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The teaching campus or Kampus Mengajar (KM) is a program of the Independent Campus or Kampus Merdeka program launched by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. This program provides opportunities for students to learn, develop self-competencies, and hone leadership, soft skills, and character. In this program, student teaching experience can be recognized and equated with 20 credits.
The opportunity to take part in this national program is not only open to students but also for lecturers. One of them, Ida Ayu Purnama Bestari, S.Pd., M.Sc, lecturer in the Biology Education Study Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha (Undiksha), Singaraja, Bali.
This lecturer from Karangasem Regency, Bali, participated in the teaching campus program batch 4 and served as a supervisor. For her, this program is something new. Her desire to participate is not merely to share knowledge with students, which is her daily activity. More than that, she wants to get a deeper experience and know more about education dynamics in Indonesia.
She passed the stages of registration. Initially, she wanted to be a supervisor for students who teach in Bali. However, the story is different. The lecturer, who has served at Undiksha since 2015, got an assignment in Selong, East Lombok, at SDN 6 Masbagik Utara. A completely new school to her ears.
The great distance from where she lives in Singaraja City has not deterred her from making changes at the school. Her spirit is not weakened but more motivated and challenged. Her curiosity about school life is increasing. This new task he carried out with all her heart until finally, she went to visit the island of Lombok alone.
On July 27, 2022, when going to Sasak Island, he went from Singaraja City to Padangbai Harbor, Karangasem, for about 3 hours by motorbike alone. The journey to Lombok was then continued by ship for about four hours. “From the harbor in Lombok, I continued my journey to school. The time is quite long,” she said, on September 15, 2022.
Upon arriving at SDN 6 Masbagik Utara, he found a different reality. In this school, there are still fifth-grade students who cannot read. In addition, there are also several students with special needs. This problem is a challenge to achieve the minimum completeness of students and national exams.
This reality has not dampened Dayu Bestari’s steps but has made her even more motivated to make a change. With three students from Universitas Gunung Rinjani and three from Universitas Hamzanwadi, who also took part in the teaching campus program, the literacy and numeracy program was initiated.
The implementation of this program did not immediately run smoothly. The diverse characteristics of students make them face challenges. “In the first week, when students were given homework, one class could not do it. When students entered class, they gave them wooden rulers and offered to beat themselves,” he said. Continuous training, supported by motivation, continues to be given to students. In addition, he also innovates in learning by utilizing special learning media for each class and interactive videos because schools are facilitated by wifi, and laptops are only rarely used for students. “For example, for literacy, we show a video, then students digest and retell it, not only to friends at school but family members,” he explained.
This school, he continued, also does not have a library. He and his students initiated the reading garden program. He raised books through donations which were published on social media. After about two months of running, the program yielded positive results. Students’ literacy and numeracy skills are getting better. “We have also prepared practice questions which later the teachers can use as question banks. Based on reports from students and teachers, students’ abilities have progressed,” said Dayu Bestari.
She emphasized that through the teaching campus program, what is important is not only a matter of transferring knowledge. More fundamental than that, getting used to something unusual for students to become a habit and produce big changes. “A small example is the low average score because students are not used to working on these model questions, so every day for 30 minutes, we make it a habit to give model questions or younger siblings who cannot read we make it a habit to learn to read every day for 30 minutes. This action looks like something small, but it makes a big difference. There has been a lot of progress in the past two months,” she said.
In addition to developing students’ abilities, this teaching campus program also gives them an understanding that a teacher is not only sufficiently equipped with abilities according to the field of study but also needs to master other things, such as the ability to teach children with special needs or tips and tricks for dealing with students who are “hyperactive.”. “This school provides evidence of students with special needs or inclusion. This indicates a teacher needs to be given additional knowledge about the education of students with special needs,” he added.
This inspirational story will later be shared with students in class. This story is not just a passing wind but is expected to be a motivation to contribute to improving the quality of education in Indonesia. (hms)
