How to Help Students to be Active in Learning Process

One of the issues in the learning process with children aged 9 and up, even into adolescence and adulthood in Indonesia, is that students are either too afraid or uninterested in asking questions or expressing their opinions about what has been discussed and trying to relate it to their own experiences, which I understand as connecting the dots. Consequently, I often find many moments where the class becomes passive. This results in less effective learning. What confuses me is why, when they were in kindergarten, they could ask many things and learn from simple, familiar things without hesitation or fear. However, once they enter elementary school and beyond, this ability seems to disappear. Perhaps too many experiences eventually bury this ability, whether from interactions with family, teachers, or being mocked and bullied by peers for being active in class. This becomes even more difficult because I don't feel as connected. When I was in school, I was always active despite being bullied by teachers, parents, and friends. I remained confident that questioning things and expressing opinions was not wrong. I have tried several methods. Some may have worsened the situation. I realize this and have communicated it to the students. Finally, I decided to do something that I will explain in more detail in the next paragraph.

Today, I tried experimenting with a method that took a long process to get the idea, but the idea came suddenly at the right time. Here are the steps I took:

1. **Understanding the Goal.** My goal with this method is to make the learning process more active and student-centered and to gradually build the students' self-confidence.

Then what steps did I take?

2. **Sending the material to be discussed** and providing points that could help them find what they need. Here, I sent an 18-minute video by Sabda PS from Zenius about "Effective Learning Methods." I sent the video in the morning along with five points to help them better understand the material.

3. **Being honest with the students.** This class takes place every Sunday after Maghrib. Before starting the personal discussion, I told them that I cried today because I failed a job selection process. I explained to them the cause and how I responded to it. Then I told them that today I watched some discussions about Indonesian education. I told them that I have a lot of difficulties in helping them become more active in learning. I also told them that I am serious about helping them maximize their abilities. In terms of thinking. Even though I often fail to understand and face many difficulties in this matter, I decided to struggle along with them. I said, "It's okay if we're still ignorant about many things. Let's try to be better together. Let's face it together, not run away."

4. **Writing a bit of additional material on the board.** They memorized it in Arabic and its translation in Indonesian. I took it from the book *Ta'limul Muta'alim*, which means "Guidelines for Learning" in Indonesian. I took a part from the book that translates to "Learning can happen from anyone" and a conversation between Abu Hurairah and someone, "How do you learn?" someone asked curiously. Abu Hurairah replied, "With questioning and thinking"

5. **Asking them one by one.** Giving them space to express their opinions about those two statements. The meaning of being able to learn from anyone and the importance of asking questions and thinking. So, after they recited their memorization, I asked, "What do you think this sentence means?"

6. **Listening and paying close attention.** Most of them were surprised because the recitation had to be accompanied by their understanding. Finally, the discussion naturally started. They helped each other understand the context with their thoughts and examples from their own stories. I felt that in this situation, they felt safe and comfortable. They didn't feel intimidated by anything. One by one, they expressed their opinions to me. For some who still didn't understand the context, I helped them by finding keywords from the material being discussed. I could see and feel that even though they had to try again, they enjoyed doing it. At that moment, I realized that feeling safe is important. Perhaps in the case of Indonesian students who are used to passive learning, this approach could be effective in fostering their confidence first. The next question is how to effectively help them be confident and maintain a high curiosity about useful things (not about other people's business) in a non-individual classroom setting.

7. **Asking about their feelings.** I asked them how they felt after trying to understand something close to them and connecting it with what was being studied. Some felt relieved to express their opinions, some became aware, "Oh, it turns out I can." Because usually, when thrown into an open forum in class, they would rely on the active ones. The rest remained passive.

8. **Giving appreciation.** I told them that I was amazed by what they conveyed to me, and I learned a lot from them tonight. I ended with a quote from Sabda's video. So, in learning, we can start with the belief that "I can."

**Conclusion:** To help children who are used to passive learning, give them an active discussion space where they feel safe and comfortable. This starts by asking them one by one, listening carefully, and helping them understand the keywords from the material discussed. Gradually, this can move towards open discussions.

I told them that maybe what I understood was still not accurate. But at least we tried together and understood each other. If there are still things that need to be corrected, we will discuss them together.

**Bonus:**

Some things I remember from the students. By the way, they call me "Teteh," which means "older sister" in Indonesian.

1. "So, Teh, from this sentence, what I understand is that the learning process can happen with anyone. For example, at school, there's a friend of mine who is bullied because he's not Muslim. I don't join in bullying him. I chose to befriend him. Then I asked him how he felt about the bullying he received. He said he wanted to focus on his own self-development. He didn't want to focus on the friends who bullied him. From there, I learned how to deal with people who like to bully."

Honestly, I was shocked here. It turns out that there are still people who antagonize others just because of different religions. I learned the reality on the ground among teenagers.

2. "I saw my friend had a business, Teh. Then I was curious about how to sell like him. Then he taught me how to sell online. I started by selling my old clothes on several platforms. Alhamdulillah, someone bought them, and I made a profit, Teteh. Then I started buying new items and selling them at a higher price with the COD system. One time, the buyer's house was far away. So I asked my friend what to do in this situation. He immediately took me to the shipping place. So, when I was at the location and got the shipping receipt, the buyer immediately sent the money."

Wow, I was amazed. They already started an independent business. And until now, he still continues this business. I learned something new again here.

3. "In class, there are smart and less smart kids. During Math lessons, the less smart one doesn't understand. Finally, he asked the smart one to explain again. Because if the teacher explains, it's often too fast."

From here, I learned something. Sometimes, it's not that they can't do it. But the method we use is not suitable for some kids.

4. "So, Teteh, I have a friend. He's quiet. He's labeled as 'a burden' by my friends every time there's a group project because he's quiet. He never asks questions if there's an assignment. But if he's told what the task is, he does it. Finally, I told him to learn to interact with people and be more active in asking questions."

Here I asked the kid who told the story, "Before you gave a solution to your friend, did you ask why she liked to stay quiet?" she replied, "No." Well, it's better before giving a solution, we try to find out first, "What could be the cause?"