SNP 2023

Synopsis of Talk – Rethinking Science Education

The world today is characterized by grand challenges such as climate change, food sustainability, energy crisis and novel diseases. Science education in the 21st century is also reinventing itself to prepare our students to meet the demands made by changes in the larger landscape. In this talk, I will discuss how integrated STEM learning can potentially be one way to enhance students’ learning experiences so that they develop competences to engage with applications and utilization of science and technology at all levels, including personal, local, national and global contexts to participate meaningful to create a more sustainable future.

Building a Learning Community for Educational Transformation

Lesson study has become a popular professional development program in Indonesia. Since lesson study was initially introduced as MGMP activity, the purpose of lesson study is generally perceived as pursuing the efficient delivery of the curriculum and improving academic achievements. One of the challenges is that the bureaucratic competitive school culture discourages the collaborative learning of teachers and students intended by lesson study. In the bureaucratic environment, teachers are often afraid to be criticized and cannot share their classroom issues with their colleagues. In a competitive school culture, students are afraid to make mistakes and there was little incentive to support their friends.

Education transformation is not a drastic and fast change. It is the accumulation of small and gradual changes. SLC is helpful in embedding caring learning culture in daily educational activities. It encourages the reconstruction of school culture to more collaborative one and fosters the professional autonomy of teachers. Using an example from a case of school reform in Bandung, I discuss how SLC can support schools to provide the holistic educational experience in the era of the post-COVID-19 Merdeka Curriculum. SLC can induce a “quiet revolution” and create a rewarding experience for students, teachers, and other educational stakeholders.