the teacher’s brain into student’s brain. And the teacher isn’t only one sourse of learning, so teacher must pressing into the students to explore the sources of learning in everytime and everywhere, it can from friends or environment and daily life. And teacher must presented a meaningfull learning in the learning process.