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| One of UMM lecturers, Hasnan Bachtiar explained his explanation (Photo : Istimewah) |
Responding to issues of education and spirituality during the pandemic and post-pandemic, the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) and the Faculty of Islamic Religion (FAI) Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) held The International Conference on Education (ICEdu) at the end of last September. This activity invites various elements of society to discuss, such as researchers, experts, and practitioners from academia, government, NGOs, research institutions, and industry.
Opening the conference, Vice Rector I of UMM, Prof. Dr. Syamsul Arifin, M.Sc., emphasizes that education is not just a transfer of knowledge. In the concept of tarbiyah, educational activities include not only simple things or ta'lim but have more in-depth educational activities, namely ta'dib. This in-depth education prioritizes character development. However, this concept cannot be achieved in education during the pandemic.
"Now, the situation has changed. Students can already go to school and enjoy hands-on experiences in the classroom. So, we must strive to revive and revitalize education, emphasizing the importance of developing good character for our students," said Syamsul.
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On the other hand, in his presentation of the material, Prof. Te-Sheng Chang said that the professional development of lecturers has long been an essential component of higher education. During the last four decades, from the 50s to the 90s, the product of lecturer professionalism has undergone five phases.
In the 50s and 60s, scholars focused on research skills and productivity. The 70s was an era of teaching that focused on developing teaching skills. The 80s were an era of developers focused on education and research that was faculty centric.
"The 90s was the era of students, which focused on changing the paradigm from teaching to learning. Then now, we are in an era of collaboration and networking that focuses on collaboration between faculties to encourage interdisciplinary studies," explained the Professor at National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan.
Therefore, according to Te-Sheng Chang, project-oriented problem-based learning is essential. This learning design not only stimulates student creativity but also increases the professionalism of lecturers at the university. "For that, the curriculum needs to be developed by combining three key concepts, namely participatory design, visionary thinking, and visual communication," he explained.
On the other hand, Prof. Dr. Ribut Wahyu Eriyanti took a different angle in discussing the conference theme. He highlighted the role of Educational Personnel Education Institutions in preparing 21st-century professional educators. According to him, there are three essential pillars in revitalizing the part of Educators and Education Personnel Institutions (LPTK). First, competency-based education is one of the primary missions of universities. As educators, competencies that must be possessed include pedagogical, professional, personality, and social competencies.
"The second pillar is to equip students with mastery of information and communication technology, for example, the use of the Internet of things (IoT), virtual/augmented reality, and also Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the world of education. Lastly, he said that LPTKs play a role in equipping teachers to integrate technology, pedagogy, and substantive scientific knowledge in learning (TPACK)," he said.
Besides Prof. Te-Sheng Chang and Prof. Dr. Ribut Wahyu Eriyanti, M.Sc., M. Pd, this event also invited speakers such as Assoc. Prof. Dennis Alonzo, Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales Australia, Prof. Muhammad Ali from the University of California Riverside, Prof. Dr. Tobroni, M.Si, Prof. Dr. Dwi Priyo Utomo, M.Pd. from University of Muhammadiyah Malang. (cdr/*/wil)
