INSTRUCTIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN SCIENCE THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CULTURE-BASED TEACHING STRATEGY
Ucu Rahayu1, Yumiati2 and Paulina Pannen3
1Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Indonesia Universitas Terbuka, PO BOX 6666, Jakarta 10001, Indonesia
2Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Indonesia Universitas Terbuka, PO BOX 6666, Jakarta 10001, Indonesia
3SEAMOLEC, Jakarta, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses results of the study on implementation of the culture-based teaching strategy (CBTS) at undergraduate students of primary school teacher training of Indonesia Universitas Terbuka in course of Material and Instructional Science in Primary School. The sample were one study group from Tangerang District as an experiment class and one study group from Serang District as a standard of comparison class. Prior to and at the end of the implementation, undergraduate students of experiment class were given a questioner on perception of culture based teaching strategy. Pretest and posttest were given to both classes.
Data were analyzed to see the affectivity of implementation of CBTS. The affectivity of implementation of CBTS was gained from the students’ perception on CBTS before and after teaching learning process, situation in the experimental class during the implementation of CBTS, and the increase of student’s achievement. The students’ perception and situation in the experimental class were analyzed by qualitative descriptive, and the increase of student achievement was analyzed statistically by using t’ test.
It was found that the implementation of CBTS had improved the instructional quality of science.
Key words: science, culture, teaching strategy, instructional quality improvement.
Introduction
The average of Indonesian primary school’ students achievement in science was low. It was around 3.33 to 6.17 (Wiratno.2004). The lowness was not only caused by students but also teachers. Teachers had been driven to be on the target of completing curriculum, whereas its curriculum overloaded with subject matter. In that case, the teachers had no time and space to be creative in designing and delivering their teaching and learning process.
Globalization had effected on shifting the value of national culture. A lot of young generation felt strange to their culture. They only knew a few traditional art and games whereas the traditional games and arts were parts of national culture that had to be preserved.
Based on those, a meaningful learning must be created and creatively designed, so the interaction and negotiation among teachers and students to create and construct a meaning or sense occurred. To achieve this condition, it was needed series of knowledge and skills of the teacher as a learning designer to apply some learning strategy including the use of art and local culture as a learning media. The implementation of art and local culture in learning and teaching process was a creative strategy to create a meaningful learning.
This paper discusses results of the study on implementation of the culture-based teaching strategy at undergraduate students of primary school teacher training of Indonesia Universitas Terbuka in course of Material and Instructional Science in Primary School. The sample were one study group from Tangerang District as an experiment class and one study group from Serang District as a standard of comparison class. Prior to and at the end of the implementation, undergraduate students of experiment class were given a questioner on perception of culture based teaching strategy. Pretest and posttest were given to both classes, the experimental and the standard of comparison class. Pretest was given to know the first knowledge and preparation of the undergrad students and posttest were given after teaching-learning process to know the undergrad students’ achievement
Culture-Based Teaching Strategy
Culture based teaching strategy (CBTS) was a strategy to create learning environment and to design experiential study that integrated culture as a part of learning process. CBTS was based on an acknowledgment of culture as a fundamental education, expression, ideal communication and development of knowledge. (Pannen.2004). In CBTS, culture was able to be integrated as a media of learning, that intended to motivate students to apply their knowledge, to cooperate with other students in a group, to show link among concepts in a course or more than one course.
Culture and arts in the culture-based teaching strategy included songs, folktales, handicraft, statue, painting, poem, cultural preservation places, dances, traditional costumes and accessories, tools.
According to Pannen (2004), CBTS included:
1. Teaching and learning of culture and arts as a science.
2. Teaching and learning with culture and arts was where culture served as tools and objects for learning
3. Teaching and learning through culture and arts was where culture and arts served as multiple representations or forms of expression of understanding on scientific principles of subject matters.
Instructional Science in Primary School.
Based on the curricula of Science in Primary School (Karim.2005), competencies that should be achieved by students of Primary School were :
1. able to have a scientific attitude especially focuses on cooperation and curiosity.
2. able to translate the natural behavior around the students and surrounding of the school and students’ home.
3. able to understand the process of formation of science and do scientific inquiry through observation and a few simple research.
4. able to use science and to design a simple technology product with applying scientific principles and able to manage surrounding of the school and students’ home, able to give an idea to solve negative effect of technology surrounding the school and students’ home.
Besides, the phase of thinking of students of Primary school had not been formal yet. In this phase, students had not been able to think logically. It caused science was a subject matter was not relatively easy for the students.
Based on the characteristic of science and the phase of thinking of primary school’ students, Yager in Budiastra (2001) suggested that in teaching and learning science in primary school, teacher should:
1. receive and motivate their students to give ideas or initiative.
2. identify and consider students’ response
3. motivate their students to interact among them and or the teacher.
4. ask questions to motivate their students to think
5. involve students in an activity and then motivate them to reflect in daily life.
Material and Instructional Science in Primary School.
The course of Material and Instructional Science in Primary School was a compulsory course for undergraduate students of primary school teacher training of Indonesia Universitas Terbuka. The competencies that should be achieved by the students after attending this course were that students were able to examine science and to discuse theories of learning and new approach in instructional education including constructivism, interactive learning, STS (Science, technology and Society) strategy. The course included Sex Education, Fluids, Adaptation and Evolution, Genetics, Introduction to Organics and Biochemistry, Principles of Biotechnology, Electronics, Models Learning in Science, and Preference Learning in Science.
The advantage of this course was that students were able to apply their knowledge to their daily life.
The characteristics of undergraduate students of primary school teacher training of Indonesia Universitas Terbuka.
Undergraduate students of primary school teacher training of Indonesia Indonesia Universitas Terbuka were teachers of primary school (in-service training programs) that had some characteristics, i.e.: their experience in teaching minimal for 3 years, their educational background were DII PGSD UT, and their age between 23 to 47 years old.
Methodology of Study
Population of the study was undergraduate students of primary school teacher training of Indonesia Universitas Terbuka who took course Material and Instructional Science of Primary School of registration period of 2006.1. The sample of undergrad students was 26 students for the experimental class (in tangerang District), and 32 students for the standard of comparison class (in Serang District). The experimental class was the class which implemented CBTS, however, the standard of comparison class was the class which implemented traditional learning strategy. The study was conducted from April to June 2006.
The study was done by stages:
1. Delivering pretest in the experimental and the standard of comparison class, and giving questioner survey I in the experimental class prior to the implementation of CBTS.
2. Implementation of CBTS in the experimental class and implementation traditional learning strategy in the standard comparison class.
3. Delivering posttest in the experimental and the standard of comparison class, and giving questioner survey 2 in the experimental class at the end of implementation of CBTS.
4. Interviewing with the tutor about her impression after implementation of CBTS.
Data were analyzed to see the affectivity of implementation of CBTS. The affectivity of implementation of CBTS was gained from the students’ perception on CBTS before and after teaching learning process, situation in the experimental class during implementation of CBTS, and student’s achievement.
The students’ perception and situation in the experimental class were analyzed by qualitative descriptive, and the increase of student achievement was analyzed statistically by using t’ test.
The Result of Study
1. The undergrad students’ perception on CBTS
Generally, the undergrad student’s perception on CBTS was positive.
a. all undergrad students (100%) needed to learn culture and art to wide their knowledge, to remind art and cultural community, to avoid stress of students in learning science, to respect and sustain local culture, and to create enjoy situation in the class.
b. 70% undergrad students agreed to study science by using art and cultural media in order to create enjoy learning and teaching in the class, and to make a sense of learning. However, others (30%) did not agree. They assumed that science was a scientific matter, but culture and art were not.
c. The forms of culture and art that could be implemented in the course of material and instructional Science were model/picture (60%), music and song (35%), local food (25%), drama (20%), historic, fable (15%), dance (15%), and local games (5%). They assumed that those forms were able to help students to keep their knowledge longer, to give direct experience, to make study more interesting, and to make easier students in understanding of a concept or theory.
d. 82% undergrad students agreed if other courses were delivering by CBTS. The reason was that CBTS was able to encourage their study, to grow creativity and critical thinking. However, 18% assumed that the implementation of CBTS depended on the theme or subject matter since not all theme /topics could be taught by CBTS.
e. There were some things need to be improved: a) more media should be prepared, b) CBTS needs more time, so it needed a good planning in teaching –learning.
2. Situation in the class during the implementation of CBTS
Compare to the standard of comparison class, situation of the experimental class was livelier. It was caused by the undergrad students in this class were more active and creative. For example, undergrad students were able to explain to other undergrad students about adaptation process through looking at model of butterfly with several different background as their surrounding before tutor had explained it; Undergrad students looked more enthusiasm when they were asked to bastard some organisms with one, two, or more different characteristics by using models of genetics button and chess board. The activity, enthusiasm, initiative, creativity of undergrad students could bee seen in group discussion or class discussion. They seemed to be interested and motivated in teaching learning process.
3. Tutor’s impression after the implementation CBTS.
Based on interviewing with the tutor, we found that CBTS forced tutor to be more creative, had an understanding and knew more about culture. CBTS could be quite hard to be implemented for teachers/tutor/lecturer that did not have a lot of knowledge of art and culture. The implementation of CBTS also needed a good planning in time and needed more money to prepare the media. Besides, it was quite difficult to choose media that suitable for the topics.
4. Undergrad Students’ Achievement
Student’s achievement was calculated based on the increase of score of pretest and posttest. The increase of student’s achievement of the experimental class and the standard class was compared and then it was calculated by t’ test.
The increase score that were calculated by t’ test can be read in the table below.
Table 1 the increase sore were calculated by t’ test
No / Topic / Average the increase Score / Degree of Freedom / Significance level / t calculate / t tableE / S
1 / Pretest –posttest one / 85,9 / 69,14 / 41 / 0.05 / 2,43 / 2.03
2 / Pretest- posttest two / 66,07 / 31,63 / 49 / 0.001 / 8.29 / 3.5
E: experimental class
S: standard comparison class
That result could be seen in the bar diagram as follow.
The diagram showed that the first ability of students of classes, the experimental and the standard of comparison class were relatively similar. The average score of pretest 1 of the experimental class was little bit higher than that of the standard class. Then, the average score of pretest 2 of the experimental class was little bit lower than that of the standard class. However, the score of posttest 1 and 2 of the experimental class was much higher than those of the standard class. Finally, the increased score of the experimental class much higher than that of the standard of comparison class.
Analyzing the data by using t’test, we found that t (calculated) higher that t (table). It showed that undergrad student’ achievement of the experimental class that implemented CBTS was higher significantly than that of the standard of comparison class that implemented traditional strategy.
Conclusions and suggestion
Conclusions
The study showed that learning quality had improved by the implementation of Culture Based Teaching Strategy. It could be seen from situation of the class; the learning was more meaningful, more interesting for students and teachers, and more joyful. Students were easier to learn topics, more active and more creative. Besides, students were able to see the link among concepts within a course and two or more courses in science and culture. Besides, they gained comprehensive and integrative understanding between science and culture that could be used as a fundamental of critical thinking. The other side, through CBTS, tutor or teacher or lecturer could be more creative in teaching and learning process. Furthermore, the implementation of CBTS had increased significantly student’s achievement.