In my English course meeting last Friday, April 8th, 2011, Mr. Marsigit, my English lecturer, told us (me and my classmates) about “In Deep Thinking About Mathematics Education”. He said that, “All of you should be very happy in studying mathematics. Why? Because you can develope your mathematics ability by making the best anything that is available in this faculty, Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty, especially is Mathematics Education Study Program which is your study program. Studying in this program, you get more lesson subjects about mathematics, and it is continuously until higher semester. “
Mr. Marsigit continued his explanation by making us understand about the student position in Mathematics Education Department. He asked us about the difference of study program in the Mathematics Education Department. They’re Mathematics Study Program and Mathematics Education Study Program. Then he continued. “Mathematics Study Program and Mathematics Education Study Program are two different study program. Firstly, the lesson. In Mathematics Education Study Program, you will be teached how to teached mathematics well, whereas in Mathematics Study Program you will study mathematics subject which is very complex, so you can hold the complex mathematics. Secondly, the people of the Mathematics Study Program and Mathematics Education Study Program have different background. As Mathematics Education Study Program person, you will face younger student, which is pre-elementary, kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, senior high school, or university student. How it can be a problem? In learning mathematics, older people and younger people are different. Psychologically, they are different. For example in facing problem as like below :
•A plastic ball radius is 7 centimetres. The ball being broken after it’s falled from certain place (height 15 metres). Find the volume of the ball!
•Given a teak from Blora (Central Java), colorful painted, has radius 20 centimetres. Find the area of the teak!
From two problems above, we can test younger people and older people to answer. Most of the younger people will find the solution of those problems by material thinking. Whereas, the older people will do that by abstract thinking.According to the older people, mathematics is only a thinking object, not factual/material object. Clearly, this is explained as below :
•Given two numbers 4 and 7. 4 is written in bigger size than the 7 number. Then, which is the bigger number?
To solve this problem, the younger people will think materially. They will answer that 4 is bigger than 7, because it looks like that. Whereas, the older people will think abstractly. They will answer that 7 is bigger than 4, because of the value.
From the explanation above, we can conclude that in abstractional thinking, people just take certain properties which is interesting for them, and they want to study more about it. They are also idealize, think that all properties in mathematics are perfect. There is not ‘agak’ (Indonesian language) word in mathematics.
Because of the different thinking ability of younger and older people, mathemathics divided in three, they are University Mathematics, School Mathematics, and Pure Mathematics.
a.University Mathematics, contains proving problem, axiom/postulate, and other.
b.School Mathematics, contains concret and factual problem.
Ebutt and Straker (1995) define School Matemathics as follows:
1)Mathematics is a search for pattern and relationship, enlarge the student to
seacrh pattern and relationship.
2)Mathematics is problem solving activity.
3)Mathematics is investigation activity.
4)Mathematics is a mean of communcation,
c.Pure Mathematics is studied by pure mathematicians.
That’s all about three kinds of mathematics level study based on thinking ability”.
Ending the course, Mr. Marsigit explained one more lesson. That’s the characteristic of the student who learned mathematics as follow :
•The student will learn effectively if the student have a good motivation and a good perception.
•The student learn mathematics individually, the nature of individual creature.
•The student learn mathematics in collaboration with others, the nature of social creature.
•The student learn mathematics in context.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
My Impressing English Course
It was Friday, February 18th, 2011. At 1 o’clock, I had arrived in my campus, Yogyakarta State University. As soon as possible, I walked to my classroom, it was 209 room, it’s in the 2nd floor of my campus building. But, unfortunately, the room was used. So, my class should be moved to another room. After asking the Academic Staff about my classroom, I went to 107 room. On my way to the room, I met my friends, they are my classmates. Actually, they didn’t know about the changing room. Moreover, they thought that our English lecturer would not come. So, they conclude that the English lecture on that time was canceled. But, finally, we decided to wait our English lecturer in the place where I met my friends.
After waiting for a while, Mr. Marsigit, our English lecturer, came. He was leading me and my friends went to the room. Entering the room, I and my friends took a sit immediately. We had sat neatly. We had ready for our first English lecture in University. But, suddenly, Mr. Marsigit ordered us to sit around him. It’s unusual, but it’s good enough. I thought that it could make me more focus to the matters that would be explained by Mr. Marsigit. I and my friends did that first Mr. Marsigit’s instruction quickly. In a short time, we had ready to listen Mr. Marsigit introduction. He introduced himself to us. In his introduction, he often shared jokes to us. It made us laugh. Even, one of my friends laugh until her face getting red. I thought that Mr. Marsigit was a humorous person. That was supported by one of my friends words. She said, it’s Gombong people characteristic, that they’re humorous. Gombong’s a city in Central Java where Mr. Marsigit was from. After his last word of his introduction, he asked us (me and my friends) whether we had some questions about his introduction. I thought, it was the second instruction for me and my friends to speak up. But, no responses he got. For a while, I and my friends just keep silent. A moment later, one of my friends asked him about the lecture contract. Mr. Marsigit answered the question. Knowing, there’re no more question from us, he started to tell us everything about motivation that could inspiring us. Through his story that he told with smile occasionally, he gave us many inspiration and motivation. We’re impressed to him. It showed by our attention to his explanation. I looked that some of my friends faces showed that they were impressed to Mr. Marsigit when he told us about his experience in some countries, like Japan. Beside that, he told us about three important points for us. They’re Perception, Attitude, and Behaviour. He said that Perception of a person to a something could influence the person’s Attitude. Continuous Attitude could build Behaviour. So, according to me, based on the Mr. Marsigit explanation, positive Perception would grow positive Attitude. Positive Attitude would build positive Behaviour. This positive Behaviour would help us live in this life.
That’s all my story about my impressing English course. Started by room problem and lecture cancelling isue. Continued by attention and laugh. Ended by inspiration and motivation. It was impressing!
After waiting for a while, Mr. Marsigit, our English lecturer, came. He was leading me and my friends went to the room. Entering the room, I and my friends took a sit immediately. We had sat neatly. We had ready for our first English lecture in University. But, suddenly, Mr. Marsigit ordered us to sit around him. It’s unusual, but it’s good enough. I thought that it could make me more focus to the matters that would be explained by Mr. Marsigit. I and my friends did that first Mr. Marsigit’s instruction quickly. In a short time, we had ready to listen Mr. Marsigit introduction. He introduced himself to us. In his introduction, he often shared jokes to us. It made us laugh. Even, one of my friends laugh until her face getting red. I thought that Mr. Marsigit was a humorous person. That was supported by one of my friends words. She said, it’s Gombong people characteristic, that they’re humorous. Gombong’s a city in Central Java where Mr. Marsigit was from. After his last word of his introduction, he asked us (me and my friends) whether we had some questions about his introduction. I thought, it was the second instruction for me and my friends to speak up. But, no responses he got. For a while, I and my friends just keep silent. A moment later, one of my friends asked him about the lecture contract. Mr. Marsigit answered the question. Knowing, there’re no more question from us, he started to tell us everything about motivation that could inspiring us. Through his story that he told with smile occasionally, he gave us many inspiration and motivation. We’re impressed to him. It showed by our attention to his explanation. I looked that some of my friends faces showed that they were impressed to Mr. Marsigit when he told us about his experience in some countries, like Japan. Beside that, he told us about three important points for us. They’re Perception, Attitude, and Behaviour. He said that Perception of a person to a something could influence the person’s Attitude. Continuous Attitude could build Behaviour. So, according to me, based on the Mr. Marsigit explanation, positive Perception would grow positive Attitude. Positive Attitude would build positive Behaviour. This positive Behaviour would help us live in this life.
That’s all my story about my impressing English course. Started by room problem and lecture cancelling isue. Continued by attention and laugh. Ended by inspiration and motivation. It was impressing!
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