WHAT IS MY RESPONSE ABOUT DIVERSITY?

What is in my head when I heard about diversity? The word that appears in my head is respect. Indonesia is one of the biggest multicultural country, because Indonesia has hundreds tribes, hundreds of cultures, hundreds of languages, different religions, etc. there are many immigrant that also come to Indonesia. In the past, Chinese people are killed by indigenous people in Indonesia because there is issue about social jealousy, but people now have opened their mind about diversity even they can coexistence in Indonesia.

I have many friends that different with me, from culture, habit, religion, etc. I reflect sometimes, I’m stereotyping people based on their area, like Chinese and Padang people are stingy but they are hard worker, Solo people have nice speech, etc. I do that because I often know people from same province and they have same character. It makes me difficult to change my mind set. Based on cultures, I have no problem with different cultures, even I’m happy because I know and can learn something new. Based on religion, I respect with them but I have to be careful when I want to talk about religious things. I tend to avoid talking about that. I respect towards other, but when I talk with them I have to be careful, because I still don’t know about their cultures. I have to avoid sensitive topics, though I’m curious about that.

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Skin color is the biggest issue and that happened in America. Whereas, America is also including one of the biggest multicultural country besides Indonesia. Black-skin people were despised and treated like slaves by white-skin people. Maybe, it’s still happening in America, but it’s better than past. Another problem that makes issue is terrorism. It makes religion issue appears in the world. For me, religion is the sensitive thing, if this issue become worst, there will be war. Those issues shouldn’t happen if they apply the keywords of diversity, ‘Respect’.  

Human have already realized that there are a lot of differentiations among other. Diversity must exist in the world, what do you think if all people in this planet are similar? We will not know how to respect each other and it will be boring.

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This course is preparing us to face diversity among students in the future. As a future teacher, I have to remember the keywords, that is respect each other and I will remind it to my students. I hope this course will help me to understand about diversity deeper and make my knowledge wider.

BEING AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER

In the second session, we continued our last topic about effective teacher, but this time from thematic perspective.  We watched video about ‘is thematic effective or ineffective?’ From my discussion with my group, thematic method makes the material unfocused and students cannot learn one topic deeply. The combining subject makes students confuse because it is really full.

Then, we talked about teacher professional knowledge briefly. That is one of the principles of effective teacher. Basically, teacher must have wider knowledge than the students. Teacher is the expert one of the subject. Teacher also must up to date about what’s going on around them, that’s why teacher have to read oftentimes. Teacher also must have knowledge about the student’s needs. There are other abilities that teacher must have. Teacher is not the perfect person, but they have to realize that they are act as a role model of the students in class.

Student has some stages in cognitive process. It begins from the easier until the complex one. The stages were introduced by Bloom. The famous name of the stages is Bloom’s taxonomy. Here is the picture.

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Teachers have to know about this stages in order to teacher can understand about cognitive process of students. So, teacher can give instruction and assessment appropriately to the students.

In the end of the session, we are asked to make lesson plan in simple form. Lesson plan also one of the important thing in teaching. In the lesson plan, there are indicator, objective, activities, and time allocation. Teachers have to plan teaching well. When I was in high school, My Indonesian language teacher always shows and tell about the objective to the students. So, students know about what we are studying for. Opposite thing happens with my civic education teacher, students have no idea about what we are studying for. I think he never see the lesson plan before he teaches the students. It was like we learn it because it is obligatory subject.

Planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom environment are the important area for students. Those areas are interdependent. Teacher must concerns with those, because those things can support students to learn and make teaching more effective.

From those knowledge, I’ve just realize that being an effective teacher is hard, because teacher also has responsible of the students. I have to learn hardly now and apply what I’ve learn someday.  

EFFECTIVE TEACHER FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

Teachers now maybe are questioning themselves about “have I become an effective teacher?” That question shows that the teacher has responsibilities of the students. I think each person has their own definition about effective teacher. There are many definitions that come out from internet, when I searched it. They still have no dealing about the definition, perhaps, it because people have their own experience about their teacher. But for me, effective teacher is teacher who use right teaching method and can make students comfort in class.

Based on my experience, I assess teacher based on the activities in the class and how she/he build rapport with students. The activities should be useful for student’s knowledge and not boring. Students get knowledge from the activities and teacher need to have good planning so that the students understand the contents of the subject itself. Good rapport is needed because teachers have to understand student’s need. If the student’s needs are fulfilled, they will enjoy the lesson easily. There are still other characteristics of effective teacher, such as knowledge of teacher, teacher’s classroom management, teacher’s behavior, etc.

As the new generation of teacher, I will make my experience as one of my reference. I will do better than my teacher in school. I have to make my knowledge greater and make myself to be their inspiration of good teacher. Lesson plan is also important for class activities and student’s knowledge. so, I hope PETA can help me to be a goo teacher for good future

MY FIRST KNOWLEDGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING

First time I heard about Technology and Language Learning, I can predict that this subject has relationship with Multimedia Production and it’s true. Basically, In this century many schools have used technology for teaching and learning activities. Because, technology is such human lifestyle and it is useful for human life. Technology evolves through the time, including technology for language learning.  CALL (Computer Assistant Language Learning) has 3 main stages, such as behavioristic (1960-1970), communicative (1980-1990), and Integrative (1990-present). Behavioristic CALL emphasizes to accuracy for students. Computer is used for drill and practice. Communicative CALL emphasizes to fluency of students. Computers are used for discussion, writing, and stimulate high order thinking of students. Recently, schools are using integrative CALL, such as web-based (internet) learning. Students are to be independent learners, because they can find any sources by themselves through internet and teacher just to be facilitator. 

I reflect when I was in high school, my English teacher was taught me without any technologies. We just write and listen to teacher’s instruction. It was really boring. But my ICT teacher makes technologies more useful for students. For me, I was really interested learn with technologies rather than without it. Technologies makes teaching more effective and let students engage the subject easily.  Besides, using technologies in language teaching can prepare students to face globalization in future. 

Besides the advantages, technologies also have disadvantages. First, schools which have low budget or lower income students will have problem to get some technology application like computer, especially in Indonesia which people still live below the poverty line. Second, teacher must still need to join training about technologies, because there are some teachers who still have lack of abilities to work with computer. From my perspective, I think teachers in Indonesia is dominated with old teachers, they are also from old era that really different from now on. Moreover, technology is really fast to change and teachers have to be more up to date about knowledge, including technologies. Third, computer should be just a tool for helping students to learn, because students still need teacher to guide them.

In conclusion, technology is really helpful in this century for teaching and learning. If they can use it appropriately, it can be advantages for the users, just depends on how people use technology for they life.