Project News

This last facilitator training in Minahasa Utara was started by book review of and dialogue with Masaaki Sato's "Dialog and Collaboration in Junior High School: Learning Community Practice" in the first day (August 28, 2012). The participants learnt, knew, and realized so many things because of the explanation about this book done by the very author.

A teacher said that now he realized his duty and responsibility as teacher because of the explanation from Masaaki Sato about the story of a lost sheep. A teacher really has to care all students' learning. No one should be left behind.

One of the participants said that she was so impressed with Masaaki Sato's explanation. He didn't not only give knowledge about process and strategy of teaching and learning, but also at the same time gave life philosophy that humans are made to help each other. Teachers' call is to help students by providing them knowledge and provisions for their future.

In this facilitator's training, it was revealed that all participants still highly expect support and help from JICA experts' team in implementing MGMP-based Lesson Study.

Message from Masaaki Sato: "Don't let a single student left behind in a lesson. Every student must learn. Create an enjoyable learning situation.

On the second day of this facilitator's training (August 29, 2012), Ryo Suzuki asked teachers to be like students. Meaning, teachers acted as students in a Physics class and followed Ryo Suzuki's lesson about image formation through convex lens.

Objective of this activity was to make teachers follow, consider and realize what was meant by JICA experts' team about meaningful lesson for students. Lesson was delivered interestingly and clearly so that it was obvious that teachers really became students and they learnt well and with fun.

After the lesson was successfully conducted, in the next session, they were asked to think as teachers. After experiencing by themselves, do they want their students to be like that? If so, what sort of lesson design should be made so that students can learn like that: clearly and enjoyably?

Most of participants might experience this for the first time in considering students' mind in learning and then tried to express it in a lesson design. They met obstacles, but they realized that this is the right and better process compare to their old ways. But they also realized that it is so difficult to change them.

Even so, some teachers were highly motivated and wanted to imitate Ryo Suzuki's way and also other things they have already gotten from the second day of training. They wanted to disseminate this to their friends in their schools.