Mia, a teacher at a madrasah in Nias Utara, has been teaching since 2017. She teaches mathematics for Grades 5 and 6 and English for Grades 1 and 2. Despite limited teaching aids at her school, Mia continually finds creative ways to ensure her students can learn actively and enjoyably.
As one of KREASI’s master trainers, Mia began applying new methods in her classroom after participating in a training on developing learning materials.
She used recycled bottle caps labeled with letters, then had her students arrange them to form the names of fruits in English. She also encouraged the children to create small projects by choosing a favorite fruit, drawing it, and then spelling its name using natural materials like leaves, stones, or twigs.
This method not only made students more active, but also helped them better understand the lessons. Mia noticed that when children were directly involved, they became more focused in their learning. Although challenges remained, such as the time needed to collect materials or keeping the class environment conducive, Mia felt that this approach aligned with the learning needs of her students at the madrasah.
“Usually, children get tired quickly or are impatient to go home. But when learning with materials from the surrounding environment, they become so engrossed that they even forget it’s already break time,” she said.
As a master trainer, Mia shared this teaching practice with other teachers. The response was quite positive, especially after seeing how simple materials like used bottles, pebbles, sand, twigs, and leaves could genuinely support the learning process. She suggested that teachers do not need to create complicated learning media. According to her, the key is to adapt to the needs of the class and the students’ character.
Mia’s approach of not seeing herself merely as an MT is remarkable. She feels a responsibility to share what she has learned with fellow teachers. She hopes that learning methods using materials from the surrounding environment can continue to be developed—not only in the madrasah where she teaches, but also in other places with similar conditions.
Text and Photo: Calvin Telaumbanua/KREASI/Article 33 Indonesia/Save the Children