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| The Opening of International Education Conference (Photo: Special) |
In commemoration of National Education Day, the Faculty of Education and Teacher Training of Muhammadiyah Malang University (FKIP UMM) organized the 2nd International Conference on Education, Teacher Training, and Professional Development (ICE-TPD). In this hybrid seminar held on May 2nd, hundreds of researchers, professional educators, education policymakers, education practitioners, and students gathered to share experiences, knowledge, and innovations under the theme "Transforming Education through Continuous Professional Teacher Development to Attain SDGs".
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To delve into the theme, FKIP UMM brought in two keynote speakers, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saifon Songsiengchai from Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Thailand, and Audrey Nicole Loyer Carlson from Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Teaching and Learning, Washington State University, United States. Additionally, eight new doctors from FKIP were also invited as speakers.
Starting her presentation titled "Literacy Development: Foundations and Beyond", Audrey Nicole Loyer Carlson emphasized that literacy is a fundamental skill crucial for lifelong learning and is a basic human right. Literacy can be used to support second language acquisition to achieve biliteracy competence. "Biliteracy is the skill to read and write fluently in two languages. Two approaches that can be applied in this regard are the Common Underlying Proficiency Model and Translanguaging," she explained.
To enhance this competency, it is important to create a supportive environment. Some of the practices include implementing daily read-aloud integrated with learning, modelling fluent reading, creating text-rich environments around the classroom, and encouraging students to actively use language in communication.
Next, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saifon Songsiengchai introduced the intriguing concept of "SAIFON Guidelines" for pre-service teacher professional development. According to him, prospective teachers require adequate training methods to develop their pedagogical competencies to ensure quality. "This is not only important but also urgent to be done as it impacts student learning outcomes and overall education quality," he expressed.
The SAIFON Guidelines encompass six stages to enhance the teaching skills of prospective English teachers, including surveying teacher needs, associating lesson plans with survey results, instructing teaching strategies, providing feedback on teaching practices, observing teaching practices, and presenting problems along with solutions. The foremost consideration in applying SAIFON Guidelines to achieve SDGs is to pay attention to SDGs content. "Prospective teachers need to understand what SDGs content is and why teachers need to increase student awareness of SDGs. By doing so, teachers can incorporate SDGs into active learning," he emphasized.
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Dean of FKIP UMM, Prof. Dr. Trisakti Handayani, MM, in her address, stated that this international conference aims to share experiences on contemporary educational issues, particularly challenges, theories, and best practices in enhancing teacher quality. This is a manifestation of FKIP UMM's commitment to contribute to the development of educational science and produce professional teachers.
"FKIP UMM is committed to continuously nurturing and developing knowledge, as well as producing future professional teachers. And ICE-TPD is one way FKIP UMM facilitates ideas about education and improving the professionalism of teachers in regional, national, and international contexts," she concluded.
Furthermore, Prof. Ahsanul Inam, Ph.D., Vice Rector I of UMM, revealed that besides being a medium for academic networking, this international conference also serves as an appreciation for the achievements of eight FKIP UMM faculty members who have successfully obtained doctoral degrees. These eight faculty members are Dr. Nur Widodo, M.Kes (Biology Education Program), Dr. Agung Deddiliawan Ismail, M. Pd (Mathematics Education Program), Dr. Dyah Worowirasti Ekawati, M.Pd (PGSD Program), Dr. Husamah, M.Pd (Biology Education Program), Dr. Erna Yayuk, M.Pd (PGSD Program), Dr. Rina Wahyu Setya Ningrum, M.A (English Education Program), Dr. Alfiani Athma Putri Rosyadi, M.Pd (Mathematics Education Program), and Dr. Beti Istanti Suwandayani, M.Pd (PGSD Program).
He advised the doctors to implement the three pillars of higher education based on education in the digital era. According to him, in education in this digital era, there are three aspects to consider: the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Big Data. All three should serve as a basis when developing learning and research to produce good works," he concluded. (wil/fajr)
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