Action Research on the Implementation of Teaching for Active Learning in Two Elementary Madrasahs in Aceh

Teaching for active learning is an instructional strategy that has been shown to improve student achievement. Many of its advocates also stress its contribution to the development of democratic dispositions in school children. It has, therefore, become a popular reform intended to improve teaching and learning in schools around the world, including Indonesia, where it was a key component of training conducted in Aceh under the auspices of the USAID-funded Decentralized Basic Education 2 Project (DBE2). In order to gauge the extent to which teaching for active learning was being adopted in Aceh, a team of lecturers from Syiah Kuala University and the State Islamic Studies Institute in Banda Aceh conducted an action research project designed to identify the challenges faced by teachers attempting to teach for active learning in two elementary-level madrasahs as well as strategies that might assist them in that effort. The results of our research show that, while the initial training provided to teachers heightened their consciousness of teaching for active learning and inspired some to experiment with the new teaching methodology, teachers’ understanding and acceptance of active learning was still tentative and could be undermined without effective leadership and long term mentoring. Key Words: Active Learning, Teaching, Aceh, Madrasah