Assessment as the Power of Learning Process

Reflective journal

What will come up in your mind, when you hear the word “assessment” in first time? What do you think of this word? Assessment has quite tight relationship with score and assignments. They exist because of the assessment. Assessment is also a part of assignment and score is the measurement to measure assessment. Assessment comes after the assignment given by the teacher.

According to me, the learners mostly have different feeling when they hear the word assessment.  The learners feel uncomfortable with this word, even until student of university whereas, this words have they heard since they joined in the elementary school.  Besides, they have various feeling about this words. They feel getting bored, worried, afraid, and even they hate this word like they want to destroy this word by bomb.

Assessment is used by the teacher is to know how far student understanding and mastering the topics of the material. The important think of the assessment does not only want to get high score in certainly the topics but the knowledge of those topics. Life is not always under the score. Score is made by the human, so it means that the score which is given only covers what extent human expectation and views on the topics. The score only consists of one until ten numbers. It is not fair if measuring the intelligences of someone only by the score moreover, by paper pencil test only. The successful of someone is not only measured by the highest score. In fact, there are many factors which determine someone success, for instance emotional question and the power of environmental sociability.

The assessment consists of two kinds. They are conventional model and standards-based model. The conventional model, is one of the instruction models which uses the old or ordinary way  for instance paper and pencil test while standards-based model is the new model in assessment for instance performances, exhibition, presentation, role-play and so on.  However, both conventional model and standards-based model have strength and weakness in each function. In assessment also, there are summative assessment and formative assessment. The summative assessment is assessment which used in the end of the session, for instance final examination test while the formative assessment is assessment which used in the during of the session happened, for instance daily assessment in the class by doing the test, or presentation for particular topic in the group.

What have I learnt in the previous session of the PETA, was something useful for my life. As the candidate of the teacher, assessment is something important because by doing assessment I can know the right way to assess my students. I can practice this way when I teach my private students. I can use this concept as a part of my way in assessing my students. Also, from this topic, I can realize what should I do, and I do not do as a teacher. For the reason, assessment has motivation influence to the students. That is why as a teacher I have to guide and lead my students to have high motivation.

In the previous meeting, PETA worked success in transferring the material to my brain. I felt confused on how assessment role in teaching and assessment, but after I got this lecture, I could understand it although sometimes I still feel vague about the type of the assessment which uses the government or some institution which does not consider about the validity aspect and reliability aspect, but overall I felt happy. For the next meeting, I hope the topics and the activity will be more interested, amazing, and having fun in learning.

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About Models of Instruction

            Well, in this opportunity, I would like to share about my opinion when I got previous meeting in PETA’s session. In that session, I got material about Models of instruction which defined some topics. The topics were Cooperative Learning, Differentiated Instruction, and developing lesson plan.

            According to my opinion, cooperative learning is one of the instruction models which focus on the student. It can be said that cooperative learning is Student Center Learning (SCL). When the teacher conducts the teaching and learning process, he can manage the class by making a group discussion to the students. The teacher does not only focus on the material but also he can see the students’ ability in the team work. The teacher can make the group after he explains what topics will he teaches after that the teacher gives some materials for each group.

            For each group, they can discuss the materials which they get from the teacher. In this situation and condition, the students can cooperate each other’s. They can discuss through their knowledge based on the materials.  They can take part each other to cope the problem in the material. They also can learn the materials from their friend’s presentation, so the teacher can see the students’ ability in delivering presentation in front of the class.

            By using Cooperative Learning Models, the students can get many advantages from this models in which students do not only learn from the teacher, but also from their friends. Furthermore, students can interact with others in the group discussion. They can ask to other groups if they are still confused about the materials. In this case, teacher has a function as a facilitator in this class. He gives clear explanation after the students presentation whether their presentation  are full enough or not, even if their explanations are rather vague but I think, this instruction model will face the obstacle if the students cannot observe and analyze toward the materials which the teacher given because they work in group. They discuss the material with their selves although in the end of their presentation the teacher will gives them explanation, so as the teacher he should consider students’ ability in analysis thinking, he should consider among the difficulties grade of the material, the students ability and the students grade of the class.

            In differentiated model, teacher should realize that every students are different, even they are unique. They have different in learning strategy and their learning styles. They also have different in their life-background, confidence, cultural/ethnic influences, cognitive abilities, and their socioeconomic and family factor. In this case, the teacher should consider all those factors. Based on those factors, teacher should create the classroom management which can cover all those factors, so that the students can get involve with the learning process and the teacher can deliver the material well.

            The lesson plan is one of the important things in teaching and learning process. It has relationship with the instruction models such as cooperative learning and differentiated instruction. They can work well if the development of the lesson plan is good. That is why in development of the lesson plan, the teacher should consider to the students character as seen in differentiated instruction models. By considering this points, the teacher can make the lesson plan becomes appropriate with the students characters and the instruction models. Finally, the teaching and learning process will be success as what teacher purposed in the objectives and indicator of the lesson plan.

            Overall, the instruction models and the development of the lesson plan are the important things. From these points, I can know that students are unique. That is why if they cannot understand the lesson, it doesn’t mean that they are stupid but, they have some different style in learning for instance, they can only learn by audio and kinesthetic style while the teacher only explains the lesson by visualization they will not understand it. For me as a teacher candidate, I have to be able in these points, so that I can conduct teaching and learning process well.

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More ways, more better in language learning

Teachers have to be creative thinker and innovation thinker. Not only that, teachers also have to be forward thinker. They have to imagine what are going to happen in the class if they want to teach some topics whether it will work well or not. In this case the teachers have to prepare good materials, lesson plan, teaching aids and performance. Even, they have to prepare in their Models of Instruction.

In the previous meeting of PETA session, I have learnt about The Models of Instruction. According to what I have learnt, The Models of Instruction consisted of four kinds. They are Guided discovery, Group Interaction, Direct Interaction, and lecture discussion.

·         Guided Discovery.

In this model teacher only guide the students to understand the material. By asking the questions which are lead them to master the topic, teacher will encourage the students to think critically and find the answer by themselves. In this model, pupils can work in pair or group with leading by the teacher.

·         Group Interaction

In this model, the center of the learning is students. Pupils will work in group. They will get some cases about issues and the students have to discuss them to their group’s members. It is good for the silent person because it can force them to speak up. It can increase student’s intrinsic motivation. By using this model, teacher also can make the students to know each other because they can interact face to face.

·         Direct Interaction

By using this model, the center of the learning will focus on the teacher. Teacher only gives the material and explains directly to the students. It really helps the students to acquire the material because they can get explanation from the teacher. But it can make the students to get bored.

·         Lecture Discussion

In this model, teacher will give lectures but the students will not work in group. The teacher will not only explain the material to the whole of the class but also teacher will ask the students one by one through their opinion about the topics. Afterwards, the teachers make clarification from all of the students’ opinions. These  activities can be called by two ways communications.

All of the models of instruction are very useful. The students can feel happy in learning language, if the teachers use those models based on the objective of the lesson.

In teaching and learning process, the teachers have to consider to what the models of instruction they have to use. Whatever models they want to use, it does not mean that they have to use only one model. They have to look at the objectives, the course and condition of the class. Besides, all of the models are good. It depends on the teacher in using them. They can combine all of the models in order to reach the objectives of lesson plan. Overall, I think this topic is interested because I can get more knowledge on how to make some good ways in language teaching.

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Good Personal Identity, Good Multiculturalism- (third Individual Essay)

 

            One of the very important things in life is Personal Identity. Every people have different Personal Identity. As a human I have to keep well my Personal Identity because this is my characteristics. People can identify others by seeing at others Personal Identity. Besides, without Personal Identity, I cannot know what life is, who I am and what my destination is in this life. Also, without Personal Identity, Human cannot know each other, I cannot recognize others people and people cannot recognize me.

Personal Identity consists of two kinds. They are physical Personal Identity and Inner Personal Identity. Physical Personal Identity is identities that can be identified easily. It can see from shape of the body, color skin, dimple, name, height, name, address, day and date of the birth, age, gender, categorization of the blood, and so forth. Meanwhile, Inner Personal Identity is Identities which cannot be identified from outside. To know this Personal Identity, it can be seen from people characteristics, for instances the way their speaking, whether the people is diligent or lazy, in terms of their vision and mission, whether they are angry or patient persons, whether they are kind or wicked persons and so on.

Through Personal Identity, Life is begun. By having Personal Identity we can know everything. We can also know what the meaning of life itself. We can know others name, knowing each other, and make good relationship to others. So, life can be easier if people can know their Personal Identity well. If we have known our Personal Identities well, then we can see others Personal Identity. After we know others well, then it can help us to make good relationship to others.

Personal Identity also consists of traditions, cultures, religions, races, ethnics, languages, traditional dances, and so on, which are different each other. Indonesia has all these characters. That is why people in Indonesia call those by Multiculturalism. Although every people are different backgrounds of them, people should have good unity. It means that people have to build respectable to the others, let them believe and worship to their God, do not to force them to follow what we are belief, and do not bother them.

If we can respect each other well, the Multiculturalism in our country will work well. If multiculturalism and respectability can work harmoniously, the democracy will also work well because multiculturalism has important role in unity aspect. However, sometimes those are still have problems. Because of having not good Personal Identity, multiculturalism only becomes enemy. For example, when President Soeharto era, multiculturalism becomes the thing that always emerges conflict. That is why if we want to held something, we do not have to contain SARA (ethnic group, religion, and race).

Multiculturalisme can work well if every people have good Personal Identity. We have to build solid foundation. If foundation is strong, the building will be strong also. We have to have good personality, good behavior, good understanding and good characters. We have to know our Personal Identity well. The important thing is after we have good Personal Identity, then we can build respectability well to others. By building all of those foundations Multiculturalisme will run well. Finally, the democracy will work well also.

           

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Learning English vs. Technology- topics seven and eight

Learning English is one of the most difficulties things for the students in the school. They are the students who are in elementary school, junior high school and senior high school. It also happens to the student of the university. Most of them think that English is difficult, isn’t it? Yeah, they may say like so, but for me now learning English will be easier. Do you know why I think like so? It is because of the technology. Yeah technology is one of the wonderful powers in this twentieth century. By using technology, we can do everything we want to. It has many functions for learning English. Again, by using the technology learning English will be more interesting.

I can see from the seven and eight meeting of the session in Teaching and language learning, that when I want to learn and teaching English so I have to be able to integrate between technology and language learning.  I feel so impressed when I see that there are so many more websites or a links who can be as the resource for the teacher. It means that the English teacher can arrange the lesson plan to become a nice learning by using technology.

Technology can be part of the main point in learning English. It is because of the students. The students are the newest generation. They are also called by “The Digital Generation”. The students are clever who have several multiple intelligences and differences the way their learning in English. So, they are going to have sophisticated skill in up to date technology. It also means that as a teacher later, I have to be skillful in using technology otherwise the students will ignore me and get bored.

Speaking and listening are the chunk of the skills in English. Those are the skills can be learnt easily by technology. The technology provides several links from the good western websites. From the websites, the students can practice their listening via movie and sound. The technology also can help the students in pronunciations about some rather difficult vocabularies. The teacher also should pay attention to the type of the strategies in English teaching. For example: natural hypothesis, monitor hypothesis, input hypothesis and so on. They should be appropriate to the students.

From this sessions, I can see that when I want to teach, I have to know deeper about the topics itself. It also can related to the cognitive, affective and psychometric of the students. Overall, I like this meeting, because I can see the differences of the way in teaching and learning process, besides I can use language laboratories and can browse websites related to the speaking and listening English.

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MALL or CALL?

Well, in this opportunity I would like to share on my class session about technology in language learning. Among Technology, teaching and learning process are the thing that has quite important relationship. In this era, teaching and learning process can be nice and interesting thing because the teachers use technology in every single time of their teaching. But it does not happen to all of the school in Indonesia. It depends on the facilities of the school. By using technology, teaching and learning process especially language, can be easier. Besides, technology can support in teaching and learning process. It can be proved by video, slide presentation, tape-recorder and so on.

During the class session, I felt impressed because I have never known before that technology especially in this case mobile phone can assist learning and teaching process. I could know that formerly, in teaching and learning process there were not technology that can be integrated in language learning. People who used mobile phone with antenna on its cell phone at that time were the rich persons. The mobile phone that they used also was not up to date if it compared with now. But at the time, it was a sophisticated technology.  

Mobile-Assisted Language Learning or MALL is one of media that can help the teacher in teaching and learning language. Again, mobile phone is a portable technology. So, it will make easier in the usage. Another media that can help teaching and learning language is CALL or Computer-Assisted Language Learning. Call can help the teacher also but in this case, I think CALL is better than MALL because CALL can do everything rather than MALL. I can see from its sophisticated software and ability.  

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A Happy Life by Teaching

Well, in this meeting, PETA class session only gave some instructions to every group of the class to do some simulation on how to teach the students, based on the lesson plan that was made by each group itself. It was really amazing for me because the persons who became the students were my friends. It was incredible, right? I was very comfortable because of the condition. We supported each others. Again, I think it was proof based on what every group wrote in the flipchart whether the group could apply their lesson plan well or not.

As a generation of high quality teacher, I have to pay attention too much to the lesson plan because lesson plan is a preparation before teaching the students. From the lesson plan I can know how to teach the students well. The lesson plan can become guidelines for me as a teacher to teach the students. I have learnt many thing about lesson plan in the first semester and now in the third semester  again I am getting a same material about lesson plan but in this opportunity I have find out deeper on lesson plan. Not only understand what lesson plan exactly is but also I have to  be able how to make good lesson plan and understanding how to use lesson plan in the real situation of teaching and learning process.

When I teach the students it is a nice thing. I can feel how feeling teachers who teach in front of the students. When the simulation turn of my friend and me, I believed to myself that I must be able to do it. Although teaching in front of the students who are exactly not real the students grade level as my friend and I wanted to teach, but I think it is time for me. It is time to explore and sharpen my skill in language teaching.

Not only teaching but as a teacher I have to educate my students. When I was in senior high school, one of my teachers has ever said that being a teacher is not easy. Not everyone can be a teacher. Do you know why she said so? Because being a teacher we have to face humans not a thing. Moreover, being a teacher we do not only teach, but also we have to educate them. May be for those people who are smart they can teach, but not certainly can educate people. So, in this worth chance I am very proud of myself being a teacher.

 Teacher and teaching are part of the real life. Yeah, without both of them everything is nothing. Through my campus I can learn everything about teacher and teaching. Despite I have not graduated yet from the campus, but I believe that being a teacher is the best choice for my life. Again, I am looking forward to get beautiful knowledge later from my lecturer in every worth single time.

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