March 1999
INTRODUCTION
Understanding teaching methods are often interpreted as teacher activities to achieve lesson objectives. This understanding has been held for so long among educational experts and educators. Teaching planning models and literature on educational technology often demonstrate this understanding. Therefore, various models such as PPSI and its revisions show the application of the intended meaning. The model used for GBPP curriculum 75 and 84 proves the application of this understanding. In such a model, the method column is explicitly stated to study the material/topic of discussion to achieve the goal. With this model, the teacher’s actions become very decisive, and student activities occur due to what the teacher does.
Understanding such a method, of course, contains various advantages, including the teacher is easy to make plans, the teacher only needs to think and prepare what to do. To learn the material and achieve goals, what and how students learn in class do not need to be stated explicitly in lesson plans or lesson units. Students naturally react to what the teacher does. In such a model, it is clear that it cannot be said that students are subjects in the process of interaction in the classroom. The opposite is true; students are not the primary concern; it can even be said that the position of the subject matter is much more important than the position of students. The teacher thinks more about how the subject matter can be given/completed and not on whether students can have the qualities stated in the objectives. Principals and supervisors are also more concerned with the completion of teaching the subjects listed in the curriculum.
The problem that arises from the understanding of the teaching method stated above is a discrepancy between the main ideas about the educational process and the model developed. The curriculum that has been in effect since 1975 places students in an active position in learning, and the teacher is the one who helps the learning process with various approaches, methods, and teaching techniques they have. The notion of teaching methods and PPSI models, lesson units, and lesson plans above contradict the curriculum’s central idea about the learning process. In other words, there is a “contradictio in terminis” between the main curriculum ideas and curriculum development procedures.
It seems that, without being explicitly stated, teachers have difficulty bridging the differences between the main ideas of the curriculum and its development model. As a result of these difficulties, a settlement process was considered the easiest and did not raise many questions, namely, forgetting the existing conceptual differences. Consequently, it is easier for teachers to list the teaching methods they will do and plan what students will do due to the teaching methods used by the teacher. In short, it can be said that curriculum changes do not bring changes in its implementation or the reality in the classroom.
The fact, as stated above, also occurs in the implementation of the Social Sciences and History curriculum. Even in the implementation of the 1994 history curriculum, this fact still occurs. The formulation of the Specific Learning Objectives (TPK) formulated by the teacher, lesson plans, and lesson units is dominated by such teaching methods. Teachers are not given alternatives and are not equipped with the vision and skills to develop an understanding of teaching methods that are more in line with the main idea of the curriculum. Therefore, as long as the teacher’s vision has not changed, skills related to understanding teaching methods that are following the main idea of the curriculum have not been developed into new professional skills for teachers, a professional assistance system for teachers that is following the notion of teaching methods that are more in line with the curriculum has not been developed, the teacher will not change the practice of implementing the curriculum that has been carried out so far.
Understanding teaching methods that are more in line with the main idea of the curriculum must also place students as subjects in learning and use teaching methods and skills to enable student learning to become a reality. Therefore, the new understanding of teaching methods is no longer a teacher’s activity to achieve the goals that have been formulated. The goals formulated are changes in the expected quality of students’ self. Thus, it is natural that students and teachers who mobilize their professional abilities to make this achievement possible are those who will achieve these qualities.
The teaching method adopted in this paper is an activity carried out by the teacher in helping student learning activities to achieve goals. With this understanding, the teacher’s teaching method is determined by student learning activities. Student learning activities are activities that students must carry out in learning the subject matter to have the qualities stated/formulated in the learning objectives. In this sense, the position of the teaching method is a variable that is bound by the form of student learning activities. It is the teacher’s job to determine how students learn first before teaching methods are determined.
DETERMINING FACTORS OF TEACHING METHODS
In this model, the relationship between teaching methods and goals is powerful. The teaching method is the teacher’s way to achieve the goals that have been formulated. In the widely used model, the teaching method is determined after the specific objectives (ICT and now TPK) are determined. In another model, the teaching method is determined after the evaluation or subject matter so that the link between the specific objectives and the teaching method is not as direct as in the first model.
The advantage of this model is that the teacher can immediately determine what teaching method to use. Unfortunately, these advantages cannot cover its weaknesses. The most fundamental weakness is that there is no logical continuity between goals and teaching methods. Objectives indicate the qualities that students are expected to have if the learning process goes as expected. Therefore the primary concern of a goal is the student, while the primary concern of the teaching method is what the teacher should do. Therefore there is a missing link between what is expected of students and what the teacher will do.
The model proposed in this paper attempts to fill the missing link with the premise that the goal is to determine the qualities expected to belong to students, and thus, the main actors are students. In other words, specific objectives determine how students learn to achieve these qualities. With such a basis of thinking, the specific purpose of learning does not directly determine the teaching method.
Furthermore, teachers are actors who have the authority and ability to realize student learning activities to achieve goals. The teacher’s task is to design and implement the design as a person who has professional authority to determine the qualities that students must have, how to achieve these qualities, how to help students carry out learning activities to achieve quality, and determine the status of students in achieving the desired quality. With its position as an authority to help students, the method determined and used by the teacher must be related to the students’ efforts/activities that have the intended quality.
To determine methods that can help students in learning, the teacher must know and consider various factors that influence student learning. Before determining the teaching method, the teacher must consider the subject matter, material sources, and students’ abilities in the learning process. That is, various problems that may arise in student learning activities must be identified. Based on these considerations, the teacher then determines how to assist students in learning by considering the advantages and disadvantages of a method, the form of support it can provide for student learning activities, and the teacher’s ability to carry out the procedures and techniques required for a teaching method.
It is the way students learn that determines the teacher’s teaching method. The intended learning method is students’ study in groups (classes) to achieve the quality stated in the objectives. The teacher determines this student learning method based on the teacher’s knowledge of students’ abilities, characteristics, and personalities. For teachers who have known students in their class for a long time, the teacher can determine students’ abilities, characteristics, and personalities, which can be determined based on the teacher’s “professional judgment.” For teachers who are new to students in their class, the opinions of other teachers who know their students can be used to determine their students’ characteristics. Another way that can be done by teachers who do not really know their students is by conducting interviews or distributing questionnaires.
Based on the teacher’s consideration of the student’s learning method, the teacher can determine the form, type, and approach to the assistance needed by the teacher. With decisions about the form, type, and approach of the assistance, the teacher determines the teaching method to be used. Therefore, the history teacher must determine how students learn history material to have the qualities stated in the objectives before the history teacher determines the history teaching method to be used.
Learning Resources
Another factor that determines how students learn is factors outside of students (external student factors). Included in this external factor is the availability of learning resources and subject matter. The availability of learning resources is plural: sources owned by students, owned and developed by teachers/schools, and available in the school environment (community). The source is a factor that significantly influences the way students learn: students who do not have learning resources (in this case, mainly textbooks) have a different way of learning from those who have the book.[1] In a class where most of the students do not have books, which are old and not even following the curriculum, the way students learn is different from classes where students have textbooks (new and old). Similarly, schools with a sound school library for history lessons and schools that do not have good libraries or even those that do not have libraries.
Schools with an environment rich in historical heritage will put different demands and challenges on students in schools that are poor from historical heritage. Schools that are rich in historical heritage environments can take advantage of these environments in the learning process of their students. In contrast, poor schools from historical heritage environments do not have these advantages and have other ways of learning [2]. In such a context, the way of learning developed by the teacher requires the teacher to apply different teaching methods.
History Lesson Materials
History subject matter is another factor that influences student learning. Categorically, historical material can be grouped into historical facts, concepts, theories, interpretations, processes, historical ways of thinking, values, and historical stories. The way students learn about historical facts is different from how students learn concepts, theories, interpretations, processes, etc. Certain historical materials such as ways of thinking, values , and processes require continuous learning more than facts. Historical facts can be learned by rote and understanding, but this is not the case with a process or interpretive material. Based on what students will do in studying the material, the history teacher determines the appropriate method.
Process Skills
Process skills are factors outside of students that influence how students learn as one of the characteristics of the curriculum (introduced since the 1984 curriculum); process skills are an innovative aspect that is expected to improve the quality of student learning outcomes. History education and teaching in junior and senior high schools must also pay attention to this and influence teachers’ decisions regarding the methods used in the history teaching process.
Poses skills are related to processual abilities in history. The ability to be developed in process skills is to formulate problems, collect information, process information, draw conclusions, write reports, communicate information, plan research. In terms of history education, the skills developed in this process relate to students’ abilities in:
- formulating historical questions
- collect historical sources
- criticize historical sources
- draw information from historical sources
- establish the relationship between historical facts
- interpret and write historical stories
Formulating historical questions contains learning activities where students must train themselves in formulating questions regarding a historical event. For example, regarding the Supersemar incident and recent news developments, historical questions can be asked, such as “was it true that President Soekarno issued Supersemar because of military pressure?”, “Is it true that the opinion that Supersemar is a bloodless coup d’etats?”, “Is there a relationship between the events at the State Palace and the publication of Supersemar?”, “What is the actual content of Supersemar?” and so on. Many other questions can be developed from each historical event, and student’s ability to develop these questions can be started from the teacher’s guidance. Finally, students can formulate their questions.
The learning process that students must carry out in formulating questions with teacher guidance is, of course, different from the learning process in which students must formulate historical questions themselves. The process of learning to formulate historical questions with teacher guidance will be colored by student activities together in class. In such learning situations, students must get a solid urge to formulate questions (which they may be reluctant to do for various reasons), and if they want, it may take a long time. Facing such a learning reality, the teacher must use many methods that can arouse students’ courage to do “wrong” in formulating questions, motivate students to think so that there is something in question and be patient in giving opportunities and waiting for students to formulate questions.
The learning process in which students have been able, willing, and “dare” to formulate their historical questions requires a different teaching method. The teacher may no longer have to wait too long because students immediately respond by asking the historical question in question. Teachers may not need to devote attention and complex teaching techniques to motivating students to formulate questions or to help students refine the questions asked. Teachers may also not have to wait too long for students to formulate questions. In such a learning context, history teachers must use different teaching methods from the first learning situation.
Different learning conditions also occur for each other ability. Each of these abilities is developed from situations where students need a lot of teacher help to situations where they can do it themselves. Thus the teacher cannot also use the same method for different learning situations; teachers should use different teaching methods for different learning situations.
Differences occur not only in mastering an ability. There is also a difference between learning one ability and another. So, differences in learning situations occur internally in ability or externally between one ability and another. In other words, differences in learning situations occur horizontally (in learning ability) and vertically (between one ability and another). Based on these differences, there must also be differences in the teaching methods used by teachers. That is, variations in teaching methods will occur automatically due to differences in the learning process (which also occurs as a consequence of differences in abilities that must be mastered or differences from students’ initial abilities).
PHASES IN LEARNING HISTORY
The process of studying history and other subjects can be grouped into four main phases. The four phases are:
- gathering and understanding information/skills/values
- strengthening understanding of information/skills/values
- application/utilization of information/skills/values
- evaluation
The collection and understanding of information/skills/values relate to students’ efforts to find information about a historical event, a skill, a value. The information can be in the form of historical sources used, historical facts, historical concepts, historical interpretations, historian bias, historian backgrounds, etc. The information can also relate to specific skills such as source criticism, causal law, how to draw information from sources, chronological thinking, analytical thinking, etc. The information can also be related to values related to a historical event, such as heroism, leadership, hard work, nationalism, etc.
Efforts to obtain this information can be made in various ways, including reading, listening to teacher lectures/resources, observing objects/historical relics, watching movies/videos, etc. This learning activity can be done in the classroom but can also occur outside the classroom (at home or in a location where there are historical objects). At present, students seeking information/skills/values are dominated by the teacher’s lectures in class. Suppose the history teacher wants to develop students’ ability to search for information. In that case, the history teacher should provide more opportunities for students to read, observe, listen, or do other activities outside the classroom (especially at home). [3] In this way, the teaching methods used by teachers are different.
In this information gathering learning activity, students can do it individually but can also be done simultaneously in groups. The conditions that exist in students in a class are, of course, well known by the teacher, and based on that knowledge, and the teacher can determine which forms of learning activities are considered more appropriate. Individual work provides an advantage for students to work independently but has a negative possibility, namely the ability of students to collaborate and communicate with classmates is somewhat lacking. Working in groups outside of school provides opportunities for students to be better able to communicate and cooperate with their friends. However, it can be an obstacle for students in developing their independence. Therefore, the two approaches can be used alternately so that the other approach can overcome the weaknesses of each approach.
Learning activities to strengthen understanding of information/skills/values can be carried out in class. Thus, the apperception materials used are no longer just the learning materials discussed in the previous week but, more importantly, the learning materials for that week that have been read/observed by students at home before the learning process in class. Even so, the materials used by teachers in preparing their students are still apperception and not advance organizers. The following learning process strengthens understanding of what has been learned, develops skills learned from information sources through classroom exercises, and develops positive attitudes towards the values that students want to develop. Students can carry various activities to strengthen their understanding of information, skills or develop historical values . Class discussions, group discussions, student lectures, making comparisons, conducting demonstrations, socio-drama, role-playing, and so on can be done by students in this strengthening effort. In such conditions, the teaching methods used by history teachers in various learning situations must also be different.
This strengthening activity must be carried out in the classroom. Students can work individually but can also work in groups and work in full-class groups. The model that is now widely recommended is the group work model called “cooperative learning” or “cooperative group.” This way of learning is different from learning that is individual or in the form of an entire class. To enable students to work in the form determined and designed by the teacher, the teacher must also determine the appropriate and effective method in encouraging student learning. History teachers must recognize the slight differences between one learning process and another and determine appropriate teaching methods and techniques.
Learning activities for the application/utilization of information/skills/values can be trained in the classroom and continued outside the classroom but can also be thoroughly carried out outside the classroom (in the form of work/homework). For the initial stage, it is highly recommended that training be carried out in the classroom. When the teacher considers students to do so, the activity can be entirely carried out outside the classroom. The application/utilization can be carried out on books/newspapers/clippings that are read, observed photos, historical objects (relics), or events reported by newspapers or observed in the community. Various learning activities can be carried out by students, such as criticizing a historical source (including textbooks), making clippings and writing historical stories based on these clippings, writing a historical story about what happened in the community based on the information they have, skills mastered, and attitudes, which is owned.
Assessment is not a phase of consecutive learning activities like the three activities discussed earlier. Assessment is a teacher activity that covers the three activities discussed. Even so, an assessment is carried out on the process and also on the learning outcomes. Assessment models that are now known as “alternative assessment,” “portfolio,” “non-test” can be used in conjunction with standard models that prioritize tests.
[1] Having and reading books as a resource for students in learning history is essential. Students who have a history textbook written by anyone and for any curriculum. Reading textbooks that are deemed not following the applicable curriculum is much better than not reading at all. Moreover, the material presented in the textbook is not necessarily “outdated,” and even if it is “outdated,” it will be useful material for discussion and developing historical processual skills/critical thinking skills in history. The consequence of this situation is that students have a different way of learning than a class that has all the textbooks declared according to the curriculum. Of course, the teacher has to apply different teaching methods.
[2] History deals with human activities in groups in the past. Therefore, each community/social group must have its history and thus must have various relics (documents, fossils, artifacts) that can be used as sources in history subject matter.
[3] Efforts to develop a process of finding information that students must do outside the classroom have another advantage: teachers do not need to be short of time in completing their curriculum assignments. Activities in the classroom are directed at strengthening the mastery of information or other learning activities. Another advantage is that finding information by reading at home will form reading habits in students.