Exploring Cooperative Learning as an Inclusive Strategy for Introverted Students' Engagement in Islamic Religious Education: A Qualitative Case Study at SDN 3 Ajung
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32832/at-tadib.v10i2.23111Keywords:
Cooperative Learning, Inclusive Education, Introverted Learners, Student Engagement, Islamic Religious EducationAbstract
Contemporary Islamic Religious Education (IRE) classrooms in Indonesia remain dominated by teacher-centered instruction that systematically disadvantages learners with introverted tendencies, yet how personality-responsive inclusion can be operationalized in elementary IRE is under-researched. This qualitative case study explores how an adapted Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) model functions as an inclusive strategy for six upper-grade students (Grades IV–VI) with introverted tendencies at SDN 3 Ajung, Jember. Participants were selected from 24 upper-grade students through a three-stage triangulated screening procedure combining an adapted Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ), longitudinal teacher records, and a two-week baseline behavioral checklist; the label “introverted-tendency” is used descriptively rather than as a clinical diagnosis. Data were collected across an eight-week intervention via 12 non-participant observations (70 minutes each), nine semi-structured interviews (six students, three teacher sessions), and document analysis; saturation was reached at the fifth student interview. Data were analyzed thematically following Braun and Clarke with the Miles–Huberman condensation display verification model. Findings reveal three themes: (1) baseline low behavioral participation coexisted with active cognitive engagement (mean 3.0 written idea contributions per session against 0.3 verbal contributions); (2) rotating structured roles (writer, checker, presenter, encourager) enabled a gradual shift toward verbal participation in small groups, although two of six students remained hesitant in large-group presentations; and (3) gentle teacher scaffolding and peer prompting were decisive facilitators, while time pressure and student fatigue constrained sustainability. The study contributes theoretically by reframing engagement as a personality-responsive multidimensional construct integrated with the Islamic principles of ta‘awun (mutual help) and ukhuwah (brotherhood), and practically by offering elementary IRE teachers a role-based framework for accommodating introverted learners without pathologizing quietness.
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