Kurikulum Merdeka - Being a Constructivist Teacher, Ready?

Released on Gema Widyakarya PGRI No. 07/Th.XXVII/2022

By: Ahmad Bachtiar Zen (Bach)

             Do you know what has already been a trending topic, today? Do you also know what topic teachers always discuss, nowadays? Ya. It is Independence Curriculum or Freedom Curriculum (read: Kurikulum Merdeka). Since Nadiem Makarim, Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has already launched the curriculum, it has been the main issue in the education field. At every single moment, the teachers talk about it.

            So, then, what? What is exactly the curriculum? What is the different point of curriculum design from the previous one? What approach is adopted? Discussing more it, especially for the curriculum design Keputusan Kepala Badan Standar, Kurikulum, dan Asesmen Pendidikan Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Nomor 008/H/Kr/2022 tentang Capaian Pembelajaran pada Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, Jenjang Pendidikan Dasar, dan Jenjang Pendidikan Menengah pada Kurikulum Merdeka that the curriculum is based on the constructivist approach introduced by Piaget and Vygotsky.  The main ideas of the theories explain that students learn by interacting with their environment.

            Now, what is the constructivist approach? Is it similar to the approach we applied in the previous curriculum? In order to get the answer, let us know what the approach is. The government expects that when the curriculum is based on the approach, the student's skills, knowledge, and characters will be automatically improved.

            In correlating with applying for the constructivist approach benefits, Dr. BADA, Steve Olusegun, Department of the Psychology Federal University of Education, Kano in his journal entitled Constructivism Learning Theory: A Paradigm for Teaching and Learning explains that there are several benefits of constructivism. They are: (1) the students can learn more, and enjoy their learning when they want to be actively involved, rather than passively (2) the process of learning works best when it focuses on the way how the students think and understand, rather than memorize, (3) it is transferable. (4) it gives the students authority on what they will learn since it is based on their questions and explorations, and also they are involved in designing the assessments as well, (5) facilitating learning activities in an authentic, contextual, approach stimulates the students. In constructivist classrooms, the student learns to ask things and to apply their natural curiosity of thought globally, (6) by providing a classroom environment, the approach improves social and communication skills.

            The benefits explain to us that the approach understands the students’ needs and expectations. It also supports Independent Curriculum or Freedom Curriculum (read; Kurikulum Merdeka) that curriculum has a varied intra-curricular program that is expected to be optimal in content and to give much time for the students to explore the concept to strengthen their own competencies. What does it mean? It means that a teacher is not the only one who controls the learning process. The students have the authority to choose their own needs to accomplish their learning achievements.

            As Steve Olusegun quotes Tam's (2000) book entitled Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology: Implications for Transforming Distance Learning. Educational Technology and Society, explain that as teachers, we can apply the approach in order to support the learning process. It is because of the characteristics of the constructivist learning environment itself.  In other words, when we want to implement the approach including the constructivist instructional strategies in our learning process, we will find that the learning process will find the learning objective we expect, properly. It is because the basic characteristics of the constructivist learning environments emphasize:

1)         Teachers and students have their own authority to share knowledge

2)         The authority can be shared by teachers and students.

3)         One of the teacher’s functions is as a facilitator or guide.

4)         A group of learning has small quantities of varied students.

            Now, are we ready to be constructivist teachers? If we are, what should we prepare? What should we also provide our students in our class? In order to answer the questions, it is better for us to know the pedagogical objectives of constructivist learning environments in detail.

            Talking about the objective of constructivist learning environments, Steve Olusegun quotes Honebein's (1996) book entitled Seven goals for the design of constructivist learning environments. Constructivist Learning Environments: Case Studies in Instructional Design describes seven objectives as follows:

1)       To provide experience with the process of knowledge construction, inside (here the students need to determine how they will learn).

2)       To provide experience in and appreciation for multiple views (possible solutions evaluation).

3)       To insert realistic contextual learning (authentic assessments).

4)       To support possession and a voice in the process of learning (student-centered).

5)       To insert learning into the social experience (collaboration).

6)       To support the multiple modes of use of representation, (video, audio text, etc.)

7)       To support awareness of the process of knowledge construction (reflection, metacognition).

            Now, it’s already been reasonable and clear enough that the government adopts the approach to our curriculum. Then, How? Are we ready to apply the approach to our learning process in class? Are we ready to be constructivist teachers? Of course, we’re always ready to apply it. Hopefully, the curriculum will bring our students not only their own best competencies and characteristics but they can also achieve their best target or goal in the future.

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Learning Loss, How to mitigate?

Released on Gema Widyakarya PGRI No. 05/Th.XXVII/2022

By: Ahmad Bachtiar Zen (Bach)

Recently, continuing the pandemic curriculum or the emergency curriculum (KD), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), Nadiem Makarim introduces a prototype curriculum. It is a curriculum that had had an improvement and a purification process. The curriculum is much simpler than the 2013 curriculum. It is independent/Merdeka Curriculum or Kurikulum Merdeka. Sri Wahyuningsih,, Director of Elementary Schools of the ministry's Directorate General of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and Secondary Education curriculum stated in one of her interviews that the curriculum is one of the government's efforts to increase students' and parents’ high motivation in having the online learning. (ANTARA/Rizka Khaerunnisa, Resinta S) Based on Nadiem the Merdeka Curriculum has an objective to get back from learning losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to recover from learning losses, Maria Kite, one of the team members of the school planner in her article at https://www.schoolplanner.com entitled 7 Strategies to Help Mitigate Learning Loss explains seven strategies to mitigate learning loss. They are

1.      Spiraling Methods used to teach the Essential Skills

The focus of the method is on the common reviewing of certain topics. Using the method, the students will be presented with the same materials several times. One thing we need to remember is that the materials stay in the student’s mind only in the short term. It may only be a month or so. They may not have the material anymore, after. The method is useful for getting the material into long-term memory.

2.      Focus on Materials that Fulfill the Qualifications for the Future Learning

One thing we should do as a teacher before presenting learning in our class is identifying all materials that is a prerequisite to further learning. We also need to determine the standards of basic learning and courses that students will need to take. Hopefully, it will help them to decide exactly what to include next year.

3.      Create Extra Classes for Specific Lessons

Here, it’s important to create extra materials and courses that will make students learn this material as fast and comprehensively as possible. Building short materials is a good way to get a specific material in a short time.

4.      Use Personalized Planners

When the students affect or struggle, they need a hand to administer their time and line of duty and a planner that is arranged around their particular curriculum can assist them to stay on the path.

5.      Focus on Embodiment

The followings are ways teachers can get easily illustrate lesson plans, teaching methods, and curriculum.

·         Work together – A teacher who works with a student should assist him/her

·         Customize – After working together, we can then customize our materials and teaching methods in several areas that may help mitigate learning loss.

·         Evaluate – Start by having baseline evaluations before customized learning starts. Conduct short assessments in every few weeks to once a month. It is to determine if our learning techniques work.

·         Mediate – After each evaluation, plan mediation that is specific. It is necessary for the students who need the most help.

6.      Popularize Project Based Learning

Project-based learning employs students in real-world problem-solving. The teacher can prepare a project that can be carried out and last anywhere from a week to a semester. Problem-solving, critical thinking, and a variety of collaboration and communication techniques should be included in the project. The projects in long term can provide the students several profits especially when we attempt to mitigate learning loss.

·         Combining Several Majors at the Same Time – When the students are working on a project, they are often learning several majors and applying different learning standards at once.

·         Connecting Academics and Real-Life Situations – The scenarios will provide high motivation for learning.

·         Assists-on Experience – Learning and retaining more knowledge instead of listening or even watching an activity are always done by the students.

·         Getting better at Student Teamwork – When the students learn something they don’t get it only from their teacher, but also from others (read: their friends). The activity is a great way for them to help mitigate learning loss.

7.      Affect Families and Communities

There are a few ways can families and communities do in order to reduce learning loss.

·         Develop Communication among Family Members– There are so many ways to develop communication among family members. One of the ways is informing parents of date and relevant educational information. It will help parents in accompanying the learning process and mitigating learning loss.

·         Bring in a Class Parent – we can ask our students’ parents to involve in the learning process activity. We can ask them to lead reading circles or help with math tutoring. It can be conducted for one or two hours every week.

·         Encourage Experts or Professionals into the Class – Experts or professionals can be involved in a learning process. It is a great way to make interesting and fun learning for students.

·         Send Students into the Community – It is a great way to send our students to the community, including having an interview and working beside local professionals.

We know that there are so many ways for us to mitigate our students’ learning loss. At least the seven strategies explained by Maria Kite have already been one of our references to apply when we find the condition. Hopefully, we’ll always find the best way to create our best students.

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