2017 GUEST LECTURE AT MATHEMATICS EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM WITH MATHEMATICS LEARNING EXPERTS FROM AUSTRALIA

Yogyakarta. Located at the Islamic Center of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, the Mathematics Education Study Program held a public lecture by inviting Prof. Alan White from Western Sydney, Australia. The event, which was held on Wednesday, 5 April 2017 was opened by the Dean of UAD FKIP, Dr. Trikinasih Handayani, M.Si. In her speech, Trikinasih said that she expected students to build mathematical brains. “Students, as prospective mathematics teachers, need to build mathematical brains and prepare students to have the mindset required in the 21st century,” said Trikinasih.
The participants of the event were all 6th semester students of Mathematics Education study program of UAD, junior high schools/ senior high schools/ vocational schools in Yogyakarta City, and Mathematics lecturers, both from undergraduate, postgraduate and Primary School Teacher Education (PGSD) study programs. As THE Chairman of the Committee, Faris Setiawan, M.Pd, emphasized that this activity was carried out as a pilot activity for the International Conference of Mathematic Education which will be held in October 2017 with Prof. Alan L. White as one of the speakers.
As the Head of Mathematics Education Study Program, Abdul Tarom, M.Si stated that it was important for Mathematics Education of UAD to hold this activity for the sake of the nation’s next generation who would contribute to the development of mathematics education in Indonesia. “This activity is carried out with the aim of training and making students the nation’s successor to develop education, especially mathematics, in Indonesia,” explained Abdul.
The participants of the event looked very enthusiastic about the presentation which was delivered in full English. In his lecture, Alan presented the study of the brain, namely brain plasticity or neuroplasticity, referring to the brain’s ability to change or develop. “When students learn mathematics, the brain activity is distributed to two parts of the visual pathways, namely the ventral and dorsal parts. The learning process begins when neurons or nerves are activated by chemical fluids and form networks that work together. The more often a person uses this network, the more the network develops. In other words, one’s understanding of a concept can be optimum when the network is used constantly,” Allan explained. (H3)