INTRODUCTION
In this age of globalization, the world community has received various changes influenced by the development of technology. Industry and education in a country will be affected because the services provided are for the improvement and change of a community or society that now receives technological skills. All information or info is shared with various technology mediums that can be reached by various levels of society, especially the internet and technology tools that are well available. The education system is the backbone of a country.
A good country has an education system with value and quality that can be used as an example. The smoothness and effectiveness of the education system are seen in planning or strategy and in the seriousness, commitment, knowledge, awareness, and skills of the community that implements it. The intended community is teachers or educators, pupils or students, parents or guardians, and the local community. The Malaysian Education Development Plan 2013-2025 (PPPM 2013-2025) guides the education system in a predetermined period. There are five educational aspirations, six student aspirations, and eleven primary shifts to transform the country’s education system. The teacher’s role in fulfilling educational aspirations and student aspirations needs to be from various holistic aspects. Teachers must convey information, knowledge, and values and provide a robust learning environment.
According to Noriati A. Rashid, Lee Keok Cheong, Zulkifli Mahayudin, and Zakiah Noordin (2012), the Primary School Integrated Curriculum (KBSR) and Primary School Standard Curriculum (KSSR) are among the parts contained in the National Curriculum. The Primary School Integrated Curriculum (KBSR) is a comprehensive and integrated education program in content structure, approach, and teaching and learning materials. The goal of KBSR is to develop the potential of each individual as a whole to produce balanced, harmonious, and virtuous people. Knowledge, skills, and values are integrated into all curricular and co-curricular activities. Starting in 2011, KSSR was implemented in stages with Year 1 students. KSSR aims to holistically develop students’ potential to produce balanced, harmonious, noble, critical, creative, and innovative human capital with soft skills to prepare them for facing current challenges and the 21st century.
Noriati et al. (2012) stated that primary education implements and runs KBSR and KSSR. Primary education is an education program provided to pupils between the ages of 6 and 12 to provide a solid foundation in the skills of reading, writing, counting (3M), and reasoning; introduction to the basic concepts of science; vocational skills; generic skills; as well as the application of pure values. Primary education is the basis for developing and expanding students’ cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains parallel to FPK. In Primary Education, there is a program known as the Remedial Education Program to support the goal of Primary Education, which is to ensure that students struggling to master 3M basic skills are given special remedial. According to Khairuddin Mohamad, Faridah Alias, and Faiziah Shamsuddin (2013), the Special Remedial Program is a unique program for level one students who have difficulty mastering the basic skills of 3M. Emphasis on the Rehabilitation Program is an important thing that needs to be done to ensure that all students master aspects of literacy and numeracy.
The country also has excellent educational aspirations, and its driving force to make the generation that will inherit the country’s leadership have potent qualities. In line with the Malaysian Education Development Plan (PPPM) 2013-2025, thinking skills must be applied in schools’ teaching and learning, including Rehabilitation Education. It is ironic if remedial students with advantages, strengths, and thinking power are not tested. Therefore, as a teacher who has the responsibility as an agent of change, research has been done to overcome the issues that have been identified. In Rehabilitation Education, rehabilitation students are given interventions to master skills in stages. The prioritized skills are the basic 3M skills: reading, writing, and counting (Khairuddin et al., 2013). Therefore, this writing will discuss meaningful learning by focusing on the theory of meaningful learning, examples of meaningful learning based on the Special Remedial Program Malay Language Teaching and Learning Guidebook, the importance of meaningful learning, challenges, and how to overcome them.
CONCEPT OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING
Meaningful learning is divided into two parts. In each section, there will be a discussion and a meaningful learning connection with the Restoration Malay Language. The connection and discussion were made to show the appropriateness and ability of meaningful learning in PdPc Bahasa Melayu in particular.
Meaningful Learning Ausebel
Through Khaidir Waily (2019), Ausebel stated that meaningful learning is a learning process where students understand and learn things more quickly because the teacher can provide facilities for students to quickly relate experiences or knowledge in their minds. According to Khaidir (2019), learning by rote is meaningless for students because that form of learning does not provide a learning environment that relates new knowledge to old knowledge. Strictly speaking, Ausebel emphasizes meaningful elements in learning through language, such as verbal information, concepts, methods, and principles. Ausebel’s learning theory is very similar to the constructivism theory. This is because meaningful learning theory and constructivism have the same characteristics, such as connecting experiences, phenomena, and new facts into the knowledge system that has been acquired. Next, both emphasize the importance of assimilating new experiences into concepts or knowledge already acquired. Ultimately, both assume that the learning process needs to be active.
Ausebel thinks that teachers should be able to develop students’ cognitive potential through a meaningful learning process. Ausebel stressed that the student’s learning process will be more meaningful if it involves daily and practical activities. However, learning directly involving daily activities will take quite a long time and exceed the time allocated for students to achieve learning objectives. Therefore, Ausebel suggests that teachers use explanations, demonstrations, diagrams, and illustrations so that students’ learning is more effective and they can relate concepts to experience or information obtained. Here are four ways to apply meaningful learning:
1. Learning with meaningful discoveries: relating the knowledge already owned to the learning material being studied or students finding knowledge from the learning material and then relating it to existing knowledge.
2. Learning with meaningless discoveries: Learning is discovered by the student without relating existing knowledge, then the learning is remembered by rote.
3. Learning to receive meaning: learning materials that have been logically organized, delivered to students until the final form, then relating the learning materials to existing knowledge.
4. Learning to accept the meaningless: learning material that has been logically arranged and delivered to students until the final form, then the learning material or new knowledge is memorized without being linked to existing knowledge.
Ausubel states that the main factors that affect meaningful learning are existing cognitive structure, stability, and clarity of knowledge in a specific learning area and at a specific time. The following are the steps for Ausubel’s meaningful learning using the Concept Map:
1. Choose reading material from the learning book.
2. Define the relevant concepts.
3. Sort the concepts from the most inclusive to the least inclusive or examples.
4. Arrange the concepts on paper, starting from the most inclusive concept at the top of the concept to the non-inclusive concept below.
5. Connect these concepts with conjunctions until they become a concept map.
6. The steps taken by the teacher to apply Ausubel’s meaningful learning are as follows: Advanced organizer, Progressive Differential, integrative reconciliation, and consolidation.
Apart from that, the following are Ausubel’s meaningful learning steps:
1. Determine learning objectives.
2. Perform student character detection such as ability, motivation, learning style, etc.
3. Choose learning materials according to the students and arrange them as core concepts.
4. Determine the topics and present them as an advance organizer that the students will learn.
5. Learning the core concepts and applying them in concrete form.
6. Assessing the student’s learning process and results.
The learning steps mean that Ausubel has the right parallel in the Special Remedial Program. This is because, in teaching and learning, especially Bahasa Melayu Remedial, students will be divided into several groups with abilities, levels of mastery, and learning styles. Every rehabilitation student should have an Individual Education Plan to guide Special Rehabilitation teachers in planning PdP. However, some steps must be modified according to the learning content available in Remedial Malay skills.
Meaningful learning involves active, constructive, intentional, authentic, and cooperative students. Meaningful learning can be identified based on characteristics based on the views of Nasution (2003):
1. Explain the relationship or relevance of the new materials with the old.
2. Prioritize general matters and end with specific matters.
3. Show the similarities and differences between the new and old materials.
4. Working so that existing ideas are fully mastered before introducing new ideas.
5. Information learned in a meaningful way can be remembered longer.
6. The information learned meaningfully facilitates the following learning process for the same student material.
7. Information learned meaningfully makes it easier to learn the same things even if you have forgotten them.
New materials can be concrete or abstract materials. Therefore, the learning characteristics mean that Ausebel can be adapted in PdPc Bahasa Malay Pemhilani. The second feature can be adapted according to the existing skills in Bahasa Malay Pemhilah. Often, in the induction set, the general to specific approach will be done by the remedial teacher to make it more transparent. In line with the 21st Century Class, learning objectives must be explained to students before learning. The following features can be found in PdPc Bahasa Melayu remedial because it is inevitable that remedial teachers ensure that remedial students remember the learning content every day, even if it is just one letter.
Fullan Meaningful Learning
According to Shamsul Aizuwani Nawi (2021), Meaningful Learning (Deep Learning) is quality learning that remains a person’s knowledge throughout life. He added that this learning can increase student engagement through individuality and ability. Students can be connected to the real world by paying attention to pure values and spiritual aspects. Students can develop skills, knowledge, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. In addition, students can build relationships with and among students, teachers, families, and communities. Learning means moving students to connect with others to do good things.
Therefore, the Pedagogical Capacity of Meaningful Learning or New Pedagogies Deep Learning (NPDL) was introduced by Fullan, Quinn, and McEachen in 2018. Fullan and Langworthy (2014) stated that NPDL means a new learning-sharing model between and among students and teachers that aims to achieve deep learning goals through digital access. Most pedagogical teaching elements are familiar with teaching strategies. A new element is active learning sharing with students. Shamsul (2021) explains that new pedagogy is born from shared learning between and among students and teachers when digital tools and resources develop rapidly.
The old pedagogy used technology to master learning content and emphasized mastery of content obtained through learning that focuses on content knowledge. According to Shamsul (2021), new pedagogy requires students to create new knowledge and connect it to the world using digital tools to achieve meaningful learning. According to Fullan et. Al (2018), NPDL designs and identifies new pedagogies to facilitate the development of profound learning outcomes through six global competencies. The six global competencies are personality, citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. NPDL also has four foundations, which focus on creating and using new knowledge in the real world instead of just delivering existing knowledge, collaborating with learning partners, reaching beyond the traditional classroom, and driving the ubiquitous digital world.
Apart from that, several components of NPDL have been stated by Shamsul (2021) in his book entitled ‘Temporary Pedagogy.’ There are three components in NPDL:
1. New learning sharing within and between students and teachers.
2. In-depth learning tasks to reorganize the learning process towards knowledge creation and oriented use.
3. Digital tools and resources that enable and accelerate the deep learning process.
According to Fullan and Longworth (2014), for the past 40 years, three main things in the teaching and learning process have been interdependent but have moved independently: technology, pedagogy, and knowledge. Shamsul (2021) explains that technology is used not only by teachers but by students as part of learning. Pedagogy changed mainly since the progress in science around 1970, which sparked the idea to change the whole system.
Pedagogical Capacity for Meaningful Learning (NPDL) is a form of teaching that changes the education system in Malaysia and worldwide. This is because the education system needs to be renewed according to the needs and suitability of the world’s development, which is influenced by technological progress. Therefore, the new education is expected to influence students’ preparation to hone creativity and be able to solve problems and collaborate. In short, students can deal with the challenges of today’s world. Shamsul (2021) explained that NPDL was introduced in 2013 to bridge the gap between students’ knowledge, skills, and competencies acquired through traditional teaching and learning methods. In order to strengthen the NPDL, seven countries are involved in a global partnership to apply the NPDL. Australia, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States and Uruguay are the countries.
ISSUES AND PROBLEMS OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING
Many still need clarification about meaningful learning with the learning approach listed in the Curriculum and Assessment Standard Document (DSKP). There are several essay issues and problems that will reinforce the reason why this writing is done.
Memorization Or Remembering Techniques: Its Effectiveness Is Less Encouraging
Students at school have been in a traditional learning environment for a long time because some still use memorization techniques to remember certain subject content. This is annoying because memorization techniques will not leave a lasting impression and make the person who uses them remember the memorized content quickly. The situation is like memorizing a road without going through it; it does not give a deep picture or impact on the individual’s memory and experience.
Rahmaniar (2016) said mastery learning proved to be successful in short-term memory advantage or competence but failed to provide students with the ability to solve problems in daily life in the long term. Nevertheless, Rahmaniar stated that learning is meaningful, which makes teachers need to be more active in providing teaching aids so that students experience the content learned is difficult to accept. This is because providing realistic teaching aids makes a lesson excellent and perfect, which is difficult to achieve, especially if the teacher is in a third-class country.
Zuraida Ahmad et al. (2020) also stated that rote learning and conceptual learning are types of learning that are often practiced but have significant differences. Ahmed and Ahmad (2017), through Zuraidah Ahmad et al. (2017), asserted that memorization is a method of storing data in the mind without the need to understand the stored data. Rote learning is a memorization technique based on drill activities widely used to master basic knowledge. The purpose is so students can automatically remember the subject’s content without thinking about the concept. However, if the student needs to understand the fundamental concept, memorization can help him apply that knowledge to solve real problems in life (Ahmed & Ahmad, 2017; Zuraidah Ahmad et al., 2020).
It takes time to make changes in PdPc.
Apart from that, learning means providing challenges in its implementation. Mashira Yahaya et al. (2019), through Mohd Fadzil Mohd Salleh et al. (2021), found that most teachers voiced that they could not implement teaching and learning (PdP) or now known as Learning and Facilitation (PdPc) because they had to allocate more time to plan activities and prepare learning materials and alignment. There is also a study showing that teachers still have an incomplete understanding of KBAT in the Malaysian education curriculum, and teachers’ understanding of KBAT is found to be very general (Bernard et al. et al. 2021; Mohd et al. et al. 2021). Such things have limited teachers’ ability to implement meaningful learning more effectively during PdPc. According to Min & Mohamad (2021), teachers still need time to consider, discuss, practice, and reflect on changes in pedagogical practices to implement new ones.
PAST STUDIES
The included studies include the importance of meaningful learning for students and teachers, especially in Malay subjects. The past studies described are divided into two parts: in the country and abroad.
Past Studies in the Country
Abdul Hamid R’s (2015) study titled “The relationship between meaningful learning and students’ Malay literacy skills” debates the relationship between meaningful learning and students’ Malay literacy skills. This study was conducted using quantitative methods, and the sample was fourth-grade students in a secondary school in Malaysia. The results of the study show that there is a positive and significant relationship between meaningful learning and students’ Malay literacy skills. This shows that by using meaningful learning, students can improve their literacy skills in Malay. This study provides important implications for teachers in teaching Malay more meaningfully and effectively.
The study entitled “The Use of Meaningful Learning in Malay Language Teaching: A Study on Primary School Students” discusses the use of meaningful learning in teaching the Malay language to primary school students. This study was conducted using quantitative methods, and the sample was fourth-year primary school students in Malaysia. The study results show that by using meaningful learning in teaching Malay, students gain a better and more practical understanding. According to Ahmad Z (2017), there is an increase in student motivation and performance in Malay subjects after using meaningful learning. This study shows that meaningful learning can help students better understand and improve their performance in Malay subjects. This study provides important implications for teachers to use meaningful learning in teaching Malay.
In addition, Ismail’s study (2019) titled “The Influence of Meaningful Learning on Student Motivation and Performance in Malay Language Subjects” is related to the influence of meaningful learning on student motivation and performance in Malay language subjects. This study was conducted using quantitative methods, and the sample was fourth-grade students in a secondary school in Malaysia. The study results show a significant increase in student motivation and performance after using meaningful learning in Malay subjects. This study shows that by using meaningful learning, students can be more interested and dedicated to learning, and their performance in Malay subjects will also be better. This study provides important implications for teachers to introduce and use meaningful learning in Malay teaching to improve student motivation and performance.
Jumadi, M.’s (2018) study titled “Increasing Student Motivation and Performance through Meaningful Learning in Malay Subjects” discusses the influence of meaningful learning on student motivation and performance in Malay subjects. This study was conducted using quantitative methods, and the sample was fourth-grade students in a secondary school in Malaysia. The study results show a significant increase in student motivation and performance after using meaningful learning in Malay subjects. This study shows that by using meaningful learning, students can be more interested and dedicated to learning, and their performance in Malay subjects will also be better. This study provides important implications for teachers to introduce and use meaningful learning in Malay teaching to improve student motivation and performance.
Kamsani, N. H.’s (2017) study titled “The Influence of Meaningful Learning on Student Performance in Malay Subjects” discusses how meaningful learning affects student performance in Malay subjects. This study was conducted using quantitative methods, and the sample in this study was fourth-grade students of a secondary school in Malaysia. The study’s findings show a significant improvement in student performance after using meaningful learning in Malay subjects. This study shows that by using meaningful learning, students can better understand and remember the content, improving their performance in Malay subjects. This study provides important implications for teachers to introduce and use meaningful learning in teaching Malay to improve student performance.
Rahmat, M.’s (2016) study “Research on meaningful learning in Malay subjects” discusses how meaningful learning can affect student performance. This study uses quantitative methods, and the sample is the third-grade students of a secondary school in Malaysia. The study results show that meaningful learning can help students better understand and remember the content so that their performance in Malay subjects improves. This study provides important implications for teachers to introduce and use meaningful learning in teaching Malay to improve student performance.
The study by Sulaiman, N. (2019), titled Meaningful Learning in Helping Students Understand Concepts in Malay Subjects, shows how meaningful learning affects students’ understanding of concepts in Malay subjects. This study uses a quantitative method, and the sample is fourth-grade students from a secondary school in Malaysia. The study results show that learning means helping students better understand concepts in Malay subjects and improve their performance in those subjects. This study provides important implications for teachers to introduce and use meaningful learning in teaching Malay to help students understand concepts better.
Based on the analysis of previous studies, not many meaningful learning studies are conducted in primary schools. Most studies only relate meaningful learning to the methods or interventions used in the study. Not specifically. In addition, there is no study on applying meaningful learning processes in special rehabilitation programs, especially Bahasa Melayu Rehabilitation.
Study Abroad
Fang and Woolf’s (2019) study titled “Meaningful Learning in Online Environments: A Review of the Literature” is a literature review that discusses meaningful learning in online learning. This study examines how meaningful learning can be applied in an online learning environment. It discusses various factors that influence meaningful learning, including learning design, social interaction, and the use of technology. This study also examines how meaningful learning affects student learning performance and motivation. The study results show that meaningful online learning can improve learning performance and increase student motivation. However, factors such as learning design, social interaction, and the use of technology should be considered in applying meaningful learning in an online learning environment.
Lee and Hannafin’s (2019) study titled “Meaningful Learning with Technology: A Review of Recent Literature” is a literature review related to meaningful learning by using technology. This study evaluates how technology can help students understand lesson content meaningfully. This study also examines how technology can help facilitate social interaction and student interaction with lesson content, which helps strengthen meaningful learning. The study results show that technology can help strengthen meaningful learning by facilitating social interaction and student interaction with lesson content. However, effective learning design and strategies to utilize technology should be considered to ensure optimal, meaningful learning.
Study Chen, W., & Lin, Y. (2019). “The Effects of Meaningful Learning on Students’ Academic Achievements in Elementary Schools” discusses the effects of meaningful learning on students’ academic achievements in elementary schools. This research was conducted by analyzing data from several primary schools in Taiwan. The study results show that meaningful learning positively and significantly affects student academic achievement. In addition, meaningful learning has also been found to positively influence learning motivation and students’ ability to understand concepts. This research proves that meaningful learning is essential in improving academic achievement and helping students understand concepts.
Study Chen, X. (2019). “The Impact of Meaningful Learning on Student Motivation and Learning Outcomes in Elementary Schools” discusses the impact of meaningful learning on learning motivation and student learning outcomes. This research was conducted by analyzing data from several primary schools in China. The study results show that meaningful learning positively and significantly affects student motivation and learning outcomes. In addition, the study results also show that learning means helping students understand concepts and improve their learning abilities more effectively. This article provides essential evidence about the role of meaningful learning in students, improving student motivation and learning outcomes in primary schools.
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