Jurnal Sosial dan Teknologi (SOSTECH)

Volume 1, Number 12, December 2021

p-ISSN 2774-5147 ; e-ISSN 2774-5155

How to cite:

Vimala Murti Pitra Tunggal Jaya. (2021). The Impact of Learning by Doing Application to Enhance Students

Inquiry in The Classroom. Jurnal Sosial dan Teknologi (SOSTECH), 1(12): 1.701-1.707

E-ISSN:

2774-5155

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THE IMPACT OF LEARNING BY DOING APPLICATION TO ENHANCE

STUDENTS INQUIRY IN THE CLASSROOM

Vimala Murti Pitra Tunggal Jaya

Prodi Sistem Informasi, Pelita Harapan University, Jakarta, Indonesia

[email protected]m

Abstract

Background: Learning by doing, also known as experiential learning, is a method when the

learners actively participate in the learning process. The role of the teacher is to guide and

facilitate the learners by providing a variety of activities and teaching materials that enhance

inquiry in the classroom.

Research purposes: The purpose of this study was aimed to investigate the impact of learning by

doing applications to enhance students‟ inquiry in the classroom.

Research methods: The present study involved forty-six (46) teachers across disciplines.

Literature review, teachers‟ questionnaires, and open-ended questions through interviews were

used for this study.

Research results: The finding showed that most of the respondents understood and agreed about

the impact of learning by doing application in the classroom and have been applied the method

in their teaching and learning process. Some strategies, strengths, and possible challenges were

shared during the interview. Hence, the result emphasized that the method enhances active

participation that promotes inquiry.

Conclusion: Most of teachers are familiar and consistently implement the learning by doing

strategies to extend inquiry in the classroom. Some of the learning by doing strategies were

shared during the interview. Most of the teachers have occupied with professional development

workshops to increase their understanding on how to implement learning by doing that enhance

inquiry in the classroom practices. Accordingly, over 90% of teachers agreed on the importance

of application learning by doing in the classroom practices. Regarding some feedback, more than

half of teachers agreed that learning resources and environment are helpful in the application of

learning by doing. Moreover, learning by doing also enhanced inquiry and promote student voice

and choice. Despite all the strengths have mentioned above, some challenges also were shared.

For example limited resources, time and cost consume and different teachers' abilities in

applying learning by doing in the classroom.

Keywords: Application, Impact, Learning by Doing, Inquiry

Abstrak

Latar belakang: Learning by doing, juga dikenal sebagai experiential learning, adalah suatu

metode dimana peserta didik secara aktif berpartisipasi dalam proses pembelajaran. Peran guru

adalah membimbing dan memfasilitasi peserta didik dengan menyediakan berbagai kegiatan dan

bahan ajar yang meningkatkan inkuiri di kelas.

Tujuan penelitian: Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui dampak pembelajaran

dengan melakukan aplikasi untuk meningkatkan inkuiri siswa di kelas.

Metode penelitian: Penelitian ini melibatkan empat puluh enam (46) guru lintas disiplin ilmu.

Tinjauan pustaka, kuesioner guru, dan pertanyaan terbuka melalui wawancara digunakan untuk

penelitian ini.

Hasil penelitian: Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar responden memahami dan

setuju tentang dampak pembelajaran dengan melakukan penerapan di kelas dan telah menerapkan

metode tersebut dalam proses belajar mengajar mereka. Beberapa strategi, kekuatan, dan

kemungkinan tantangan dibagikan selama wawancara. Oleh karena itu, hasilnya menekankan

bahwa metode tersebut meningkatkan partisipasi aktif yang mendorong inkuiri.

Kesimpulan: Sebagian besar guru sudah terbiasa dan konsisten melaksanakan pembelajaran

dengan melakukan strategi perluasan inkuiri di kelas. Beberapa strategi pembelajaran dengan

melakukan dibagikan selama wawancara. Sebagian besar guru telah mengikuti lokakarya

pengembangan profesional untuk meningkatkan pemahaman mereka tentang bagaimana

The Impact of Learning by Doing Application to Enhance

Students Inquiry in The Classroom

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p-ISSN 2774-5147

Vimala Murti Pitra Tunggal Jaya 1.702

menerapkan pembelajaran dengan melakukan yang meningkatkan inkuiri dalam praktik kelas.

Oleh karena itu, lebih dari 90% guru setuju tentang pentingnya pembelajaran aplikasi dengan

melakukan praktik di kelas. Mengenai beberapa umpan balik, lebih dari separuh guru setuju

bahwa sumber belajar dan lingkungan sangat membantu dalam penerapan learning by doing.

Selain itu, belajar dengan melakukan juga meningkatkan inkuiri dan mempromosikan suara dan

pilihan siswa. Terlepas dari semua kekuatan yang disebutkan di atas, beberapa tantangan juga

dibagikan. Misalnya keterbatasan sumber daya, konsumsi waktu dan biaya serta kemampuan

guru yang berbeda dalam menerapkan learning by doing di kelas.

Kata kunci: Aplikasi, Dampak, Belajar sambil Melakukan, Inkuiri

Diterima: 26-11-2021; Direvisi: 29-11-2021; Disetujui: 15-12-2021

INTRODUCTION

Education aims to develop human qualities according to the needs of the

community (Baco & Elihami, 2021). Hence, education should be given to individuals

from early stages (Sailer et al., 2021). Education is essential to form individuals‟

personalities and behaviour and how to solve various problems (Conger et al., 2021).

Education is a learning experience that can be given in formal (Spassiani et al., 2021) and

non-formal environments that requires interaction and collaboration between learners and

educators to achieve the learning goals (Björklund Boistrup & Selander, 2022).

Education is one of the fundamental priorities, not an accessory but it is a necessity

(Mohamed & Mohamed, 2021) and crucial for individuals. Education is a continuous

learning experience from an early age to develop not only knowledge (Fleming, 2021) but

also increases the important value of making our lives better (Brem et al., 2021).

Education has two different approaches (Pohle et al., 2021); academic and non-academic

performances, which should be balanced (Razali et al., 2021). The academic approach is

more structured (Reuter & Leuchter, 2021) and focuses on knowledge and subject matters

(Tobien, 2021), while the non-academic approach is a value-based education that includes

non-cognitive skills, behaviour, social-emotional skills, communication skills, character,

growth mindset, and soft skills that are essential for the learners to grow and help learners

to grow as individuals (Fernandes et al., 2021).

School as part of education institute should focus on giving the best education to

students by empowering them to achieve their best on both academic (McNicholl et al.,

2021) and non-academic performance. Hence, a good education is giving the opportunity

for the students to explore, understand the process, know the value of learning (Hung,

2021), and be able to solve problems, instead of traditional learning method which used

repetition and memorisation of information in the classroom practices.

Nowadays, students want to learn new knowledge by doing. They want to express

themselves, tell a story, interact and collaborate with others. They want to explore and be

engaged in the learning process to increase their knowledge so that new ideas can be

developed through the learning process. John Dewey‟s learning by doing is one of the

methods that can be implemented in classroom practices. To fulfil the learners‟ needs,

teachers as facilitators should be able to provide learning resources and an environment

that promotes learning by doing practices. Teachers should enrich themselves and explore

learning by doing strategies that can engage and promote inquiry in the classroom.

Teaching is indeed a complex and challenging profession. Teachers should be able

to meet various social and intellectual demands, and should be able to work cooperatively

with students and colleagues. In line with that, the role of the teacher has gone beyond

teaching. Their role now involves counselling, mentoring and teaching students to be able

to use and apply their knowledge in their lives. Teachers are now looking for ways to

influence and inspire students to do more and be a better versions of themselves.

Vol. 1, No. 12, pp. 1.701-1.707, December 2021

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Following the introduction, evaluating the process and result is important. Thus,

these findings will be useful to ensure the expected educational goals are achieved. With

this intention, the present study investigates teachers‟ understanding of the importance

and application of learning by doing to enhance inquiry in the classroom.

RESEARCH METHOD

In this study, a quantitative cross-sectional study and sampling technique was

applied for the data collection. Forty-six (46) teachers were invited to take part in this

study through self-administered questionnaire. Some teachers were interviewed in the

self-administered interview to identify their understanding of importance of learning by

doing and the impact of the learning by doing application to enhance inquiry in the

classroom. Open-ended questions related to strategies, strengths and challenges were also

asked during interview.

The self-administered questionnaire was designed by the investigator. The

questions were designed in a Likert Scale format. The objectives of the questionnaire

focused on the teachers‟ understanding of the importance and application of learning by

doing that enhance inquiry in the classroom. Open-ended questions also included in

assessing the strategies, strengths and challenges in applying learning by doing that

enhance inquiry.

Following data collection, the frequency and percentage of each response is

summarized and presented in the form of pie chart and table. For open-ended questions,

thematic analysis through different themes are also summarized in the table.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Anonymous self-administered questionnaire were conducted among forty-six (46)

teachers across disciplines. The results of the study presented on Figure 1 revealed that

32 (69.9 %) strongly agreed and 14 (30.4%) agreed about learning by doing is important

in teaching and learning process. The blue colour indicates strongly agreed and red colour

indicates agreed.

Picture 1. Teacher‟s response on their understanding of the importance and application of

learning by doing in the classroom (n=46).

Teachers were asked whether the meaning of learning by doing was that the

students find the information by themselves. Out of the 46 respondents, 16 (34.8%)

strongly agreed, 17 (37%) agreed, 9 (19.6%) neutral, 3 (6.5%) disagree and 1 (2.2%)

disagreed. From the self-administered interview, the possible reason for those who

disagreed could be “because children still need the support from adult to find

information. It can‟t just be done without support”. However, learning by doing is a

process where the student learn doing something through experiences to gain

The Impact of Learning by Doing Application to Enhance

Students Inquiry in The Classroom

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p-ISSN 2774-5147

Vimala Murti Pitra Tunggal Jaya 1.704

understanding and practical expertise and in this learning process, the role of the teacher

is as facilitator in the classroom. It is aligned with what Dewey believed that teacher as

educator facilitates the dynamic interactions of learner and his/her experiences.

Then, when the teachers were asked about the manipulatives is one of the learning

by doing tools. From the result presented on Figure 2, the 20 (43%) strongly agreed, 22

(47.8%) agreed, 3 (6.5%) agreed and 1 (2.2%) disagreed. Laski et al. (2015) explained

that manipulatives are physical tools that help to build concepts and understand the

concept. Teachers should be able to provide resources to support the learning by doing

and one of the tool is manipulatives. The findings below are presented using descriptive

statistics based on frequency counts and percentages.

Picture 2. Teacher‟s response on their agreement that manipulatives is one of the learning

by doing tools (n=46).

Table 1. Teachers‟ response from the self-administered questionnaire (n = 46).

Then, the result showed that 33 (71.7%) strongly agreed and 13 (28.3%) agreed

that providing learning resources is important to enhance learning by doing in the

classroom and providing learning resources is important to enhance learning by doing in

class, the 33 (71.7%) strongly agreed and 13 (28.3%) agreed to the statement. When the

No.

Items

Frequency (percentage)

Strongly

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

Learning by doing is important.

32 (69.6)

14 (30.4)

0 (0)

Learning by doing means the students

find information by themselves.

16 (34.8)

17 (37)

9 (19.6)

3 (6.5)

1 (2.2)

Manipulatives is one of the learning by

doing tools.

20 (43.5)

22 (47.8)

3 (6.5)

1 (2.2)

0 (0)

Providing learning resources is

important to enhance learning by doing

in class.

33 (71.7)

13 (28.3)

0 (0)

Environment is the third teacher in

learning by doing.

23 (50)

21 (45.7)

2 (4.3)

0 (0)

Doing experiment leads to inquiry.

26 (56.5)

19 (41.3)

1 (2.2)

0 (0)

Learning by doing leads to deeper

understanding.

33 (71.7)

13 (28.3)

0 (0)

Designing learning environment is

essential.

22 (47.8)

2 (4.3)

0 (0)

Learning by doing drives inquiry.

30 (65.2)

16 (34.8)

0 (0)

The inquiry process should be included

in the classroom practices.

26 (56.5)

19 (41.3)

1 (2.2)

0 (0)

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teacher were asked about the importance of learning environment, 23 (50%) strongly

agreed, 21 (45.7%) agreed and 2 (4.3%) neutral. Designing learning environment is

essential, The 22 (47.8%) strongly agreed, 22 (47.8%) agreed and 2 (4.3%) neutral. Biggs

(2021) mentioned that teacher must be able to create learning environment that facilitates

the process of learning to engage student into the lesson.

The result indicates 26 (56.5%) strongly agreed, 19 (41.3%) agreed and 1 (2.2%)

neutral to the statement of experiment leads to inquiry. Some teachers were interviewed

about learning by doing strategies in the classroom; “we do experiments, problem-based

assignment and role-play”; “we always repeat similar or almost similar activities and

consistently doing hands on learning from most activities. At the end, students will come

out and develop their own ideas. They initiated the activities using their own ideas”; “we

do explore brain stimulating activities, experiment and observation.” The teachers also

mentioned that the school provide professional development to help teachers understand

more and implement the learning by doing better in the classroom practices. The 30

(65.2%) strongly agreed and 16 (34.8%) agreed that learning by doing drives inquiry and

should be included in the classroom practices, 26 (56.5%) strongly agreed, 19 (41.3%)

agreed and 1 (2.2%) neutral. According to one of the teacher have mentioned during

interview; “Yes, learning by doing should be included in the classroom practices because

by doing the activity, student will be more engaged to the learning and will have a first-

hand experience in the learning process itself.”

Then, the teachers were asked some open-ended questions and the responses were

categorized into logically related themes. When the teachers were asked about the

strengths of learning by doing, most of them agreed that learning by doing drives inquiry.

If we want the students to actively take part into learning process, they have to be able to

be an inquirer to explore it by themselves. This concept is align with John Dewey‟s

preference of student-centered learning.

Furthermore, the teachers were asked if learning by doing promote student voice

and choice, the common responses emphasized that learning by doing helped the students

to develop their own idea and understand lesson in-depth. They are also given choices

and chance to voice out their ideas through learning by doing activities. A teacher

mentioned; “Learning by doing does empower student choice and it also builds

independence”.

Regarding the obstacles related to the learning by doing method. The study

revealed that limited resources was the main challenge. For example, one teacher stated

that “limitation of learning resources limit the learning by doing practices in the

classroom.” Another teacher also stated that “designing the learning environment that is

encourage learning by doing is challenging”. Therefore, encouraging teachers to Increase

the ability and knowledge of their understanding of the learning by doing concept is

important. Pring (2007) mentioned that teacher should have enough experience to be

able to identify the students‟ interest and drive them to inquiry learning.

The Impact of Learning by Doing Application to Enhance

Students Inquiry in The Classroom

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Vimala Murti Pitra Tunggal Jaya 1.706

Table 2. The teacher‟s response about strengths and Challenges in applying learning by

doing in the classroom.

CONCLUSION

Most of teachers are familiar and consistently implement the learning by doing

strategies to extend inquiry in the classroom. Some of the learning by doing strategies

were shared during the interview. Most of the teachers have occupied with professional

development workshops to increase their understanding on how to implement learning by

doing that enhance inquiry in the classroom practices.

Accordingly, over 90% of teachers agreed on the importance of application

learning by doing in the classroom practices. Regarding some feedback, more than half of

teachers agreed that learning resources and environment are helpful in the application of

learning by doing. Moreover, learning by doing also enhanced inquiry and promote

student voice and choice. Despite all the strengths have mentioned above, some

challenges also were shared. For example limited resources, time and cost consume and

different teachers' abilities in applying learning by doing in the classroom.

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Common Themes

Teachers‟ response

Strengths of applying learning by doing

in the classroom

A: “more student agency, students will also be given

freedom to make their own choice in how to solve the

problem”

B: “there is a saying, practice makes perfect“

C: “allow for processes of knowledge construction”

D: “enhance inquiry in the classroom practices”

F: ”students can be more independent while learning

and playing”

Challenges in applying learning by

doing in the classroom

V: ”Lack of learning resources”

W: “need more cost and resources (including cost of

failure)

X: “need supervision and advisory”

Y: “failure to meet expectation”

Learning by doing strengthens the

student engagement and empowers

student voice and choice

R: “during the process, students will be given freedom

to make their own choice on how to do things or solve

the problem”

S: “by learning by doing, the students will also learn

about the skills. By mastering the skills, the students

can confidently share their ideas about the knowledge,

which is also affecting their self-efficacy in becoming

more vocal and confident in sharing their knowledge”.

T: “they learn and understand the concept if they do it

by engaging themselves. They as well enhance their

skills. You (teacher) as well empower them because

you have given them chance to voice out their thoughts

and express their feelings”.

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