Making simple technology-based tools from used materials

Good practice before revised

[Revision_teru]

Good practice elaboration

Saya mengampu mata pelajaran Bahasa Inggris, Informatika dan Entrepreneur di sebuah SMP swasta bernama SMP Taruna Jaya 1 Surabaya, yang terletak di wilayah Surabaya Utara. Sekolah saya termasuk sekolah swasta yang sedang berkembang sangat pesat selama 3 tahun terakhir. Saya mengajar di kelas 7,8 dan 9.Di kelas murid-murid saya pun memiliki kecenderungan untuk mencoba berbagai hal yang sedang tren di sosial media, sehingga terbawa ke cara mereka bersikap, bertutur kata maupun berpakaian. Suatu ketika beberapa murid saya mengeluh dengan jenuhnya mereka mengerjakan proyek yang itu-itu saja, usually they get project assignments almost always using cardboard or cork (stereoform). Students said that they ended up being lazy because there was no challenge in the project, they also said that they did not get any meaningful benefits from the projects they had worked on, they only had presentations and then finished. In the end, many students are lazy about working on projects or doing just that.

I also felt "touched" by what my students said. Various questions arose in my mind, “Am I making students feel burdened with projects??”, “Will the project I give be in vain for the students??” because it turns out it doesn't have any beneficial impact on them. I also try to review the project-based learning objectives that I have carried out and then correlate them with what students are currently interested in, including doing a little research on social media that students often use.. I also hold discussions with my colleagues to spark ideas or inspiration for projects that have an impact and also discuss with the student's parents about what the students' desires and obstacles are while they are at home.. Until I came to the conclusion that students need challenges in working on projects, not just making work , get a grade and then just like that, it's over. I try to design projects that utilize simple technology from used materials that provide benefits to the school environment. This project does require research and understanding of quite complex concepts, but it will bring new challenges and creative ideas from students will emerge.

The first step I took was to explain the project concept to the students, namely conducting a small research about what problems exist in the environment around the school. My students are divided into small groups to observe the school environment, looking for innovative and creative ideas to solve school environmental problems. Then I explain the steps in conducting research and make a simple research report so that the students' thinking frame is also focused. I give it time 2 week for students to make tools and make research reports which will then be presented in front of the class. When I gave the project, many students were silent as if thinking about what I should do , and some others seemed enthusiastic because this project was quite different and quite challenging for them. Furthermore, I also took on the role of a mentor by opening small guidance sessions per group to direct their ideas and validate whether the ideas were in accordance with the provisions I provided..

The day for the project collection has arrived, all groups were enthusiastic to present the results of their research and the research reports they made during 2 Sunday. I was quite surprised to see the results of their research, group 1 displays a tool for measuring soil fertility made from used paralon pipes , used lamps and used cables. Cara bekerjanya pun cukup sederhana cukup ambil sampel tanah di kebun sekolah kemudian alat tersebut ditancapkan di atas tanah dan jika lampu nya menyala terang maka tanah tersebut subur dan semakin redup nyala lampunya maka semakin tidak subur tanahnya. Kelompok 2 menampilkan membuat sebuah aquarium sederhana dari bahan wadah plastik bekas yang kemudian diberi lampu bekas dan ikan hias kecil sungguh menarik. Kelompok lain memberikan tanggapan dan saran mereka dan hal ini membuat proyek yang mereka kerjakan menjadi berdampak manfaat dalam jangka panjang. Murid juga menjadi kritis dalam berpikir dan berinovasi dalam mengerjakan proyek. Saat sesi presentasi saya menjadi fasilitator sekaligus kritikus bagi kelompok yang sedang maju ke depan, agar suasana lebih hidup dan murid lainnya tersentil untuk penasaran dan mengajukan pertanyaan.

Setelah presentasi proyek dilakukan , tibalah saatnya pameran karya yang rutin dilakukan di sekolah saya setahun 2 kali yaitu setiap akhir semester saat acara penerimaan rapor semester tiba. Pameran karya di sekolah saya dihadiri oleh wali murid semua jenjang dan semua murid di sekolah. Pengunjung bisa berkeliling melihat hasil proyek yang sudah dilakukan selama 1 semester dan pengunjung juga bisa bertanya tentang detail proyek murid dan manfaatnya, jadi seperti simulasi kecil untuk menguji kemampuan publik speaking murid sekaligus pemahaman konsep dan inovasi yang mereka tuangkan dalam proyek tersebut. Tanggapan dari pengunjung pameran proyek pun beragam, ada beberapa wali murid yang takjub dan mengapresiasi bangga dengan penelitian yang dilakukan dan berharap ke depannya ada inovasi yang lebih menarik lagi, dari beberapa rekan guru pun merasa terinspirasi dan ingin melakukan hal serupa dengan tema penelitian yang lebih mendalam sesuai minat murid per kelas. Pada akhirnya proyek yang dilakukan oleh murid harus berdampak pada murid untuk mengembangkan kemampuan berpikir dan kreatifitas mereka di masa depan. Ke depannya saya berencana untuk membuat penelitian berbasis teknologi informasi yang lebih menantang murid untuk berpikir kritis.

If you experience problems scrolling, scroll outside of the area Live Chat which is black.