Learning Process with a Scientific Approach
Through a Scientific/Scientific Approach , in addition to being able to make students more active in constructing their knowledge and skills, it also…
Minister of Education and Culture No. 65 of 2013 concerning Process Standards for Elementary and Secondary Education has hinted at the need for a learning process that is guided by the principles of a scientific/scientific approach. Efforts to apply a scientific/scientific approach in the learning process are often cited as a distinctive feature and a distinct strength of the existence of the 2013 Curriculum, which is certainly interesting to learn and further elaborate on.
Through this article, I will tell you a little about the scientific/scientific approach in the learning process as I have understood it so far. In my opinion, efforts to apply a scientific/scientific approach in the learning process are not strange and far-fetched but that is what should happen in the learning process, because actually learning itself is a scientific (scientific) process.
Many experts believe that through a scientific/scientific approach, besides being able to make students more active in constructing their knowledge and skills, it can also encourage students to carry out investigations to find facts from a phenomenon or event. That is, in the learning process, students are taught and accustomed to finding scientific truths, not invited to have opinions or slander in seeing a phenomenon. They are trained to be able to think logically, sequentially and systematically, using high-order thinking capacities ( High Order Thinking/HOT ). Combie White (1997) in his book entitled " Curriculum Innovation; A Celebration of Classroom Practice”has reminded us of the importance of teaching students facts. " There is nothing more important than facts, " he said.
The application of a scientific/scientific approach in the learning process requires changes in settings and forms of learning that are different from conventional learning. Several learning methods are seen as being in line with the principles of a scientific/scientific approach, including methods: (1) Problem Based Learning ; (2) Project Based Learning ; (3) Inquiry / Social Inquiry ; and (4) Group Investigations. These methods try to teach students to recognize problems, formulate problems, find solutions or test temporary answers to a problem/question by conducting investigations (finding facts through sensing), in the end being able to draw conclusions and present them orally or in writing.
Can the scientific/scientific approach with the steps mentioned above be applied at all levels of education? The answer will certainly be a scientific debate, but I hold one theory that we already know, namely the Theory of Cognitive Developmentfrom Piaget who said that from the age of 11 to adulthood (formal-operational stage), an individual has the ability to coordinate both simultaneously and sequentially two kinds of cognitive abilities, namely: (1) Capacity to use hypotheses; the ability to think about something, especially in terms of problem solving by using basic assumptions that are relevant to the environment he is responding to; and (2) Capacity to use abstract principles; the ability to study abstract subject matter broadly and deeply.
Thus, it seems that a scientific/scientific approach in learning is very possible to be given starting at this age stage. Of course, this has to be done in stages, starting with the use of hypotheses and simple abstract thinking, then as the thinking ability develops it can be improved by using hypotheses and more complex abstract thinking.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Culture (2013) provides its own conception that the scientific approach ( scientific approach ) in learning includes components: observing, asking, trying, processing, presenting, concluding , and creating . These components should be raised in every learning practice, but not a learning cycle. For more details about the Ministry of Education and Culture's version of the scientific approach, you can see it in the file that you can download below:
I obtained this file from the 2013 Curriculum Training for West Java Province Senior High School Superintendents organized by P4TK-MIPA, held at the Lembang Asri Hotel, West Bandung, July 8-14 2013.
source:akhmad