Travel and Lessons
Travel and Lessons
by Muhammat Sabar Prihatin
The study excursion conducted by the faculty of education UIII for me is not merely a sightseeing activity but it is about a lesson-reflective story. This trip took place two days, starting from 16-17 October 2024, with the destination of the capital city of west Java, Bandung. Throughout the trip we witnessed the beautiful and natural scenery, particularly when we came to the accommodation area, Ciwiday.
Worship by exploring the earth
Ciwidey is famous for its beautiful places in Banding, which has many hills planted with tea trees. The lush green color on every hillside was successful to spoil the eyes anytime we looked at it. The winding and sometimes up and down roads just made the trip even more thrilling. Plus, the strains of music from the old up to present era, sung by different generations-Dean, lectures, and students added to the excitement of the journey. This made the long trip feel short and fast.
This stage reminded me of the Holy Quran saying that the earth was made flat so that we can explore it easily. So it is true that with our intention to witness this verse, our study tour is not only for a fun trip but also a moment of contemplation to admire the Almighty of Allah SWT over His beautiful creation of this universe.
Taaruf Session (Learning from one another)
Another valuable experience was when we students of UIII did community service. We visited SMPN 13 Bandung to do a cultural exchange activity with the students there. Traditional dances welcomed us warmly, which attracted fellow UIII students, especially foreign students. When a student came with a traditional dance, our friends immediately clapped their hands and recorded the dance.
After that, we UIII students and the students of SMPN 13 Bandung were divided into ten groups according to the number of student countries in the Faculty of Education at the event location, such as Turkey, Mexico, Pakistan, Tanzania, and the Philippines. In the international cultural exchange forum, the students were very enthusiastic about exploring various information from student representatives from the countries they visited. They chatted about the local language of the guest country, traditional songs and dances, and even their typical foods. The exciting discussion ended with the making of a short video with students saying, for example, "Sawadikap, we have a new friend from Thailand, Kap kun khap".
This cultural exchange activity reminded me of the concept of ta'aruf. It is mentioned in one of the verses of the holy Quran which means that Allah SWT created humans in different tribes, states, and languages for us to learn from one another. The cultural exchange experience provides real evidence to students that diversity is real. And the differences that exist between humans are created to get to know each other. If fellow humans know and understand each other well, then this can reduce bad prejudice and the assumption that a certain group is better and more important than others. And if this can be established in harmony, then this state of knowing and understanding each other can also encourage the
establishment of cooperative and compassionate relationships based on wisdom on the basis of humanity. So it is important that students in schools as the younger generation need to be equipped with an understanding and experience of diversity itself, that it does not exist to belittle certain groups and excel others, but as real evidence of sunnatullah - the Will of God Almighty. So of course it is another kind of worship if we can celebrate this diversity as a gift of life.
Public service for knowledge sharing
Last but not least, the community service activities carried out by the lecturers of UIII and Telkom University were another topic of reflection. For me, cooperation between educational institutions is an important factor in building student learning experiences. What I felt at that time was that I got the opportunity to learn to process data on a large scale by utilizing technology that I had never learned at UIII, but I learned a lot from Telkom Uni. It's like this, knowledge that I thought was difficult to learn, turned out to be easy for other people or other places because they have the facilities, there are the experts, and or because the campus specializes in that certain knowledge.
Thus, I realized that there are certain fields of knowledge that are actually relevant to us but it turns out that we can easily learn them at other campuses. The insight I received taught me the importance of learning from many parties. And I think it's the other way around, the lessons delivered by several lecturers of the UIII Faculty of Education at Telkom Uni provide new important and interesting things for students who follow their presentation, namely psychological-based leadership, literacy skills, and spatial thinking skills, which may not be available at Telkom Uni.
This kind of collaborative synergy is what I think is needed and must continue to be carried out by educational institutions in Indonesia to improve the quality of education in general, both from the lecturers, or teachers, and students. The visit and knowledge sharing between UIII and Telkom Uni that we did could be one of the real forms of academic friendship that echoes that knowledge is a blessing for the universe (Rahmatan lil ‘alamin), not belonging to a particular educational institution or field of study only.
Thank you, Faculty of Education UIII, for the valuable lessons during the two-day journey on this study excursion. I am sure that each of us feels the benefits both personally, intellectually, socially, and even spiritually.
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Quantitative Analysis and Advanced Statistics
This course aims to provide an overview of quantitative research methods and the advance statistics that often encounter within educational study. This course gives opportunity for students to understand and use more sophisticated statistical techniques to formulate and test research hypotheses, conduct rigorous data analysis up to interpret and disseminate the findings as well as evaluate the existing quantitative research.
Graduate Seminar in Educational Research
This course is designed as a foundation for postgraduate students to beginning their PhD in Education at UIII. The aim of this course is to provide students with the concepts and approaches in formulating educational research, including identifying research interests, research questions, and selecting appropriate research methods (quantitative and qualitative) through oral and written modes of communication. The course will also discuss various research issues in educational settings. Numerous careers are designed within this course, such as researcher, educator, and policy analyst.
Wasathiyatul Islam in the Globalized World
In this course, students learn various concepts and practices of wasatiyya as introduced by scholars and practiced within Indonesian societies. Students are trained to become familiar with wasatiyya conceptually from the Qur’an, Hadis and contemporary Islamic thinkers, as well as from experiences in Indonesia as exposed and managed by civil society exponents and the state. At the end of the lecture, students are expected to have in-depth knowledge of various concepts and practices of wasatiyya in contemporary Indonesia. The teaching method used includes lecture, presentations, discussions, and assignments (paper writing), all of which are summarized in class seminar activities.
Advanced Islamic Education
The course aims to introduce students to critically explore diverse interpretations of ‘Islamic Education’ and examine historical, theological and
philosophical aspects of classical and modern Muslim educational thought, practice and institutions. Students will be introduced to the concept of ‘critical, contextual, plural and transformative Islamic Education’ through discussing diverse perceptions and scholarly approaches to define the subject. Students will have the opportunity of engaging critically with the Muslim educational/pedagogical legacy and explore how it shaped the formation of classical Islamic scientific and scholarly traditions. The course provides a reflective insight into the sources and origins of Islamic educational thought with special reference to perceptions of education in the Qur’an, prophetic traditions and the wider Muslim intellectual heritage. The role of knowledge(ilm) and knowledge bearers (ulama) in expressing Islamic civility within ethnically, culturally plural and gendered social spaces.
The course will specifically examine the traditions of Islamic Education, their historical formation and contemporary articulations within the
context of majority/minority Muslim societies in Global Southeast Asia. Students will assess existing national Islamic Education policies (
construction of curriculum, textbooks, pedagogy and teacher education systems) regarding mainstream as well as Islamic higher education
institutions. They will further discuss the educational challenges facing global Muslim communities with a special reference to understanding the process of educational change and its relationship with the wider sociopolitical reform initiatives. The course will critically examine how best to develop appropriate Islamic educational strategies to tackle religious extremism and address issues concerning the faith development of Muslim young people in the modern world.
The emphasis will be on the importance of contemporary educational research into Islamic Education, especially research springing from the
Social Sciences and Humanities directed towards philosophy, pedagogy, curriculum and policy related developments in contemporary Islamic
Education. Students will explore empirical and conceptual interdisciplinary research agenda of the field and develop their own specific areas of
research interest in Islamic Education. They will be encouraged to develop their own philosophies of Islamic Education.
Advanced Comparative Philosophy of Education
The purpose of this course is to clarify, deepen, and criticize the main and fundamental issues about education. The discussion covers a broad range of issues, including normative, epistemological, socio-political, and educational ethics. The normative aspect includes an in-depth discussion of the goals, principles, and functions of education, about what should be taught or what should be the content of education, how students should be treated, or about what kind of fair society should be realized through education. The course also discusses epistemological aspects, such as about what valuable knowledge should be developed for students and on what justification it is important for knowledge to be developed for students, about whether in education there is a place for beliefs that are not scientifically robust. Regarding the discussion of the socio-political dimension, for example, whether children/students have rights and if children's rights and parental rights conflict whose rights should be upheld, can children develop autonomy at the same time as being part of a religious or belief community. As for the ethical aspect, for example, regarding what kind of interactions should occur between teacher-leaders, teacher-students, between students, and between parties in educational institutions.
Included in the discussion are topics about the comparative or present traditions of thought from --- but not limited to -- the West, the Muslim world, and from Indonesia. This course will examine, among others, the traditions of Western thought, for example, John Dewey, traditions of Islamic thought, such as al-Ghazali, Fazlur Rahman, Naquib al-Attas, and traditions of Indonesian thought, such as Ki Hajar Dewantara. It is hoped that - after attending lectures - students have thoughts, broad insights about educational patterns and are able to reflect on the educational orientation of the Muslim world, the West, and Indonesia as well as be able to identify, differences and similarities, strengths and weaknesses of the thoughts discussed in the course against current education.