UNS– The Biology Education Research Group at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta organized a workshop about Health in Our Hands (HiOH) learning. This activity is part of the International Community Service Grant (PKMI) from the UNS Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM).
The workshop, held in a hybrid format, was a collaboration with the CREATE for STEM Institute, Michigan State University, USA. The training took place in two sessions, the first on June 15-16, 2024, and the second on July 16-18, 2024.
The aim of this workshop was to enhance the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) skills of Science and Biology teachers. It focused on STEM-based learning in genetics, using diabetes as a case study, under the title Health in Our Hands. This theme is one of the Integrative Science Learning Designs based on Project-Based Learning, aligned with Education for Sustainable Development and promoting one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The introduced learning design equips teachers with skills in teaching Scientific Modelling and argumentative thinking as the basis for explaining scientific phenomena. Besides learning about teaching, teachers were also trained to develop learning tools for marketing on the Teachers Pay Teachers website, a USA-based platform for educational products.
The first session of the workshop featured Dr. Consuelo Juliette Morales, Ph.D., M.Ed., M.P.H., from Michigan State University, USA, who developed the HiOH Lesson Unit. The online session was attended by 250 participants and covered topics on inheritance, genetic and environmental interactions in diabetes, and individual and communal actions students can take as part of sustainable development.
The second session involved 50 Science teachers from Surakarta’s Junior High School Teacher Association and Biology teachers from Senior High Schools Teacher Association. This session was held in Building D of the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) UNS.
The workshop was opened by the Head of PKMI, Murni Ramli, S.P., M.Si., Ed.D., who provided material related to daily diabetes cases and their causes using the HiOH Lesson Unit from Michigan State University.
Next, Dr. Meti Indrowati, S.Si., M.Si., a lecturer in Human and Animal Anatomy and Physiology from the Biology Education Study Program FKIP UNS, gave an in-depth presentation on diabetes. One activity in HiOH learning is teaching students to determine if they have diabetes. Therefore, on the first day, participants practiced blood sugar and blood pressure checks.
The second day of the workshop was led by Febriani Sarwendah Nugrahaeni, S.Pd., M.Pd., who presented material on genetics, environmental influences, and their interactions in diabetes cases, accompanied by practical exercises and online simulations.
“Practicals are fundamental in helping students understand the process of testing hypotheses about the causes of diabetes and equipping them with the ability to explain scientific phenomena with proper reasoning,” Febriani said.
The results of the HiOH Lesson Unit training were developed into tools for marketing on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. Guidance was provided by Chandra Adi Prabowo, S.Pd., M.Pd., who conducted training on creating educational media using Canva.
Participants were highly enthusiastic about the training, as evidenced by the numerous direct interactions and questions. Eko Setyaningsih S.Pd., M.Si., from SMAN 5 Surakarta, expressed great enthusiasm for the workshop.
“Through this training, we have gained many references for providing more creative learning for students. Previously, we thought our teaching was already helping students think critically, but this training has given us a better understanding of how to make learning more engaging. We hope there will be similar activities in the future to help us become more creative teachers,” Eko Setyaningsih said.
Humas UNS
Reporter: R. P. Adji
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
