I. Academic Support System
MTS Muhammadiyah Purwokerto junior highschool has 3 classes per grade level. Each class comprises of 20-25 students. Usually, the classes are held in the same manner as traditional teaching. The class starts with a motivation activity then followed by a discussion or reading of text, afterwards, they have a group activity to further explore the lessons and lastly, they have their individual assessments. In order for students to be supported in the classroom, the teachers usually do collaborative work as a strategy in order for the students to begin sharing knowledge and ideas. In order for the students to be updated with their class standing, their textbooks and classwork are always returned to them with matching consultation or feed backing from the teacher about their performance.
Outside-class-support is also given twice a year. The students have an excursion or a study tour with the faculty in order for them to apply skills taught in school.
Their teachers also provide relationship-based support to the students, meaning students go to the teachers to talk about their problems, interests and aspirations in order for them to meet the needs of the students.
Lastly, it is not only the students who are given academic support but the teachers as well. They attend seminars, talks, study tours and information drives on recent educational advances in order for them to be updated on their craft. They also have classroom observations and collaborations with other teachers in order for them to be assessed on their strengths and weaknesses so they can develop professionally.
II. Teaching System
School starts at 7:00 .m and ends at 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. for the students at MTS Muhammadiyah Purwokerto. On Fridays they are dismissed earlier at 12:00 p.m. Additionally, they have Saturday classes. In a day, they have 1 hour and 20 minutes per subject and have about 5-6 subjects per day. Depending on the subject and the grade level, the teachers meet each class twice a week. For example, Bahasa Ingriss, or English, they meet twice a week for 1 hour and 20 minutes but for Grade 9 they meet thrice a week. Twice for an hour and 30 minutes while once for an hour and 10 minutes.
This school have subjects ranging from the general ones such as Science, Mathematics, Arts, Physical Education, Social Studies and etc. to subjects that involve their religion. They have 4 language subjects, Bahasa Indonesia, B. Arabic, B. Ingriss/English and B. Jawa/Java.
III. Materials and Other Learning Resources
The learning materials utilized frequently in school are their textbooks, which is inline with the curriculum that they use in school. They are not also limited to their textbooks, they also use references in their library and online to further support their learning. The teachers also create their own materials in order for class to be interactive and their lessons will be interesting for the students. Teachers do not limit their visual aids. They make use of a projector and PowerPoint point presentations to present videos, songs and etc. to students to further enhance their understanding.
IV. Measurement and Evaluation System
The school practices both summative and formative assessments. In one class session, the teacher usually gives two or three assessments. Two assessments are formative in nature either through board work, group work, games and etc. while one test will be summative in nature. It is individually done and it is usually through paper and pen tests. Students are evaluated at the end of the semester. Teachers form other schools will make the evaluation, so in order for their students to be able to answer that test, they will have to finish the topics per semester. Each subject differs in points system. For example, English is a 50-point test, usually comprising multiple choice and essay tests.
V. Curriculum
They use the Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan 2006 or the KTSP 2006 curriculum. According to my mentor, the KTSP 2006 curriculum is school-based. Meaning, the curriculum is determined by the school and the student themselves. It is contextualized in nature. The topics, the lessons in books are based on the core standard in the curriculum. There are three parts of the curriculum that they use:
1. The first is the basic competence, which states what the student has to grasp at the end of the lesson.
2. Next, they have the subject matter, which is broken down into 4 parts:
a. Social function- application of the topic in daily living
b. Text Structure- the texts found in books, may it be conversational or in paragraphs.
c. Linguistic element- grammar aspect of the topic
d. Topic
3. Lastly, learning where the curriculum states activities that teachers use to develop students’ skills.
