One of the efforts to equip teachers in bringing forth 21st century skills is to invite teachers to become agents of change and to be innovative, in order to improve the quality of learning outcomes. With the presence of the Innovation for School Children in Indonesia program (Inovasi untuk Anak Sekolah Indonesia, or INOVASI) in East Java in the School Cluster (gugus sekolah, or Guslah) II, Pohjentrek subdistrict, Pasuruan regency held a movement called “One Institution, One Innovative Literacy Product Movement”.
The One Institution, One Innovative Literacy Product Movement is an activity to create innovative literacy products for early grades. The activity is carried out by early grade teachers in each institution in the Guslah II Pohjentrek in order to improve teacher competency and student learning outcomes, especially in literacy skills.
This movement is based on literacy and recycling, in which, the literacy-oriented products being created are related to elements of learning a language in the early grades and are made with recycled goods.
This movement has greatly contributed towards building a more developed and creative mindset for early grade teachers. It has enabled them to create active learning by using their innovative products, managing classes in more varied ways, and being more effective in using appropriate learning media that match the target they want to achieve.
The One Institution, One Innovative Literacy Product Movement is part of the Guslah II Pohjentrek Teacher Working Group (Kelompok Kerja Guru, or KKG) program. This movement aims to support the early grade teachers’ abilities at two state elementary schools, SD Inti and SD Imbas, to create innovative products according to the needs of their own grades within an institution. Products created by each institution can be used for literacy activities and teaching the Indonesian language to early graders.
In essence, one type of product can be used for three grades—grades one, two, and three. The selection of materials for each innovative product is expected to vary so that they are able to create more than ten kinds of innovative literacy products in one Guslah II Pohjentrek at one time.
The innovative products that have been created are accompanied by a product description that can be easily learned, imitated, and applied by others. One of the innovative literacy products is Pasir Berbatu medium, or “Rocky/gravely Sands”.
Pasir Berbatu medium is an acronym for Media Papan Berpasir Untuk Belajar Baca dan Tulis, or the Sandy Board Medium used for Learning to Read and Write, which I co-created with the early grade teachers at Guslah II Pohjentrek. The names of other innovative literacy products are:
The MAGIC Camera (Kamera Merangkai Abjad Gambar Ide Cerita), or Camera to Compose Alphabets of Story Ideas, which is the work of SDN Tidu II teachers
Romansa (Roda Bermain Suku Kata), or Syllables Playing Wheel, which is the work of SDN Sungikulon teachers
Pak Polisi (Papan Kalimat Pola Variasi), or Sentence Board with Variation Patterns, which is created by the teachers of SDN Sungiwetan
Penter Kata (Pensil Karakter Kata), or Word Character Pencil, which is the work of SDN Logowok I teachers
Papan Tembak Dada Iga, (Papan Tembak Dalam Ilustrasi Gambar), or Shooting Board in Picture Illustration, which is the work of SDN Parasrejo I teachers
Kibar (Kipas Bergambar), or Fan with Pictures, which is the work of SDN Parasrejo II teachers
Panca Liga (Papan Baca Kalimat Bergambar), or Pictorial Sentence Reading Board, which is the work of SDN Susukanrejo III teachers
Marbel Ulta (Mari Belajar Ular Tangga), or Let’s Learn about Snakes and Ladders
These innovative products were then collected and compiled into a book titled “Innovative Literacy Works for Indonesian Children”, or “Karya Inovasi Literasi untuk Anak Indonesia”, which has been published and become an asset and documentation of KKG.