EDTC 6104 Community Engagement Project: A Reflection

Technology and information systems have received much attention in education as they are essential in 21st-century teaching and learning activities. More and more teachers are introduced and trained to incorporate the application of technology in their pedagogical practices to maximize the teaching and learning experience inside and outside the classroom. Indeed, the role of technology use in education has become more vital because there have been several specialized research areas in this field, such as digital literacy and technology-enhanced learning.

In Indonesia, the skills to use technology in one’s pedagogical practices have become necessary for secondary teachers. On the one hand, it has excellent potential to enhance the experience and autonomy of the students in their learning process. Using technology, teachers have more opportunities to explore creative, flexible, and various learning media and materials that best fit their students’ learning needs. On the other hand, technology skills also have great potential to advantage the teachers. For example, it can facilitate teachers to manage better their class administration, monitor student learning, and progress, and even enhance their qualifications as an educator.

Besides the use of technology to enhance teachers’ pedagogical practices, another essential aspect of Indonesian education that has been drawing much attention is the new curriculum paradigm (Merdeka Belajar, which means freedom to learn) which promotes “Profil Pelajar Pancasila” or Pancasila Student Profile in Indonesian schools, as seen in Figure 1. In this new paradigm, Indonesian students are equipped to uphold ethics, be global citizens, be collaborative, creative, critical thinkers, and autonomous learners (Wulandari, 2021).

Figure 1. Pancasila Student Profile

Source: https://cerdasberkarakter.kemdikbud.go.id/profil-pelajar-pancasila/

Target Audience

In responding to the challenges of the technology era and the new curriculum paradigm in the education field, many teachers are expected to explore various learning activities to achieve the “Profil Pelajar Pancasila” indicators by leveraging digital technologies. For this reason, intending to train and equip local secondary teachers around or outside Jakarta, the UKRIDA Department of English (UDE) is organizing a workshop on the themes of Leveraging Digital Technologies to Implement Inquiry-Based Learning (QUEST Model) (Wicks, 2017) in the Secondary Classrooms.

These secondary school teachers play a pivotal role in exploring various instructional strategies in the new curriculum paradigm in Indonesia, which promotes some critical values in student learning, such as ethics, global citizenship, critical thinking, autonomy, creativity, and collaboration. These values are in line with the essential skills for the 21st classroom (Chiruguru, 2020). Also, advocating digital technologies in the classroom will support teachers to shift from traditional teaching paradigms to technology-enhanced teaching.   Notably, this point is essential in this disruptive era.

Workshop Design

The coaching will be in the form of a workshop organized by the UKRIDA Department of English, including faculty members and the student committee. The workshop will be a hybrid, meaning participants can come on-site or join online. This hybrid workshop hopefully reaches more audiences. This preparation teaches me how to collaborate well with the learning community. Due to synergy, the typical result has a more excellent value than the sum of values of each outcome (Miro Inc., 2021).

The workshop is a half-day activity, and it will be around 3-4 hours. It can start from 8 to 12 if the hybrid workshop is implemented with the following structure:

  • Opening and Watching Video (15′)
  • Material Presentation (45′)
  • Hands-on Activity – Practice and Presentation on QUEST (60′)
  • Hands-on Activity – Lesson Plan Project (60′)
  • Individual/Group Presentation (60′)

Incorporating blended, flipped, or online learning elements in the workshop will accommodate participants’ needs. Therefore, I use flipped learning to encourage participants to watch and read recommended references and materials before the workshop. This way, students learn more independently (Song, 2016). The related references and materials are shared via UKRIDA Learning Management System. Once participants register for the workshop, they will be informed to access the LMS before the hybrid one. Then, blended learning accommodates those who cannot be in in-person workshops, allowing participants to choose when and where to engage with the study materials (Mintz, 2008). Also, online learning will follow up the workshops by developing the PLC among schoolteachers.

Some required digital tools and resources were selected to include active elements in the workshop, as leveraging technology engages students when given opportunities for choice, collaboration, and creativity (Schuler, 2020). Here are some applications I will use in the workshop:

Addressing the ISTE Coaching Standard

The workshop will cover the ISTE Coaching Standard 3, particularly point 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d (ISTE, 2022):

■ Standard 3a: Establish trusting and respectful coaching relationships that encourage educators to explore new instructional strategies.

I will explore inquiry-based learning theories, concepts, strategies, and models to help participants understand some background knowledge before implementing the QUEST model. Also, I will explore a bit of culturally relevant pedagogy. I will use some journal articles and my experience exploring inquiry-based learning in the classroom.

■Standard 3b: Partner with educators to identify digital learning content that is culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate, and aligned to content standards.

During the hands-on project, I will ask participants to make a lesson plan using the Understanding By Design template. Participants practice identifying digital learning content that is culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate, and aligned to learning outcomes.

■Standard 3c: Partner with educators to evaluate the efficacy of digital learning content and tools to inform procurement decisions and adoption.

During the hands-on project, I will ask participants to make a lesson plan using the Understanding By Design template (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Participants practice evaluating the efficacy of digital learning content and tools since they must select certain learning content and tools for their class.

■Standard 3d: Personalize support for educators by planning and modeling the effective use of technology to improve student learning.

Using the Triple E Framework, I will help participants to assess the effective use of technology to improve student learning.

This workshop is one of the opportunities to disseminate what I have learned in the DEL Certificate program. I learned a lot in experiencing the Inquiry-based QUEST model in a fully online learning environment. From my perspective, this learning model also applies to personalized learning in technology-supported environments, which sparks me to share its benefits with other educators. Hopefully, I can share more enlightening topics I have got in the DEL Certificate program in the future.

References

Chiruguru, S. (2020). The Essential Skills of 21 st Century Classroom. March, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.36190.59201

ISTE. (2022). ISTE Standards: Coaches. https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-coaches

Kolb, Liz. (2022). Triple E Evaluation Rubric for Lesson Design. Retrieved on August 14, 2022, from https://www.tripleeframework.com/triple-e-evaluation-rubric-for-lesson-design.html

Mintz, J. (2008). Flexibility and access: implications of blended learning for higher education. In N. Whitton & M. McPherson (Eds.), Research Proceedings of the 15th Association for Learning Technology Conference (ALT-C 2008) (pp. 7–14). The University of Leeds. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/148697816.pdf

Miro Inc. (2021, February 9). The 6 C’s of education. https://miro.com/blog/6-cs-of-education-classroom/

Schuler, J. (2020). Improve Student Engagement and Learning with Technology Coaching. https://digitalpromise.org/2020/02/25/improve-student-engagement-and-learning-with-technology-coaching/

Song, Y.-M. (2016). Characteristics and Advantages of Flipped Class. In Jian-Min Chen (Ed.), 2nd Annual International Conference on Social Science and Contemporary Humanity Development (SSCHD 2016) Characteristics (pp. 226–229). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2991/sschd-16.2016.45

Wicks, D. (2017). The QUEST model for inquiry-based learning. https://davidwicks.org/iste-2-design-and-develop-digital-age-learning-experiences-and-assessments/quest-model-for-inquiry-based-learning/

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). The Six Facets of Understanding. In Understanding by Design (Issue November, pp. 82–104). Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. http://pdonline.ascd.org/pd_online/ubd_intro/wiggins98chapter4.html

Wulandari, T. (8 July 2021).Profil Pelajar Pancasila yang Dirumuskan Kemendikbud, Ini Lengkapnya. Retrieved on 14 August 2022 from https://www.detik.com/edu/sekolah/d-5635708/6-profil-pelajar-pancasila-yang-dirumuskan-kemendikbud-ini-lengkapnya

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