JP\/17\/RUDY<\/p>\n
Rudy makes biology learning fun for students<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Bringing the subject closer and making it more interesting are
\nbelieved to be keys to more effective teaching and learning
\nprocesses in a classroom. This is true at least for Rudy
\nPrakanto, 37, a teacher at state-owned SMU 6 Yogyakarta high
\nschool.<\/p>\n
Adopting this theory, he has succeeded in making biology -- a
\nsubject that many high school students often see as boring and
\nabstract -- into something interesting and challenging for
\nstudents.<\/p>\n
Thanks to his innovative teaching methods, he has also
\nsucceeded in increasing students' courage not just to create
\nscientific works of quality, but also find answers to the real
\nproblems they encounter in their respective communities.<\/p>\n
"I call it mimikri, from the word mimicry, to symbolize a
\nquick adaptation of students into the environment," said Rudy,
\nwho has just won the 2005 Science Education Award from the
\nIndonesia Toray Science Foundation (ITSF) for the methods he
\ncreated.<\/p>\n
Using his methods, according to Rudy, students are encouraged
\nto quickly adapt to the environment and find solutions to the
\nproblems they may find.<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Jakarta Post at his house in a hamlet called
\nJanti in Kulonprogo regency some 25 kilometers west of
\nYogyakarta, Rudy said that the name was also an acronym of
\nmengeksplorasi (exploring), mengaplikasi konsep (applying
\nconcepts) and refleksi diri (self reflection).<\/p>\n
Exploring means the teacher has the task of exploring the
\nstudents' initial knowledge about a particular subject matter.
\nApplying concepts means the teacher has to bring the subject
\nmatter closer and make it less abstract to students. Self-
\nreflection means students have to be encouraged to be able to
\ncommunicate what they have discovered through a presentation in
\nfront of the class.<\/p>\n
"The key to this method is basically freeing the students from
\npressure and fear and to freely express what they have in mind in
\nthe class," Rudy said.<\/p>\n
At schools at the moment, according to Rudy, what happens in
\nmost classes is a monologue system in which the teacher perceives
\nhim\/herself as being everything. As such, therefore, the teacher
\nwill be upset if the class becomes noisy.<\/p>\n
"What I've been developing through mimikri is a democratic
\nclass in which the students feel free to express anything without
\nbeing afraid of being insulted by both the teacher or their
\nfellow students," said Rudy, underlining the importance of
\nconsidering every opinion that the students may express as being
\nequally important as others.<\/p>\n
Rudy is not exaggerating. Watching Rudy's class, one may be
\nsurprised by the way he teaches. The class is not quiet at all.
\nStudents' shouting questions to Rudy, or discussing a problem
\nnoisily among themselves, are common scenes in Rudy's classes.<\/p>\n
"Pak Rudy, can I do this?" a student shouted.<\/p>\n
"Pak Rudy, look at what I've done! Am I doing it right?"
\nanother student shouted.<\/p>\n
The class was dynamic. Every student was actively involved in
\nlearning activity even during introductory parts in which Rudy
\nexplains a topic to help students understand the bigger picture
\nof the subject being learned.<\/p>\n
In Rudy's class, students are usually divided into groups. The
\nclass mostly starts with group discussions during which Rudy digs
\ninto the students' knowledge, providing them with related
\ninformation, and allowing them to find problems related to the
\nsubject being learned to be solved through scientific inquiry.<\/p>\n
"All activities are basically developed to make students
\nrealize that biology is not just a theory or material to
\nmemorize, but it is something of great advantage to the
\ncommunity," said Rudy, who is a graduate of Yogyakarta Teacher
\nTraining Institute (IKIP), now Yogyakarta State University (UNY).<\/p>\n
Making an abstract subject into something applicable in the
\neyes of the students, he said, was another basic idea of Mimikri.<\/p>\n
Mimikri allows students to catch the essence of the subject
\nbeing learned so that they can develop themselves, and finally
\ncome up with scientific works that are sometimes surprising even
\nto me as the teacher," said Rudy, mentioning a number of his
\nstudents' research projects that had gained local, national and
\neven international recognition.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the method, a number of awards are now in the hands
\nof some of Rudy's students in recognition of their participation
\nin various science competitions at local, national, and even in
\nthe international levels.<\/p>\n
Research conducted by three of his students, Arko Jatmiko,
\nSaum, and Jalu, on the use of banana tree tubers to make
\ncrackers, for example, won an international prize in 2003 from
\nthe youth business innovation competition held by the World
\nIntellectual Property Organization (WIPO).<\/p>\n
Research by his student Rizky Yuda on the use of a propellant
\nwith zeolit (green sand) to reduce carbon monoxide emissions in
\nmotorcycles, also won first prize at the national scientific
\ncompetition for teenagers (LKIR) held by the Indonesian Institute
\nof Science (LIPI) in 2003.<\/p>\n
Similarly, research into the use of solid waste in tofu
\ncottage industries to make crackers won his students Agnes Widya,
\nLutfi and Nur Rizqi first place in the national business
\ninnovation competition held by the Ministry of Education.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, research on the use of liquid waste in the same
\ncottage industry as a fertilizer for tomato plants won his
\nstudent Agnes Widya second place in the LKIR held by Yogyakarta-
\nbased Ahmad Dahlan University.<\/p>\n
Rudy said he has been developing mimikri since 1995, when he
\nwas still a teacher at the state-run SLTP 3 Ngawen junior high
\nschool in Gunungkidul, although it was then applied with a
\nslightly different approach.<\/p>\n
When he was moved to SMU 6 Yogyakarta in 2001, after winning
\nLIPI's national teacher creativity competitions in 1997 and 2000,
\nhe continued applying and developing the method.<\/p>\n
"I believe mimikri can be applied to other subjects, because
\nbasically it is only a matter of how to make learning fun for
\nstudents," said father of two Rudy, who has recently often been
\ninvited to share his methods with other teachers.<\/p>\n
Once the students have fallen in love with the subject,
\naccording to Rudy, they would voluntarily and happily do whatever
\nthe teacher asked them to do regarding the subject.<\/p>\n
"For me, what is more important is providing students with as
\nmany learning experiences as possible rather than thronging them
\nwith abundant learning materials. This is the philosophy of
\nmimikri," he said. *<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp17rudy-1447899208",
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