Boyolali, November 19, 2025 — The Physics Education Study Program, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, carried out a Community Service Program (PkM) in Boyolali Regency, Central Java. The activity was held at SMPTQ and SMATQ Abi-Ummi Boyolali as part of the program’s academic contribution to improving the quality of science education at the secondary school level. Through this initiative, the Physics Education Study Program reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening research literacy and pedagogical skills among educators in partner schools.

This year’s PkM activity was themed “Enhancing Teacher Competence through Scientific Article Writing and Physics Teaching Innovation.” The theme was chosen to address the growing need for teachers to develop the ability to write and publish scientific articles, while also creating innovative and engaging physics learning materials for students. The theme is closely aligned with the spirit of the Merdeka Belajar policy, which emphasizes teacher professionalism and encourages educators to actively engage in both academic scholarship and pedagogical innovation.

The main speaker in this activity was Himawan Putranta, M.Pd., a lecturer from the Physics Education Study Program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga who has extensive experience publishing in reputable national and international journals. He presented strategies for writing high-quality scientific articles, techniques for selecting appropriate journals, and practical tips to increase the chances of article acceptance in accredited national journals and reputable international journals. The material was delivered using examples of real published articles, enabling participants to follow the discussion more easily.

Participants in the program included teachers of Integrated Science, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Indonesian Language, English, and Guidance and Counseling. The diversity of participants highlighted that the need for scientific literacy and instructional innovation is a universal issue among educators. Each participant brought their own teaching experiences and challenges, making the discussions highly interactive and rich in perspectives.

During the session on scientific article writing, participants showed strong enthusiasm and raised various technical questions. These ranged from how to identify trustworthy open-access journals, strategies to avoid predatory journals, and methods for effectively interpreting journal templates. Participants were also interested in learning how to recognize journal indexing systems such as SINTA, DOAJ, Scopus, and Web of Science, as well as understanding the characteristics of articles suitable for publication in reputable journals.

The following session focused on innovation in physics teaching materials. The speaker introduced several creative approaches for developing engaging learning resources, including the use of interactive illustrations, simple experimental videos, physics simulations, and problem-based learning models. Teachers were encouraged to connect physics concepts with real-life phenomena encountered by students so that learning becomes more contextual and meaningful.

The program received a very positive response from teachers at SMPTQ and SMATQ Abi-Ummi Boyolali. Participants expressed that training of this kind is highly valuable because it helps them improve both instructional quality and academic competence through scientific publication. Several teachers even requested follow-up mentoring programs, particularly in scientific writing and technology-based teaching material development.

At the closing session, the school expressed appreciation for the contribution of the Physics Education Study Program of UIN Sunan Kalijaga in supporting teacher professional development. This community service activity is expected to become the starting point for sustainable collaboration between the university and partner schools in advancing educational research and innovation in science teaching. With the enthusiasm of the participants and institutional support, the program not only strengthens teachers’ professional capacity but also contributes to improving the quality of education in Boyolali.