Revisiting contextual teaching, learning methods<\/p>\n
Totok Amin Soefijanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Many concepts in education come and go in this land. While a
\nfew of them are worth our time, effort, and thoughts, the
\nmajority of these so called \"breakthroughs\" are just enterprizes
\nof trial and error. One of them, however, can be considered a
\nvaluable topic for our discussion. The concept is CTL (Contextual
\nTeaching and Learning), a well-known educational concept that has
\nbeen implemented, or is at least in the trial stages, in many
\nIndonesian elementary and secondary schools these days.<\/p>\n
CTL is simple, but requires the teacher's creativity to make
\nit work. The basic of CTL is to teach students to utilize their
\nenvironment and background as much as possible. So, in CTL, the
\nterm \"context\" -- meaning surroundings, momentum, environment,
\nand relevance -- is very important.<\/p>\n
Indeed, context is one of the four factors in the learning
\nprocess besides teachers, students, and lesson plans. Indeed,
\nJohn Dewey, the father of constructivism, believes that a learner
\nlearns new things from his or her previous experience. In other
\nwords, the only way to make a learner learn is by passing on the
\nknowledge in stages and pieces that the learner is familiar with.<\/p>\n
An example is asking students to recite lyrics from a Peterpan
\nsong for a topic in the Bahasa Indonesia subject. Why not? This
\nband is one of the students' favorites. This will create a
\nfamiliar, if not comfortable, learning atmosphere in the
\nclassroom.<\/p>\n
Later on in the process, teachers can insert more serious
\npoems from Chairil Anwar or W.S. Rendra. We must also be aware of
\nthe students' attention span by chopping the topics into several
\npieces and breaking them up with hands-on activities or
\nexercises. These breaks and exercises will refresh the students'
\nminds and prepare them for next topic of the day. We should not
\nleave our students exhausted, bored and eventually losing focus
\non the subject matter.<\/p>\n
In a dysfunctional CTL classroom, students might listen to a
\npop song while the teacher is explaining a topic that started
\nwith that song but later on the subject matter quickly becomes
\nunfamiliar to them. Teachers must know how to explain Chairil
\nAnwar's poem using Peterpan's lyrics by comparing the two and
\nasking students to express their theories and opinions about
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Due to its complexity, many Indonesian teachers are jokingly
\nsaid to practice a different kind of CTL -- Catat lalu Tinggal
\nLari or \"write it down and run away\". In fact, CTL should help
\nteachers apply a teaching-learning strategy that appreciates the
\nsurroundings of both the students and the teachers. CTL is one of
\nthe constructivist approaches that considers learners' previous
\nexperience as the most significant factor in the process of
\nlearning new ideas.<\/p>\n
The main purpose of education is to pass on our knowledge to
\nour children and the generations to come, while realizing that
\nmuch of this \"knowledge\" will later on become obsolete. We also
\nexpect that our education will make our children able to re-learn
\nso they not only survive in this world, but also improve their
\nlives.<\/p>\n
How much have we achieved implementing the concept of CTL --
\nan idea that many teachers find difficult? We have a long way to
\ngo, it seems, with teachers still far from using all the tricks
\nin CTL to keep students wanting to learn.<\/p>\n
Teachers are giving up early because the handouts and
\n\"training materials\" from their supervisors at the office of the
\nNational Education Ministry are as thick as their unfinished
\ngrading books. Add the handbook, and CTL will become a new
\nsyllabus monster that creates more problems than solutions for
\nteachers.<\/p>\n
Education reform will not succeed without teachers'
\nparticipation. This is a key concept that does not need fancy
\nresearch to prove. Indeed, educationalists must help formal CTL
\ntrainers by simplifying handouts and training to a functional
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, we should also give teachers an option that
\nallows them to learn about CTL in depth. This functional approach
\ncan be divided into two strategies: training-wheel and scenario-
\ndriven. The training-wheel strategy provides limited information
\nand most of the basics of CTL practice in the classroom from A to
\nZ and in a linear fashion.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, if the teachers have comprehended the subject
\nmatter and know how to implement it, then we can introduce the
\nscenario-driven strategy that allows teachers to read and learn
\nabout the background, theory and philosophy of the CTL method.
\nThis strategy will open an important option for teachers to
\ninvent new kinds of CTL concepts that work in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The late Lev Semenovich Vygotsky suggests that learners must
\nhave a good base of knowledge and skills before learning at
\nhigher levels. He called this idea the ZPD, or Zone of Proximal
\nDevelopment. Using this approach, we should know how to select
\nteachers who can implement CTL.<\/p>\n
Teachers who have problems in teaching using regular methods
\nshould be trained with the training-wheel strategy. We can use
\nthe scenario-driven strategy for teachers who are succeeding in
\ntheir regular teaching activities.<\/p>\n
All attempts to implement seminal concepts in education like
\nCTL are worth trying. Hopefully, we can create a genuine
\nteaching and learning system that has sound roots in our country.
\nWe cannot just stop with the teaching manuals handed over by
\ninternational aid agencies and donor countries.<\/p>\n
We must invent or at least improvise. By creating our own
\nmethods and systems, we can contribute our own breakthroughs in
\neducation to the world. Our children, regardless their socio-
\neconomic background, deserve only the best from us.<\/p>\n
The writer is a Boston University graduate and serves as a
\npart-time faculty member of the International Undergraduate
\nProgram at Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/revisiting-contextual-teaching-learning-methods-1447893297",
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