Excellence in Higher Education 2 (2011): 109-113 Active Learning and Student Engagement in Mathematics at Madrasah Ibtidâ’iyah Al-Jauharotunnaqiyah Ir. Kartina, a Udi Samanhudi, a,* Siti Aisyah, a Lukman Nulhakim, a Sutrisno Sadji Evendi, a and Maman Faturohman a a University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Indonesia This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. ISSN 2153-9669 (print) 2153-9677 (online) | doi: 10.5195/ehe.2011.60 | http://ehe.pitt.edu Abstract Teaching for active learning has been widely recognized as a more effective teaching methodology than traditional transmission models of teaching. However, numerous studies have documented the persistence of traditional teaching methods despite the extensive research literature on the effectiveness of teaching for active learning and frequent efforts to train teachers to use this approach in their classrooms. In this article a team of lecturers from the University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa (UNTIRTA: Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa) in Indonesia report on an action research project carried out at an elementary-level madrasah in the city of Cilegon. Members of the team gathered qualitative data through interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations in order to better understand the challenges teachers faced in teaching for active learning before designing and carrying out a collaborative intervention designed to help teachers use active learning strategies in a mathematics classroom. Abstrak Metode pembelajaran aktif atau active learning kerap diakui lebih efektif dibandingkan model pengajaran transmisi tradisional. Namun, tidak sedikit pula studi yang mendokumentasikan keunggulan metode pengajaran tradisional, disamping banyaknya literatur tentang efektifitas active learning dan ramainya pelatihan aplikasi active learning di kelas. Dalam artikel ini, tim dosen Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa di Indonesia melaporkan penelitian tindakan kelas di Madrasah Ibtidaiyah di kota Cilegon. Tim dosen mengumpulkan data kualitatif melalui wawancara, diskusi kelompok, dan observasi kelas guna memahami kendala para guru dalam penerapan active learning. Tim ini kemudian merancang dan melakukan intervensi kolaboratif untuk membantu guru menerapkan strategi active learning di kelas Matematika. Key Words: Active Learning, Madrasah, Mathematics, Indonesia Introduction Teaching for active learning is a pedagogical practice with a long history and an extensive body of empirical research testifying to its effectiveness across a wide range of subject matter. In a recent review of the research literature on active learning, for instance, Michael Prince (2004), citing literature reviews by David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson, and Karl A. Smith (1998) covering more than 150 studies over the past 90 years, found broad support for all forms of active learning. This support extends internation- ally as well, with a wide variety of countries encouraging active learning strategies in classrooms at all levels (Stern and Huber 1997). Clearly, teaching for active learning is widely recognized as a more effective method of instruction than traditional transmission models of instruction. According to Marcia Keyser (2000), key characteristics of active learning—student involvement in more than listening, emphasis on developing skills rather than mere transmission, student engagement in activities, and student exploration of their own attitudes and values—are linked to critical learning domains, such as cognitive learning, affective learning and behavioral learning. In teaching for active learning teachers involve students in the learning process by giving them opportunities to feel and experience the material discussed in the classroom and thus develop the ability to apply what they have learned to their own ____________________________ *Corresponding author. Address: Faculty of Education, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Indonesia. Email: hudi_samanhudi@yahoo.com.