Why should it be "Less Teaching More Learning"?

The idea of Less Teaching More Learning has challenged teachers to do better in their class. Teachers are not only supposed to explain and drill the materials, but also to guide students on how to solve problems. Meanwhile, in reality, it can be seen that teachers only teach materials that later will be used in examinations. Like the old days, students only listen to the teacher’s speech in class, and they are rarely included in the discussion. This is actually the main obstacle of the teaching activity in Indonesia because the teacher is not the center of the teaching and learning activity, but the students are. Therefore, it is expected for the students to be active and critical in class. There are several reasons why teachers should agree with the idea of Less Teaching More Learning in class.

Firstly, teaching is not merely about the materials or competences. Teaching is about giving the students something meaningful, so that they both learn the materials and the values on related subject. If the students are able to achieve the good values in certain subject, they will posses a better behavior in their society.

Secondly, teaching is about guiding students to follow their curiosity. What Indonesian students need the most is the critical thoughts and creativity. By feeling curious and having a lot of questions on their head, the student will enhance their creativity and their critical thoughts by their own. Here, teachers’ role is to become a guide for students to help them find the answers to the questions.

Finally, the teacher’s role in class is to become the facilitator for the students. Teachers could provide students some questions that will lead them to understand certain materials. The questions may relate to the students’ daily activity or their behavior. Here, students not only learn how to solve some problems but also how to reflect their daily behavior related to the problems.

Therefore, Indonesian schools can start implementing the Less Teaching More Learning by providing two teachers or more in one class. It would be beneficial because the students will have more facilitators to help them in class. Moreover, Indonesian students like to be appreciated. Teachers can appreciate the students’ work by providing students with some rewards or honors.

The 31st of Sabhatansa (SMAN7) Anniversary

It is not young anymore and it is not too old to perform its existence. Yet, it is strong enough to appreciate its performance to be the objection when ones want to continue their study from the junior high school.

                At Sabhatansa, ones can learn many things beside academic lesson such as sport-wrestle, football and karate. As a splendid education (adiwiyata), Sabhatansa involves its students to keep the school comfort and conducive by having the area clean, green, fresh, and healthy. To keep the school remains clean and fresh Sabhatansa creates cafeteria free from plastic wrapping.  Getting the environment green, healthy and nice to be looked, there are many colorful orchids, trees, and any other growing flowers neatly arranged. On every Friday morning before attending the class for some lesson the students do the gardening.

                Sabhatansa school garden trains the students to grow several organic vegetables and teaches them how to manage the business dealing with vegetables, fruit and medicine trees (toga). Hydroponic system is also trained to the students to rich their knowledge on farming.

                There is something important to add the students’ views in splendid education such as biopori, composing fertilizer and recycling. To apply the recycling, Sabhatansa calls its people out to collect their household rubbish to submit to Sabhatansa rubbish bank on every Friday.

                In celebrating the 31^st Sabhatansa anniversary, the students create any kinds of competition such as bazaar, students’ band, and jogging in special dress code just for relax and joy. All classes are registered as the jogging participant. While jogging, the students are shouting orally their yels.

                The following is one of the examples of the students’ yels:

Let’s build our earth Sabhatansa

Combine the fingers to get the spirit

Glorious Sabhatansa , Sabhatansa loves environment

One heart, one soul

 With Sabhatansa, we apply our creation

Together we are one

Sabhatansa keep the environment

Sabhatansa …… yes!

Healthey environment …… ok!

BETTER FUTURE OF INDONESIA

“The teacher is the heart of “Teach Less, Learn More” (TLLM). TLLM is not a call for “teacher to do less.” It is a call to educators to teach better, to engage our students and prepare them for life, rather than to teach for tests and examinations. This is why TLLM really goes to the core of quality in education. It is about a richer interaction between teacher and student — about touching hearts and engaging minds.”

Never in my whole life, have I ever seen teaching from that point of view. All in all, I cannot say contrary to being agree with Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s Minister of Education from 2003 to 2008. Since, I learn that what I have done for and with my students had been and always will be “Teach Less, Learn More” (TLLM) method.

    For example, helping them help themselves by making self-access-activities materials in the form of English newspaper clippings, cartoon clippings, short stories, even their own product stories; after some editing process, though.

    My students who have already experience this method in their eleventh grade will not be surprised in the twelfth grade. Since I use this method to enrich and encourage them more to read in order to speak more. What might stall or slow down the implementation in the Indonesian teaching and learning context is the mind set and culture of teachers and students.
     These two aspects are possibly able to be lessened by giving training to teachers, just small number of them and this small number of teachers will in the future continue the training to other teachers in their own area by also doing sampling, too.
    The kind of training here should be about using their local resources (human, natural and student intakes) by digging them up one by one, and implementing the “TLLM” method concerning their resources. there is one way of doing the training. it is called lesson study, where teachers come to a school and watch, give comments, evaluate, and the most important 
      Besides training, what we need the most is the willingness of teachers doing this for the better future of Indonesia.

 

October --Second Week Tasks

Dear teachers,

I sent you the tasks on 10 October 2013 to your email. Unluckily, there are quite a few people that could not be reached through the email addresses they gave me. I do hope that this post will reach you all. 

In the mean time, please post both your self-introduction and response. I am waiting for your post up to 28 October 2013.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me at Anik.Wulyani@vuw.ac.nz. 

Good luck,
Anik Wulyani

P.S. I would never recommend texting me back or calling me.

Wellington, October 10, 2013

Each month there will be a checklist of items required for the month. This will include readings, posting ideas in the group blog, and assignments related to the final projects.

You may consider downloading month’s the articles and other files onto a flash drive or your desktop, to read at your leisure. For those who have limited or inconsistent internet connections, this is the best recommendation. This month's checklist includes the following:

1) Post a self-introduction on the course group blog (bloggingamongteachersa.blogspot.com or bloggingamongteachersb.blogspot.com) on Oct 14th at midnight, Pacific Standard Time.

2) Read the introductory article "Less Teaching, More Learning"  (http://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/dr_spencer_kagan/294/Teach-Less-Learn-More)

3) Visit the two links on the introduction to Project-Based Learning (PBL): http://www.gsn.org/web/pbl/ and http://www.bie.org/

4) **OPTIONAL** view the videos of what PBL is and an example of the project. 

a. http://www.bie.org/videos/video/project_based_learning_explained

b. http://www.bie.org/videos/video/learning_to_act_as_women_and_men

5) Post a response in the form of essay (250 to 500 words) to the article by answering the related questions by Monday, Oct 28th at midnight (PST).

The questions are:

1. Do you agree with the idea of ‘Less Teaching, More Learning’ or/and Project-Based Learning (PBL)? Please provide reasons why you agree or disagree to the idea.
2. What might prevent the idea to be implemented in the Indonesian teaching and learning context?
3. What might support the implementation in the Indonesian schools?
4. If you have other opinion, please do not hesitate to share it with all of us.
   
   

Hopefully this addresses the question of how to proceed when you visit the blog. As usual, if you have any problems, questions or confusion, please do not hesitate to let me know!

Good luck, and we look forward to "meeting" you online!

Anik Wulyani

Self Introduction

Hello,
My name is Daris. Actually, I have a long complete name, but it is not important I suppose. It has been a while since the last time I operated and edited my blog. And now Mrs. Anik once again has resurrected my desire to do blogging again. In the past, I got many friends to do blogging together, and maybe that is why we loved blogging back in the day. Long story short, it is a pleasure that my simple blogging capability will have one or two roles in this project. I am looking forward to giving what I can do, so that it will be valuable to people I will work with. That is all for this occasion, nice to know you all here.

Rida Afrilyasanti

SELF INTRODUCTION

Hello,

I am Rida Afrilyasanti, an English teacher in Sekolah Menengah Atas (Senior High School) Negeri 8 Malang, Indonesia. I have found my passion on education field since I was studying at State University of Malang. I started my career on teaching since I was on the fifth semester of my study. My first teaching experience was as a tutor in conversation class in Junior High School 5 Malang.   

As I finished my study in the State University of Malang and graduated on September 2010. While doing my research, I was also working at Laboratory Junior High School, State University of Malang. Then, on 2010 up to now, I have been teaching in Sekolah Menengah Atas (Senior High School) Negeri 8 Malang.

While teaching, I have been also conducting some researches, writing books, working for Indonesians Hope, and actively involving in both local and international seminars and workshops.

A last, I do hope by joining this group I can learn from the others as well as improve my writing skill.

Introducing Myself

Introducing Myself
First of all, let me say thank you for Mrs. Anik for giving me opportunity to join this blog. It is a very nice and good experience for me. Well let me introduce my self,  my name is Tri Susetyo Rahayu. I teach in SMP N 11 Malang. It is on Jl. Ikan Piranha Atas Malang. I am teaching the eight and ninth grade students in this semester. I love my job but sometimes I need many ideas to improve my teaching. I think that's all my introduction...

Greetings from Ciliwung

The Art of Shaping our Dream

I had been unfaithful to English. That is my confession.
But, now, I realize that teaching English is not merely a job for me.
Teaching English is my life. It is a way how I express my feeling,
my dream, my passion, most of all my first love.

Being good in English is not the only thing that you need in becoming a teacher.
It needs a total sacrifice in order to become one. It needs a lot of time, energy, tears. laughter, but the greatest of all is love.

I am still far from being called a good English teacher, let alone a good teacher.
Just like a diamond, we have to be willing to be in a great pain in order to become sparkling and shiny one.

Joining Bu Anik's blog is one of those process. So, help me God.
And to Bu Anik, I thank you so much for this lovely opportunity.
Love you, always.

Hugs. Agnes Endah Ayu Winarni, 
an English teacher in SAINT JOSEPH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL MALANG.

Self-introduction

Hi, dear all. It's me..I'm Sulistija Juniasih. I teach at Junior High School 1 Malang. This semester I'm teaching 7th and 8th grade students. I love my work. I love learning. And I'm so happy to be the part of this program. I do hope I will learn a lot. Nice to see you!

Introducing myself

Hello everybody. My name is Mukhamad Aniq Mubarok. Just call me Aniq. Don't call me Anik but Aniq using q. It is an arabic word which means attractive. :D

Beginilah Caraku Mencintaimu::

Dengan tak menghubungimu,
tak juga mengirim pesan untuk menanyakan kabarmu.
Mungkin ini tak biasa,
Tapi bagiku,
Inilah cara terbaik mencintaimu.

Aku mencintaimu dengan menjauh darimu,
Bukan karena aku membencimu,
Justru karena aku sangat mencintaimu,
Dan aku ingin menjagaku juga menjagamu,
Menjaga tulusnya hatimu, juga menjaga kesucian hatiku.

Inilah caraku mencintaimu,
Dalam diamku,
Dalam ketulusanku,
dalam kesucianku,
dalam cara tak biasaku,

Meski sulit,
Meski berat,
Meski sakit untukku,
namun ku tahu ini pilihan terbaik agar kita tak terlalu saling mengharap.

Karena berharap hanya pantas pada Sang Pemberi Nafas,
Karena berharap hanya pantas digantungkan pada Sang Pengatur Detak Jantung,
PadaNya kuharap Dia khan menjagamu untukku,
PadaNya kutitipkan hatimu,