Workshop Curriculum 2013

Increasing Teacher’s Competency and Professionalism in Learning

INTRODUCTION

Based on Indonesian’s Law Number 20 year 2003 about the System National Education,

Article 1 point 19, it is explained that the curriculum is as a set of plans and arrangements

regarding the purpose, contents, and lessons’ materials and methods used as a guideline for

administration learning activities to achieve specific educational goals. Curriculum continues to

be developed based on current development. Through developments, it is expected that the

curriculum can answer the challenges of the times in prepare the nation's next generation.

In Indonesian history since1945, the educational curriculum has been changed several

times, in 1947, 1952, 1964,1968, 1975, 1984, 1994, 2004, 2006 and the newest applied in the

school year 2013. The amendment is a logical consequence of a change in the political system,

social, economic, and science and technology in the life of the people and of the nation.

(Sidiknas, 2012).

The issue of quality of education according to Fasli Jalal and Dedi Supriadi (2001)

related to (a) the quality of teachers and education personnel, including principals, supervisors,

overseers, (b) teaching curriculum, (c) teaching methods, (d) materials, (e)teaching aids, and (f)

manajemanen school. These six elements are interrelated in an effort to improve the quality of

teaching and learning, which sprout on improving the quality of education.

In an effort to improve the quality and equity of education, the government has planned

an educational innovation by implementing Curriculum 2013, which is expected to produce

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Indonesian people productive, creative, innovative and effective through strengthening the

attitude (know why), skills (know how), and knowledge ( know what) integrated (Moh. Noah,

2013). Furthermore, Moh. Noah (2013) as Minister of Education and Culture expects that the

development of curriculum in 2013, in addition to provide answers to some of the problems

inherent to the curriculum in 2006, aims also to encourage learners or students, better able to

make observations, ask questions, reasoning, and communicating (present), what is obtained or

known after students receive learning materials.

Curriculum change is intended as a form of education reform in order to improve quality

of education. The changes are a logical consequence of the change of political system, socio-

cultural, economic, and science and technology in the community, state and nation. Therefore,

the curriculum as a set of educational plan needs to be developed dynamically in accordance

with the demands and changes in society. But, in the implementation of the new curriculum will

lead to differences in perception between the policy holder with stakeholders. Assuming that the

policy holder has a policy actors (teacher) does not like change, while on the side of the

teachers also believe that the policy holder does not understand the realities that occur during the

execution of the learning (Puskur, in Loeloek EP., 2008).

Implementing a new curriculum is one of the efforts made by the government

(Kemdikbud RI) to improve the quality of education. It is a necessity, because the curriculum

needs to be adjusted periodically to: (1) the vision and mission of the institution of education

providers; (2) the demands of society (including the job market); and (3) the development of

science and technology.

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 Curriculum 2013 was designed to prepare the Indonesian who has the ability to live, both

as individuals and citizens, who have a belief, who are productive, creative, innovative and

effective and able to contribute to society, nation, state, and world civilization. This objective

will be achieved if the Government and the entire community, especially teachers as a practice

learning agent, implement Curriculum 2013 in the best manner. Meanwhile, a lot of indicators

reveal that the efforts to improve the quality of our education until now, including curriculum

development, has not been able to improve the quality of education significantly. One of the

factors that caused them was the weakness of the implementation of the education quality

improvement efforts. It is undeniable that every turn of the school curriculum is always a turm

oil, due to the unpreparedness of the educational institution in implementing the new curriculum,

unpreparedness human and other resources, lack of socialization, and the attitude of rejecting the

curriculum. This fact is also related to the fact that the implementation of Curriculum 2013

which was carried out in piloting schools and started in the academic year of 2013/2014 did not

show a good implementation. The indication was based on the fact that among many school

subjects, only in three subjects the teachers and learning tools are ready. Those subjects are

Mathematics, Indonesian, and History. As to the other subjects, the syllabus, teachers’ books and

students’ books are not yet ready. The success in the implementation of a curriculum, including

Curriculum 2013, greatly depends on the teachers’ readiness and education institution (schools)

in preparing and implementing their learning process and assessment. This is understandable

because the quality of the education system is closely related to the quality of teachers.

A new curriculum is applied by the government in 2013/2014 is called Curriculum 2013

(Rumapea, 2013: 7). There are several reasons why we need to develop the curriculum become

curriculum 2013:

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 1. First, the changing of learning process (from students are being told, become students

have to find out)

2. The assessment process (from output-based being process and output- based), the

requirement of additional hours of the lessons

3. Trends of many countries increase their lesson hours

4. The Comparison with other countries show that the learning in Indonesia with other

countries are relative shorter.

There are at least two big factors in determining the success of the curriculum 2013.

a) First, the competency must be suitable for the educators and the educational personnel

(PTK) with curriculum and textbooks.

b) Second, supporting factors which consist of three elements:

1. Book availability as teaching materials and learning resources that

integrate the standard of curriculum,

2. Strengthening of government’s role

3. The strengthening of the government to the management and school

culture (Sidiknas, 2012).

There are two determining factors which influence the successful of the implementation of the

curriculum 2013,

 The teaching staff factor (teacher). Teacher professionalism in implementation of the

curriculum 2013 is an important thing.

 To teacher, there are at least four aspects that must be given special attention in

implementation of the curriculum 2013, i.e. pedagogical competence, academic

competence (scientific), social competence, and managerial competence or leadership.

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The teachers are expected to prepare and open themself to a few possibility of change. Teacher

readiness in the implementation of the curriculum 2013 is needed. This matter caused by the

2013 curriculum goals who want to encourage students to be able to do better observation, ask

questions, reason, and communicates (presenting), to what they get or what they know after

receiving material learning. Through these four goals students are expected to have attitude

competence, skills and knowledge much better than before. They will be more creative,

innovative and more productive. In this case, the teacher plays a big role inside implementing

each learning process in the curriculum 2013.Teachers in the future are required not only smart

but also adaptive to the changes (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2013). As a developed

curriculum, Curriculum 2013 hasn’t been understood yet by wider community, including by

teachers elementary school / middle junior high school / vocational high school (SD / SMP /

SMA / SMK). The curriculum is also not equipped with various supporting devices learning, like

syllabus, lesson plan (RPP), teaching materials, grading system, and others. Curriculum 2013 is

prepared to produce a generation that is ready to face the future. Target studying in the

curriculum 2013is not only competence but also character building of the students (Kaimuddin,

2014: 50). Therefore the curriculum is prepared to anticipate future developments. The Point is,

to motivate the students, capable of better at making observations, ask, understanding, and

communicating or present what they get or they know after receive learning material (Rumapea,

2013: 29). As for objects which is as learning structuring and refinement the curriculum 2013

emphasizes on natural, social, artistic, and culture. Different paradigms or patterns in the

preparation of the curriculum2004 and KTSP 2006 with the curriculum 2013 need to be

understood by teachers (Suharno, 2014: 149). This is as good as any remembrance curriculum

applied, if the teacher as the spearhead of the executive curriculum does not yet understand the

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curriculum that is being implemented, that curriculum certainly will not succeed to reach its

purpose (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2013: 4). From interview results with several

teachers, it is seen that elementary school teachers don’t understand the curriculum 2013

paradigm. So the teacher is still having trouble in implementing curriculum 2013 in the

classroom. Less understanding about the implementation of curriculum 2013 certainly is

worrying. Therefore, training is important regarding implementation curriculum 2013 based

learning.

The General Materials

What are teacher competencies?

Competencies are the skills and knowledge that enable a teacher to be successful. To

maximize student learning, teachers must have expertise in a wide-ranging array of competencies

in an especially complex environment where hundreds of critical decisions are required each day

(Jackson, 1990). Few jobs demand the integration of professional judgment and the proficient

use of evidence-based competencies as does teaching.

Why is this important?

The transformational power of an effective teacher is something many of us have

experienced. Intuitively, the link between teaching and student academic achievement may seem

obvious, but what is the evidence for it? Research confirms this common perception of a link and

reveals that of all factors under the control of a school, teachers are the most powerful influence

on student success (Babu & Mendro, 2003; Sanders & Rivers, 1996). What separates effective

teachers from ineffective ones, and how can this information be used to support better teaching?

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We can now begin to build a profile of exemplary classroom instruction derived from

effectiveness research (Wenglinsky, 2002; Hattie, 2009).

Which competencies make the biggest difference?

An examination of the research on education practices that make a difference shows that four

classes of competencies yield the greatest results.

1. Instructional delivery

2. Classroom management

3. Formative assessment

4. Personal competencies (soft skills)

Further, the research indicates that these competencies can be used to organize the numerous

specific skills and knowledge available for building effective teacher development.

1. Instructional delivery

Research tells us what can be expected from a teacher employing instructional strategies

and practices that are proven to lead to increased mastery of lessons. Better learning happens in a

dynamic setting in which teachers offer explicit active instruction than in situations in which

teachers do not actively guide instruction and instead turn control over content and pace of

instruction to students (Hattie, 2009).

2. Classroom management

Classroom management is one of the most persistent areas of concern voiced by school

administrators, the public, and teachers (Evertson & Weinstein, 2013). Research consistently

places classroom management among the top five issues that affect student achievement.

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3. Formative assessment

Effective ongoing assessment, referred to in education literature as formative assessment

and progress monitoring, is indispensable in promoting teacher and student success. It is

frequently listed at the top of interventions for school improvement (Walberg, 1999).

Feedback, a core component of formative assessment, is recognized as an essential tool

for improving performance in sports, business, and education. Hattie (2009) identified feedback

as the single most powerful educational tool available for improving student performance, with a

medium to large effect size ranging from 0.66 to 0.94.

Formative assessment consists of a range of formal and informal diagnostic testing

procedures, conducted by teachers throughout the learning process, for modifying teaching and

adapting activities to improve student attainment. Systemic interventions such as Response to

Intervention (RtI) and Data-Based Decision Making depend heavily on the use of formative

assessment (Hattie, 2009; Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001

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4. Personal competencies (soft skills)

An inspiring teacher can affect students profoundly by stimulating their interest in

learning. It is equally true that most students have encountered teachers who were uninspiring

and for whom they performed poorly. Unfortunately, effective and ineffective teachers have no

readily discernable personality differences. Some of the very best teachers are affable, but many

ineffective instructors can be personable and caring. Conversely, some of the best teachers

appear as stern taskmasters, but whose influence is enormous in motivating students to

accomplish things they never thought possible.

What soft skills do successful teachers have in common?

It is then classified and categorized some steps that a teacher can do to Increase teacher’s

competency and professionalism in learning.;

a) Preparing lesson plan

All teachers agreed that preparing lesson plan before teaching and learning process is important.

They can prepare the objectives and materials of lesson effectively. The materials arranged are

based on objectives of learning. Through lesson plan, they are also able to arrange the learning

activities systematically based on scientific approach in the 2013 curriculum.

Teachers need to refresh their teaching competences especially about making lesson plan in any

kind of workshop held by teacher team or socialization through Forum Group Discussion. It is as

preparing lesson plan helps teachers to organize the objectives, material, learning activities and

evaluation effectively. Moreover, teachers would be more confidence when delivering the lesson.

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Other benefit is through preparing lesson plan students would be helped to achieve their learning

objectives more easily.

b) Applying the steps of teaching and learning activities (scientific approach)

Teachers also need to understand the principles of scientific approach and the basic concept of

2013 curriculum (i.e.inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, discovery-learning,

problem-based learning and task-based learning).

c) Preparing media

Pictures are kind of media which is easy to get and interesting, thus students can understand the

material. Media are the means for transferring or delivering messages. Li-Ling Kuo states that a

medium is called the educational medium when the medium transfers message for teaching (Li-

Ling. 1996). He adds that the use of media is important and it is impossible to coordinate

teaching with learning without using media (Li- Ling.1996). Media are flexible because they can

be used for all level of students and in all subjects. Teaching media also can encourage students

to take more responsibility for and control over their own learning, engage in joint planning of

the syllabus, and take longer-term perspectives on their own learning (Masterman. 1999). Since

media give many advantages, a teacher should consider a medium to be used in teaching-

learning process.

d) Making evaluation

There are four main aspects of competences to be implemented in 2013 curriculum i.e. spiritual,

social, knowledge and skill aspects. Those aspects are stated in the core and basic competences

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(Permendikbud No.59 Tahun 2014). It is therefore to be developed in teaching learning

indicators and objectives. Teachers would know the students’ understanding if they can achieve

the indicator and objectives of teaching learning through evaluation. In evaluation, it contained

the indicators of evaluation, technique and form of evaluation as well as the rubric or scoring.

Teachers are needed to evaluate students’ attitude (through observation), students’ knowledge

(through test), and students’ skill (through practice).

Before doing learning activities, a teacher should preapare a good material, where a good

material also can be as one of criteria to measure how profecional a teacher.

 The material should be appropriate to the competencies because it must be able to

increase the student’s skill and knowledge in English.

 Each skills has different teaching method, the material used by the teacher of course will

influence the teaching learning English method and the most important thing is that it

must be able to develop the students’ competence and knowledge.

 The material should help the students understand the lesson easily. The lesson of the

material reflected the decision concerning with the primary goal of the material. Even

though all material was easy, it still depends on to the teacher themselves.

Research shows that integrated curricula provide stimulating experiences helping students

to make sense of the world around them (Frykholm & Glasson, 2005; Koirala &

Bowman, 2003). Studies suggest that school leaders can play a significant role in improving

student learning through indirect influence (Leithwood et al, 2004) and practices that

establishes school-wide reform efforts as powerful means for leading change within their

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schools (Klar & Brewer, 2013). Successful principals affect school quality by enhancing

teacher quality through professional development, focusing on teachers’ motivation and

working conditions, involving teachers in decision making and engaging parents and

communities (Branch, Hanushek, & Rivkin, 2013; Sebastian & Allensworth, 2012; Seashore

Louis et al, 2010; Leithwood et al, 2004).

CONCLUTION

There is abundant research to support the notion that teachers play the critical role in

improving student achievement in schools. What teachers do in the classroom is crucial in this

process. The breadth of high-quality research accumulated over the past 40 years offers

educators a clear picture of how to maximize teacher competency in four critical categories:

instructional delivery, classroom management, formative assessment, and personal

competencies. There is now ample evidence to recommend these competencies as the core

around which to build teacher preparation, teacher hiring, teacher development, and teacher and

school evaluations.

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