22.7.21

Blended Learning; The Way of Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior High School Towards the ‘New Normal’ Period


Blended Learning; The Way of Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior High School

Towards the ‘New Normal’ Period

Siprianus Wara, M.Pd

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic is mainly and foremost a health crisis. The Coronavirus lockdown measures have partially or fully closed schools for more than 90% of the world’s students’ population across 186 countries and territory.  The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released the data about COVID-19 that Indonesian closed schools in early of March 2020, leaving nearly 60 million students out of school 1. The crisis was also outbreak in East Nusa Tenggara Province of Indonesia. The central and local government are faced the dilemma to close all public facilities since middle of March 2020. For education institutions especially schools from kindergarten until university level should learn and work from home. The school institutions were faced a big problem in applying the various learning model such as online, offline or blended learning model. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the students, teachers, and school staff should learn and work from home. Many families around the regions are not only a massive shock to parents’ productivity but also to children social life and learning. Furthermore, as relation to COVID-19 outbreak, Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior High School as an education institution was situated in Bajawa of Ngada Regency of East Nusa Tenggara Province was also implemented teaching and learning from home since the global lockdown of education institutions. Teaching and assessments were also done online with a lot of trial and error and uncertainty was conducted at the end of academic year of 2019-2020.

Moreover, the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) has published the Circular Letter No.15 of 2020 and the Circular Letter of Education and Culture Department of East Nusa Tenggara Province No.422/2525/PK/2020 as published July 3rd 2020 regarding guidelines for Organizing Learning From Home in the Emergency Period of the Distribution of COVID-19. This is called a ‘New Normal’ life period for school year 2020-2021 will be stated on middle of July 2020 2. The school now is preparing to run teaching and learning scenarios of the New Normal period during the COVID-19 pandemic.  “Regina Pacis Senior High School is one an outstanding school in Ngada Regency of East Nusa Tenggara Province has committed to respond in implementing of New Normal period amid COVID-19 by applying blended learning model” stated Mr. Herdianto Emanuel Ndiwa, ST as the Principal on July 2nd 2020 3. He continued that the school has designed the scenarios of teaching and learning activities in the new academic year from July until December by using plan A is offline learning model, plan B is full online learning model and plan C is blended learning”.

1.      Coronavirus keeping world’s children available at https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/keeping-worlds-children-learning-through-covid-19 retrieved on July 2nd 2020 at 20.00

2.      Circular Letter about  New Normal Period available at Surat Edaran Pelaksanaan Tatanan Normal Baru di Sekolah oleh Dinas Pendidikan Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur 3 Juli 2020.

3.  Learning Design available at agenda of coordinating meeting of teachers and staffs of Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior high School on 2nd July 2020.

The central and local government rolled out awareness campaign to education institutions to start the new academic year by using distance learning to mitigate loss of students’ learning time.  The strategy is used to continue the education services.  Therefore the schools should provide the resources and the media to work from home. The learning process can be done by using different technological options and digital learning platform.

 

Teachers and Students’ Readiness in Applying the Technology

The Readiness of teachers and students are needed to remote learning requires to have the skills and capacity to effectively engage with and benefit from online learning. For teachers, effective remote education requires more in adapting use some open sources learning material. The teachers should choose an appropriate learning application devices and open-minded to global change in teaching and learning strategies. According to Christensen (2008) warns that effective technology integration requires a focus on pedagogy and practices, rather than an emphasis on technology and tools 4. It means teachers integrated technology in classroom. The teachers of Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior High school were prepared to apply Google classroom, zoom and edmodo applications to help the students’ classes connect remotely, communicate, and stay –organized. The teachers have joined the workshop on how to apply the Google Classroom and Edmodo applications conducted by fellow teachers; Mr. Ignatius Wake, M.Si and Ms. Anjelina Sole, S.Pd on June 12th 2020. The other way to engage the teachers’ capacity in using technology that the teachers and staff meeting are always conducted by using zoom application and join various online seminar (Webinar) with certain topics surrounding the educational issues.

The preparation for the students of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades leading on digital platform for instance; students’ registration, the learning assessment and other school information.  The total number of Regina Pacis Senior High School students in academic year of 2020-2021are 1.115. The students are distributed into Tenth grader are 394 students, eleventh grader are 379 and the twelfth grader are 350 students (data from curriculum which updated on July 7th 2020) 5. The great numbers of students are potential challenging for instance; lack of internet services and access to devices ownership particularly in remote areas.  Low income households and those in remote areas have on average half as many. Consequently, many students may not have access to the appropriate devices for online learning. Therefore, it is important for the school to establish ways to help students who has poorer access which distance learning practices. In addition, to support low-income families to reduce the economic shock of the pandemic, which also affects students, the school donates the data charged for students through School Operation Assistance (Bantuan Operational Sekolah).

4 Effective technology available at http://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ClassifyingK-12-blended-learning.pdf. Retrieved on January 1st 2020 at 08. Am.

 5    Students data Available at Tim Kurikulum SMAS Katolik Regina Pacis Bajawa updated on July 7th 2020.


Applying Blended Learning within Three Strategic Planning; A, B, and C in Academic Year of 2020-2021

In facing the New Normal period, ‘Civitas Academika’ of Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior High School applies the-three strategic planning to support the national and local government policy about reopening school in green zone. Some approaches are prepared to run education services for students. The strategic planning is a compulsory to do amid COVID-19 outbreak as solution to run teaching and learning activities as called Blended Learning model. The learning model involves a mix of online and classroom and classroom instruction. It is called also as hybrid learning, mixed mode learning with combination online learning and face to face meeting consist of Live or synchronous; physical classroom, field trips, lab, virtual classroom, coaching, mentoring and on demand or Asynchronous; email, blog forum, web-based learning, video streaming, distance learning, self-paced tutorial . A review of Blended Learning studies across primary, secondary and senior high school level. Blended learning designates the range possibilities presented by combining Internet and digital media with established classroom form require the physical co-presence of teacher and students 6. Regina Pacis Senior High School adopting the Blended Learning approaches. The conscious and careful blending of face to face instruction and the online methods can draw better teaching and learning experience (Asynchronous content). As a result, the education sector has changed dramatically with the rise of online learning, which requires students and teachers continue in teaching and learning process remotely and on digital platform.

 The distribution of students in Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior High School came from the various districts in Ngada Regency with complicated problems relation to internet access and get own smartphone devices. The new academic year session will be mix of class-based learning at school and home learning (Blended Learning). Strategic Planning A refers to scenario 1 with all teaching and learning activities run in school as a regular. Strategic Planning B refers to teaching and learning activities conducted full online (synchronous and Asynchronous) by using Google classroom, edmodo and zoom applications. Strategic Planning C refers to teaching and learning activities run in blended learning model (mix leaning model; online and offline). The third is strategic planning C will be applied in New Normal period. The teaching and learning schedule by using shift time such as; week 1 is for tenth grader, week to 2 is for eleventh grader, week three is for twelfth grader and week four is used for an online learning assessment 8. All teaching and learning scenarios depend on the national and local policy makers related to the regulation of implementation in New Normal period.

 

6. Blended Learning available at https://www.researchgate..net/publication/303815166_Blended_Learning_Definition_Models__Implications_For Higher-Education retrieved on July 3th 2020 at 08.30 am

7,8. Strategic Planning A,B, and C  available at agenda of coordinating meeting of teachers and staffs of Regina Pacis Bajawa Senior high School on 2nd July 2020.

 

Students and Teachers’ Health Protocols and Safety Practices

The term of “social distancing” refers to measures being taken to restrict where and when people can gather in order to stop or slow the spread of infectious disease. In general, 6 feet of separation is the distance should be kept between people interacting within their community 9. The government is mulling over plans to reopen school by the end of the year or at the beginning of 2021 is after students were required to study from home. Official academic calendar, the beginning of the new academic year of 2020-2021 is slated on July 13th 2020. The Education and Culture Ministry announced the phase reopening of schools located in COVID-19 green zones starting from July 2020.  “Although the schools reopen in “green zones” school should having good health protocols and that important to ensure the school infrastructure was ready to support the New Normal situation” stated the Education and Culture Minister, Nadiem Makarim 10.

Meanwhile, to respond the regulation Regina Pacis Senior High School was prepared the strategic planning for teaching and learning activities in New Normal Period. To trigger the health protocols, social and physical-distancing in and out of the classroom, dr Dominika Bernadian Uge Rinu from RSUD Bajawa got chance in sharing knowledge on how the school applies the healthy protocols during the New Normal period. “The school should prepare the health facilities as recommended by World Indonesian Health Department (Kemenkes) and World Health Organization (WHO) such as thermo checker, mask wearing, hand swashing, using hand sanitizer and sing disinfectant for all school facilities. Resize the classes and keep students in small groups without mixing with other. Avoiding students’ crowded in school area. It refers to the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) policy aimed at curbing COVID-19 transmission in school.11. Therefore, Regina Pacis Senior High School plans to reopen school by applying standard health protocols guidelines for students, teachers and school staff for instance temperature checks at the gate before entering school and wearing mask. The temperature checks at least twice daily are on arrival and also at the end of teaching and learning session. The students and staff are immediately sent home if they exhibit any symptom. The classroom sized is reduced from 36 into 15 until 18 students per room to trigger physical and social distancing in and out of the classroom

9 Social Distancing available  https://www.researchgate,net/publication/340476408_COVID19_and_Importance_of_Social_Distancing retrieved on July 1st 2020 on 09.30 pm.

10, 11Green Zone” schools reopen available at https://gtk.kemendikbud.go.id/read-news/pendidikan-era-new-normal-belajar-dari-study-from-home retrieved at July 2nd 2020 on 05.10.pm

 

Relevant Link:

http://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ClassifyingK-12-blended-learning.pdf

https://www.worldbank.org/en/data/interactive/2020/03/24/wrld-bank--education-and-covid-19

https://gtk.kemendikbud.go.id/read-news/pendidikan-era-new-normal-belajar-dari-study-from-home

https://amp.kompas.cpm/sains/read/2020/05/27163200923/indonesia-menuju-newnormal-corona-ini-protokol-kesehatan-covid-19-yang-harus-dilakukan.

https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/keeping-worlds-children-learning-through-covid-19


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