Summary of Teaching Chapter I and II

Name : Fajar Dalmi Luthfi(1988203056)

Class : 3.2

Course : Model dan pendekatan pembelajaran

Lecture : Dr.Herlinawati,M.Ed

CHAPTER I

TEACHING PROFESSION.

A. What Learning and Teaching Should Be

This book is not merely another book containing a collection of teaching techniques and dos and don’ts. The first thing this book will try is to have you—potential teachers—read its contents with an open mind. This book finds it saddening to see that the culture of learning and teaching has not been the best it can be for many years and in many places. Chances are you have less than nice experiences during your education. 

With laptop and projector becoming the most common technology schools provide for classrooms and the curriculum shifting to student-centered from teacher-centered, one of the most common teaching practice we see in classes is PowerPoint presentations of the lesson material. The use of this facility has not shed the most optimistic light on formal education. Some teachers could spend the majority of classroom time sitting on their desk, lecturing and going through slides, barely interacting with the students and expecting them to be able to keep up with mere commentaries. Without enforced discipline, many students could simply sit at the back of the class and spend entire hours whispering to their classmates or sleeping through class. “Social media and mobile phones are distractions in the classroom” is not an unfamiliar statement, and students could go through class chatting and playing games rather than listening or taking notes. 

B. Breaking Down the Profession of Teaching

The division of labor due to social, economic and technological factors create what is known as professions or jobs. Teaching as a profession can be described as a professional occupation in the education sector based on a specialization on a certain field. In the mini society that is the classroom, how teachers teach can make a significant difference, for teachers are the gateway to knowledge… or they at least used to be. Now, however, what human teachers know, the Internet knows much more and can deliver all kinds of information on as many subjects and skills that have been created instantaneously to students. In this modern world, if school teachers don’t teach, can children be smart?

Yes.

They have the Internet. They have books. They can self-learn all sorts of subjects, languages, skills and specific professions if they so choose. So why is the teaching profession still necessary?

Because teachers are still needed to give focus, to monitor, to assess. 

Teachers do much more than just teach.

The job description for the profession of teaching is lengthy and much more than most people realize. Most teachers still work after the school is over, needing to take work home because it’s often too much to do on one sitting. Teaching is a difficult and misunderstood profession and requires a dedicated, patient, and willing person to keep up with all of the job's demands.

C.The Challenges of Teaching

This job is difficult and draining—anyone who had ever been a teacher would tell you this. In the process of writing this book, we have engaged with multiple people with teaching experience to compile a list on the things that makes the profession of teaching challenging. Like we mentioned, teachers don’t just teach.

•The job salary will never make you rich.

•Teaching isn’t glamorous, are undervalued and underappreciated by many people in our society.

•There’s a general lack of respect.

•Since students themselves also have general lack of respect for their own teachers, classroom management is even worse. 

•You can't play favoritism (and if you have a favorite student or some don't call them out on it).

•Most schools are underfunded (the funding depends on standardized tests results, sadly). 

•Overcrowded classroom is a hassle because every person has different personalities, interests, abilities, and needs. 

•Overcrowded class, new batch of students—you’d have a hard time remembering all the names of your students, let alone adapting to everyone's learning style. To overcome this, actively engage with them; build a genuine relationship and let them personally know that if they have problems in learning they can come up to ask for advice.

•Too many kids… means too many parents. When parents aren’t supportive of you, teaching a specific student could be more difficult. Many parents aren’t supportive, only show up to complain, and don’t actually know what’s going on with their child. There are few supportive parents who are engaged (positively, not in the tiger-parenting sort of way). 

D. The Rewards of Teaching

This profession is hard, but also bore the best fruits. This book has also asked many teachers to share what they found rewarding in their profession.

•You're a contributing member of society. This may sound basic, but you'll really feel it when you look around the street and see people who are just getting by selling street food and toys or cleaning the road in the heat. It tugs the heartstrings and motivates you to do better for your community.

•You'd look around at your fellow teachers and realize you're surrounded by some of the most caring and dedicated people in the world (even if some of your colleagues not easy to work with). As much as teachers find things hard, they still stick to the job because they are invested for the future.

•You and other teachers share the same experiences of this emotionally draining job. When there are too many responsibilities, teachers can share the duties based on each other’s weaknesses and strengths. 

•At some point, someone might make you cry. You'll find support from unexpected people; the admin you thought who disliked you but helped you, the parent who seemed angry but sees your dedication to their child, or the student that might be unruly but was the first to lend help.

•Your kids will come up with some of the funniest statements and the laughter you all shared in the class will be one of the most memorable experience. During breaks, you might have and even give endless “you'll never guess what this kid said.”

•Many students might claim their lessons were boring, but for you teaching would never be a bore. Time, students, topics, even the state of the society are just some of the many variables that make every class different. Maybe you found better examples or analogies for your second class of the same unit; you could tell the students to share what they know to the class you held first that morning to promote team work and study groups.

•Your students learn stuff, obviously. But there's a difference between giving a student an A or 100 and knowing that this kid had worked hard to bring up their Ds to As. 

•You learn stuff. Sure, you learn so you can teach, but you also learn surprising responses from your kids to things that adult-you may take for granted. Whether it's a different interpretation of a classic story, an unconventional approach to solving a problem, or a whole new outlook on life, you can learn as much from your kids as they will from you.

•You can be legit nerds. Awesome teachers teach enthusiastically with a passion that’s like a motivational virus. They engage students in creative lessons that spark self-interest and the desire to learn more about a particular topic. You basically have a great platform to share your passions with others.

•This career gives you the chance to collaborate with all kinds of people (e.g., students, parents, college students, community members, organization members, orphans, professors, professionals, etc.) It's up to you to connect and create more opportunities.

•Teaching rarely makes you rich, but you can pay your bills. The salary generally isn't so bad, plus you get health insurance and a pension pretty much guaranteed. That's more than a lot of professions can say. 

•You can build a vocation, not just a way to pay the bills, because you’d be pushed to build your skills and innovate new ways to teach.

•The job market is both flexible and permanent. Teachers are a necessary part of our society so this job will always exist. 

•The best reward most teachers agree on is when they found those students who really love to learn. The ones who have passion for a subject and a work ethic to accompany it. Help them and give them the best opportunities to grow. 

E. What Makes a Good Teacher?

Students’ teacher’s philosophy will influence you. When you are learning, your mind is open, and whoever your teacher may be, their ideas, body language, way of speaking, etc. may affect you, the student. Ideally, learners should be able to choose their own teacher. But in conventional education, students have limited choice. Learning and teaching should not make life as a job training. Both students and teachers have many values to pass down beyond simple knowledge, and so should be open-minded to accept them wholeheartedly. 

F. The Status Quo of Education in Indonesia

According to Ministry of Education andCulture, Indonesia recorded 169.378 public schools and 138.277 private schools, totaling to 307.655 schools in 2018.

 Indonesia’s proportion of school levels are highly uneven. There is too many elementary schools and too few secondary and tertiary schools, so it is inevitable in Indonesia to have huge number of children only stopping at elementary level, leading to increasing number of youth unemployment.

Improvement of our education is demanded because our population in the near future will be—nay, already is—expected to have the four skills that are desired, essential, and the 2020 Target of Education are Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Computer Speak, and Collaborative Competence. A classroom in which teachers and students’ highest goal is merely to memorize facts so they can correctly answer the tests to past the standard grade (KKM) is now considered left behind. Building more secondary and tertiary schools to accommodate elementary school graduates will take a very long time, but what we can do now is to improve the quality of all our students so they can learn and survive outside of school.

G. To Teach or Not to Teach?

In this modern world, if school teachers don’t teach, can children be smart?

Yes.

They have the Internet. They have books. They can self-learn all sorts of subjects, languages, skills and specific professions if they so choose. So, what are teachers for? 

To give focus. To monitor. To assess.

Internet, books, all those resources are simply tools that store knowledge for children to reach. But they neither know how to reach for them yet nor the best way to grasp them. It is frustrating to see students who have tremendous potential but do not want to put in the hard work necessary to maximize that potential. The journey is hard, but it doesn’t have to be void of fun. Education is no longer as monotonous as it used to be when primary education started to become compulsory all over the world sometime after 1775, but it still has challenges from so many different factors because while your job title is ‘teacher’ you have to do more than just ‘teach’. You have administration duties, you have to manage things beyond lessons, and beyond teaching you also have to learn just like your students. A good teacher expects their students to succeed and also expect themselves to succeed.

We ask you: why do YOU teach?

Think thoroughly about your answer. If you are serious in pursuing a career in teaching, you will find this book most useful in your journey.

CHAPTER II

TEACHING ELEMENTS

A.Instructional Planning

Teachers plan. Good teachers don’t simply “wing it”. Teachers have to organize their lesson plans by considering the curriculum, school resources, student motivation, student ability and other  that will affect all instructional decisions teachers must decide before they actually teach. 

You as a teacher must have a solid lesson plan not only so you will not flounder during teaching, but also so the superior evaluating your teaching performance will have a solid idea and expectation of how you will run your class. Your lesson plan is your “script” which gives you confidence and reduce the anxiety beginning teachers typically have. The above example is not a concrete guideline. Lesson plans differ depending on the subject, the model, the class, and many other factors including the teachers themselves. You and a co-worker may be teaching the same lesson topic, but the way you personally teach are different thus you cannot simply copy another’s lesson plan is it is highly likely unsuitable for you. Teaching is a personal endeavor, so you must plan on how you will run your class. 

B.Your Topic: Curriculum and Syllabus

The lesson topics you will teach is typically already determined by the school curriculum, which is a set of standardized learning goals across grades. A curriculum is the guideline of the course/program, covering the knowledge, skill, behavior, and performance that will be taught to and expected of students. In essence, a curriculum is what an educational institution offers to students. It is well-planned by the government and educational institutions for a long duration. Teachers do not make the curriculum, but adhere to its objectives.

A curriculum contains all factors involved in an educational program, and one of it is called a syllabus, which covers the portion of what topics should be taught in a subject or content area. Subject syllabus is a unit of the curriculum containing 7 primary segments: instructor data, general class data, course targets, course arrangements, grading and assessment, learning assets, and the course calendar. The table below details the differences between curriculum and syllabus.

C.Your Learning Objective: Taxonomy and Task Analysis 

Teachers are not directly or solely responsible to create a school curriculum and syllabus, but you will be responsible to determine the goals of your classes. Specifying learning objectives is commonly difficult because schools generally have a broad spectrum of goals and individual teachers prioritize different things. For example, imagine this scenario of three physical exercise teachers discussing their goals:

A wants the students to develop their muscle strength and flexibility so no matter what kind of other exercises they do, they’ll have a good foundation. 

B prefers students to know many different kinds of exercises so they will be able to differentiate aerobic and anerobic exercises. 

Meanwhile C is concerned about when the students will inevitably leave school and wants students to be motivated to continue exercising for life so they will not end up as couch potatoes. 

All three of these objectives are equally important, but attempting to reach all of them for one class is nigh impossible so teachers must select on a specific learning objective. One topic could have dozens of goals, so make it easier to select them, teachers can use two conceptual tools: taxonomy and task analysis.

1.Taxonomy

This tool divides the broad selection of objectives into 3 domains:

Cognitive Domain 

This domain consists of objectives concerned with obtaining knowledge, understanding, and skill, such as teacher B’s goal. Researchers have developed Bloom’s taxonomy to classify the different student outcomes that are in the cognitive domain Affective Domain 

Objectives of this domain is aware that school doesn’t exist simply to make students smarter as teacher C said. Schools also aim to internalize students with healthy views, moral values, and good manners (Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia, 1964).

Psychomotor Domain 

This domain involves the development of coordination and physical skills (Harrow, 1972), which is the goal of teacher A. The physical activities aren’t limited to physical education, but can also include typing, music, home economics, arts and crafts.

2.Task Analysis

After you have determined your learning objective, ask “what will I show and tell my students to do so they can reach the learning objective?” This tool breaks down the learning objective into small tasks (Alberto & Troutman, 2003). 

For example, teacher D’s learning objective is for students to write simple sentences with correct punctuation, so they wrote down the skills needed to meet this objective: (1) Being able to differentiate between complete sentences and sentence fragments, (2) Knowing the difference between declarative, interrogatory, and imperative sentences, (3) Knowing whether periods, question, or exclamation marks go with each type of sentence, and (4) Correctly using these marks to punctuate different kinds of sentences. You can see that task analysis helps you break complex skills into smaller subskills that will be easier for you to teach to students. For this example, teacher D would have to firstly make students understand what sentences are, then help them understand how to punctuate the different kinds of sentences, and finally have them write and punctuate on their own.

D.Your Learning Activities: Lesson Plan

Lesson plans focus your efforts on a specific day and class, so it is commonly personalized for each teacher. It needs to be specific enough to give you structure and a solid idea on how you will proceed with your class, but also general enough to give you room to be flexible and adapt to unexpected circumstances (e.g., interruption by other teachers, unruly students, malfunctioning technology facility, students taking too long to finish their assignment). 

E. Your Evaluation: Assessment

You should be intimately familiar with this portion. As students, you have to participate in quizzes, do your exercises, and submit your home assignments. Now, as teachers, you are the one who will prepare and create them. Though in recent years, you may even ask your students to create their own questions and answer them on their own so the students can provoke their own knowledge.

What needs to be stressed is the alignment of your assessment with your learning objective (Hammer, 1998). Your quiz, assignment, and test cannot simply require students to be able to correctly answer a question or command; your assessment has to address the question “how can I determine if my students have reached the learning objective?” Both your activities and assessments have to logically connected to your learning objectives. This is called instructional alignment, which is the matching of learning objectives, activities, and assessment (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). You can’t aim for students to be able to create an essay when your learning activities focus on isolated grammar skills. Without this alignment, it will be difficult for you and your students to understand what is being learned (Bransford et al., 2000).