Perspective Chapter: The Efforts to Increase Students’ Understanding of Prayer through the Use of Audiovisual Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Elementary Schools

Abstract

Audio-visual media is an effective tool for teaching prayer to grade I children due to their preference for visual stimuli and ability to imitate movements seen in videos. This approach can replace direct classroom instruction and promote better learning outcomes. The research employed class action research at SD Ar-Rahman Motik, South Jakarta, specifically in class IB. The aim was to enhance students’ understanding of prayer. The study began with pre-cycle activities to assess students’ abilities, followed by teaching prayer using audio-visual media during the cycle. The results demonstrated improvement after the implementation of audio-visual media. Prior to its use, only 11% of students demonstrated a good understanding of prayer readings, while 89% had sufficient or lacking ability. In terms of prayer movements, 5% exhibited good proficiency, and 95% had sufficient or lacking ability, falling short of the Minimum Completeness Criteria. However, after the intervention, 94% achieved good proficiency (39% good and 55% very good) in prayer readings, and 100% exhibited good proficiency (39% good and 61% very good) in prayer movements. Only 6% (1 child) showed a deficiency in prayer reading. Overall, 80% of students met the criteria, eliminating the need for Cycle II.

1. Introduction

At the end of 2019, the world was shocked by the transmission of an epidemic called Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 first appeared in the city of Wuhan, China at the end of December 2019. The COVID-19 virus is a new type of virus whose transmission speed is faster than previous viruses such as MERS and SARS [1]. This reminds us that we should not underestimate the types of diseases that are sweeping the world. This pandemic has affected the world of education, so the government has made a policy to implement distance learning in all corners of the country. The government’s sudden decision to close or move the learning process from school to home has confused many parties [2]. It is not without reason that the government imposed this regulation because the spread of the Coronavirus can easily infect crowds of human activities such as offices, markets, houses of worship, and also education [3]. Schools’ unpreparedness to carry out online learning is the main factor in this chaos, even though the government is providing alternative solutions in assessing students [4] as a condition for promotion or graduation from educational institutions during an emergency like today [5].

This transition to learning methods forces various parties to follow the path that can be taken so that learning can take place, and the choice is to use technology as an online learning medium (In the Network). The same is true for educational institutions at Ar-Rahman Motik Elementary School, program activities that should have been planned such as National Examinations, Art Performances, and Class 6 farewells. Graduation and a series of programs had to stop suddenly. It was canceled, and everyone was shocked and almost did not accept this situation. This was no exception in a series of superior programs at SD Ar-Rahman Motik, especially in the habituation of carrying out moral formation and routines of worship which are continuously instilled in schools every day.

Based on the learning evaluation for approximately 4 months (March–June 2020) 14 as well as input from parents of students, all teachers made breakthroughs to make learning as effective as possible, by completing learning facilities and infrastructure and using online-based technology. For even better learning in the 2020–2021 Academic Year. The activity program has been well structured, and flagship programs are still scheduled such as the Khatam and Tahfidz Programs, one day one father’s Memorizing program, learning programs to read the Koran in grade 1, and even art programs are also implemented such as the Dance Club. Everything is carried out with the approval of the parents of students and still refers to government policies while continuing to carry out online learning from home. Everything is going quite well, because the school is also trying to complete the need for adequate facilities and infrastructure to be used when learning from home, such as increasing the school’s internet quota from 8 to 20 Mbps. Each class is equipped with a PC that is connected directly to the InFocus and highlighted on the wall to depict the children staying at school with the teacher. Another facility is the use of the paid Zoom meeting application to conduct virtual learning, as well as several other supporting applications, such as Google Classroom, Google Drive, Quizziz, Wordwoll, Jamboard, Kazoot, Teacher’s Room, and YouTube.

Parents are also very proactive and supportive of school programs, every child is equipped with Information Technology tools for effective teaching and learning to take place. At first, they were not ready to equip their children with these information technology facilities because they were worried that they would be abused, but over time and equipped with information in utilizing technology they finally equipped learning facilities in the form of laptops, gadgets, and the like for the learning process which took place from 07.00 to 10.00 morning. Everything went quite well, although not optimally, there were some problems until this writing was made, namely how the prayer habituation program, which should have been carried out in grade 1 since the beginning of semester 1, could be carried out in the following semester, like the implementation of other subject matter.

Prayer is an obligation that must be carried out in Islam, namely prayer because prayer is one of the pillars of Islam. By praying 5 times a day, children will get used to discipline and have good character. This is because in prayer children will practice concentration, humility, and patient in carrying it out [6]. In the Qur’an, there are instructions related to the process of educating children which are not free from challenges and obstacles and require a long time. As explained in [Q.S. Thaahaa (20):132)] which means: “And instruct your family to establish Prayer and be patient in doing it.” We do not ask you for sustenance, We are the ones who provide sustenance for you. And the (good) result is those who are pious [7]. Prayer must be practiced from an early age so that in adulthood it will become a necessity that will never be abandoned [6].

Regarding prayer activities, currently, it has quite a long impact, especially on children’s understanding of reading and prayer movements which must be trained in students in grade 1 SD Ar-Rahman Motik. Some of the obstacles experienced by teachers in learning-from-home situations include: (1) Limited knowledge and ideas of teachers in choosing the right methods and programs for activities that require direct practice; (2) The prayer program has a quite long impact on children’s understanding which includes reading and prayer movements that are trained for first graders of SD Ar-Rahman Motik; (3) Not all parents get used to their children praying at home; (4) Additional study time related to the student prayer understanding program which is usually only conducted from 07.00 to 10.00 pm; (5) Readings: prayer readings that use Arabic. And some students feel that the vocabulary is a new vocabulary; and (6) Other constraints such as the internet network which is sometimes unstable.

Based on a needs analysis, at SD Ar-Rahman Motik regarding reading comprehension and prayer movements for grade 1 SD Ar-Rahman Motik as follows:

Information:

Prayer readings.

Dominate: Memorize, smoothly.

Less master: Not fluent, Need guidance.

Not master: Not at all. In dire need of guidance.

Prayer movements.

Dominate: Know the names and sequence of prayer movements.

Less master: Knows the names and sequences of prayer movements, but is not perfect, and needs guidance.

Not master: Cannot do it at all, really needs guidance.

Table 1 shows the results of initial observations of students’ prayer abilities which show that reading and movement achievement is still less than 70%. So the role of the teacher in facilitating students in learning to pray is still very much needed. Moreover, for grade 1 elementary school children who still really need guidance and direction from the teacher. We also believe that teachers have an important role in the education of children apart from their parents. However, for children aged 7–8 years, learning must be done while having fun [8]. So it is suggested that children must be able to develop golden age assets to be successful in the future, and discipline can be applied from an early age [9].

No	Prayer readings and movements	Student mastery
		Dominate (%)	Less master (%)	Not master (%)
1	Prayer readings
	Prayer intention	18.20	45.50	36.30
	Iftitah prayer	13.60	31.80	54.50
	Ruku prayer	40.90	22.70	36.40
	I’tidal prayer	18.20	27.30	54.50
	Sujud prayer	40.90	13.60	45.50
	Prayer sitting between 2 prostrations	13.60	31.80	54.50
	Early Tasyahud prayer	18.20	18.20	72.70
	Final Tasyahud prayer	9.10	18.20	72.70
2	Prayer movements	57.10	42.90	0

Table 1.

Data on students’ prayer ability mastery.

In distance learning situations, teachers are required to be able to make learning materials offline, which means that a learner or student can study without a teacher directly at home to optimize learning from home [10]. Parents can also accompany their children with media prepared by the teacher in the form of pictures, audio, visuals, audiovisual, and also prayer video tutorials related to the readings and prayer movements [11]. The reason for choosing Audio-Visual-based media in the learning process of teaching prayer is important because it is an effort by teachers to facilitate student learning online, especially through the use of audio-visual.

The focus of this research is: efforts to improve students’ prayer understanding through the use of audiovisual media. The formulation of this problem is: (1) How to improve students’ prayer understanding through the use of audiovisual media in grade 1 SD Ar Rahman Motik Jakarta and (2) How is students’ understanding of prayer in grade 1 SD Ar-Rahman Motik Jakarta. The results of this study are expected to be able to add insight and can be used as a reference in enriching the scientific repertoire of Islamic education and can be used as a measuring point in implementing learning to understand students’ prayers using audiovisual media during the COVID-19 pandemic. For schools, as input to other schools, especially the principal who will make policies in implementing learning while studying from home using audiovisual media. For writers, as material for knowledge and experience in compiling research so that they can add scientific insight. For parents, it becomes a lesson material for educating children and parental involvement in their child’s learning process in situations that demand more of their role as parents. For readers in general, the results of this study are expected to provide insight into learning knowledge in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Many studies have been conducted on the use of audio-visual media in practical learning in schools Based on their research, audio-visual media can improve students’ competency in seizing pictures subject [12], audio-visual media can be used optimally to help students achieve learning goals [13], in civic learning [14], cooking practice [15], writing skills and learning abilities [16], boost students’ motivation and enthusiasm for learning during online classes [17, 18, 19], and reading skills and prayer movement [20].

The study of learning to pray in early childhood is an important thing to teach in the family environment since the child is 7 years old [6]. Although it is not yet an obligation to pray. However, when the child starts to turn 10 years old, it has become a habit and becomes his obligation to pray. And if the child leaves the prayer, then beat the child with an educational punch that doesn’t hurt him following the hadith of the Prophet. During teaching prayers, parents should pay attention to the level of development of children, so that children can understand optimally [7].

2. Research method

The research method uses classroom action research (CAR). is research conducted by teachers in their classes by planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting on collaborative actions and participation to improve their performance as teachers so that student learning outcomes can increase [21]. The reason the authors chose the Kemmis & Mc Taggart Classroom Action Research model is that the research model is simple, easy to implement, and considered appropriate to the author’s abilities, besides that the use of the model each cycle includes one action [22]. The research setting is at SD Ar-Rahman Motik, which was established in 1985, located on Jl. Setiabudi No 1.2.3. South Jakarta. SD Ar-Rahman Motik has a total of 267 students with a total of 26 teachers and 1 school principal. 6 staff, 4 employees, 2 security, and 1 driver. Has 12 study groups, and each study group has 2 teachers.

In this study, the subjects of the study were students in grade 1 at SD Ar-Rahman Motik, because the introduction to prayer practice at SD Ar-Rahman Motik was carried out in grade 1 in semester 1. However, there were constraints due to the presence of COVID-19 so action research would be held. Classes that will start in semester 2. Grade 1B students at SD Ar-Rahman Motik are children who have an age range of 6–7 years. With a total of nine boys and nine girls. Children aged 6–7 years tend to play because they are a transitional age from Kindergarten. Still happy to be praised and like to compare himself with others, usually still not thinking about achievement and study obligations [23].

The action scenario to be performed is as follows:

2.1 Introduction

• Researchers first conducted interviews with related parties, in this case, the principal and teachers of SD Ar-Rahman Motik grade 1 to request permission to conduct Classroom Action Research regarding the prayer learning implementation program in grade 1,

• Next, the researcher will socialize the program that has been arranged for the students and also the parents of grade 1 students so that it can be implemented as well as possible.

2.2 Cycle

1. Planning phase

• The teacher/researcher prepares learning media in the form of audio, visual, and audiovisual prayer material.

• Audio in the form of voice recordings of prayer readings Visual in the form of pictures of complete prayer movements audiovisual in the form of videos of prayer movements and readings

• The researcher made an assessment instrument for audio, visual, and audiovisual learning media for three experts including the advisor, principal, and teacher. If the media can be said to be feasible then the media will be used during learning.

• The teacher makes a prayer lesson plan (RPP) using audio, visual, and audiovisual media.

1. Implementing phase

Learning media in the form of audio, visual, and audiovisual which have been assessed and validated will be carried out in the implementation of action research in Class 1 SD Ar-Rahman Motik Jakarta as follows:

• Activities carried out for 3 weeks in a row.

• Learning activities using the Zoom meeting application.

• The material explanation phase was carried out for 1 hour (60 minutes) (prayer material, quizzes, worksheets).

• Implementation of prayer practices carried out for 20 minutes.

• Implementation of prayer practice is carried out after learning ends at 10.00–10.20.

• Prayer practice activities are monitored by the teacher in stages, starting with prayer readings, prayer movements, and finally carrying out complete prayer movements using prayer tools.

• Monitoring of the implementation of the obligatory prayers is also carried out using a prayer achievement card which must be filled in by the parents and signed.

• During the implementation of prayers at home, students can use audio or audiovisual media that have been previously provided through GCR.

• At the end of the study, students were asked to document readings and prayer movements through videos which had to be sent to the GCR.

1. Follow-up

This activity is carried out to strengthen students’ understanding of the material that has been delivered using the media. In addition, this activity aims to measure the effectiveness of learning that has been implemented. Activities that can be carried out include discussions, observations, experiments, exercises, and adaptation tests.

1. Observation/observation stage

The teacher/researcher observes and occasionally helps and reminds students when needed, and records events during prayer.

1. Reflection stage

The teacher/researcher reflects on the implementation of prayers, holds questions and answers, and gives appreciation to students who can carry out prayer activities well and humbly. Giving award stars, these stars are collected to be exchanged for attractive prizes.

Educators create teaching materials and media, which are then evaluated by experts based on their appropriateness in terms of content, visuals/audio, and quality. The evaluated learning media that meet the criteria are deemed suitable for teaching prayer to elementary school children. The implementation of teaching involves online resources, and researchers work together with teachers and principals to assess the learning process in schools. To improve the teaching plans, reflection is used to identify areas for improvement. If corrective action is not successful in addressing the issue, data analysis and reflection are utilized to re-evaluate the plan and potentially create a new one [24, 25]. Through discussion, reflection provides a basis for improvement plans. Reflection (contemplation) is an activity of analysis, interpretation, and explanation of all information obtained from observing the implementation of actions [26].

2.3 Conclusion

The teacher/researcher takes an assessment of all the processes that have been carried out from the beginning of the research to the end of the research, evaluates the results of the students by giving the task of videoing the prayer complete with readings and movements and sending it to the Google Class Room.

Data collection is done through observation and interviews. The raw data that has been collected needs to be broken down into groups, categorization is carried out, manipulated, and squeezed in such a way that the data has meaning to answer problems and benefits for testing hypotheses [27]. After the data is organized into groups and the relationships that occur are analyzed, it is also necessary to make interpretations of the relationships between the phenomena that occur and compare them with other phenomena outside the research. Based on the analysis and interpretation made, useful conclusions are drawn, as well as implications and suggestions for further policy. Analysis activities (qualitative data) begin with data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions or verification.

3. Result and discussion

3.1 Research finding

1. Pre-cycle (research preparation) Before the cycle was carried out, the researcher made the following preparations:

1. Permission to Conduct Research: On December 24, 2021, the researchers met with the principal of SD Ar-Rahman Motik to ask permission from Ms. Ernawai, M.Pd. to conduct research in class 1B. She supports the efforts that will be made by the teacher in this research activities.

2. Outreach to parents of students: At the initial meeting in semester II which took place on January 4, 2021, in class 1B, it discussed learning and activities to be carried out in semester II, all parents were invited to attend the meeting via zoom meeting before learning for children took place, as well as the socialization of researchers towards research activities on the ability of students to understand prayer activities. Overall, parents are very supportive of the activities that will be carried out in this second semester. After the meeting with parents is over, the activity continues with learning as usual.

3. Observation of Student Ability: In the early stages the researcher made observations of students by asking them directly about prayer material. Have they ever done it, never done it, or have they always done it? The next step is that the researcher provides a questionnaire that must be completed by parents about their son’s ability to understand prayer, both reading and prayer movements. The questionnaire was made in the form of Google Forms.

Finally, the researcher conducted a direct assessment of students by contacting them one by one about their ability to carry out prayer movements and readings. This the researchers did to obtain more accurate data on the questionnaire that had been given to the parents

1. Make learning media. Prayer learning media is urgently needed in the context of this research, in fact, this school already had several prayer learning media long before this research was conducted, such as the Daily Assessment book in which there are guidelines on how to carry out prayers and the readings used, but researchers need other media to maximize this research. and the media that researchers make are: In the process of making it researchers are not alone researchers get help from several colleagues who are experts in the field of technology. Especially in terms of editing the media that is created.

2. Conducting an assessment of the quality of learning media. In maximizing the research process, the researcher conducted a quality test of the learning media that had been made. Because it is still the COVID-19 Pandemic, the researchers are again making an instrument for assessing the quality of learning media through Google form. The parties involved in this were the Principal (Mrs. Ernawai), colleagues/Teacher (In Herlina), and Thesis Supervisor (Ms. Siwi). It is hoped that through this step the researcher will get input for the perfection of the learning media made.

3. Make a learning implementation plan (RPP). All learning media have been made, it is time for the researcher to make the next step, namely to make a Learning Implementation Plan (RPP) which contains the overall activities from the beginning of learning to the end of learning, the day and date of research implementation.

4. Create assessment instruments. After all research needs are made, researchers still need several instruments that will be needed during the research process. These instruments include:

• Media audio assessment instrument (link and hard copy)

• Visual media assessment instrument (link and hard copy)

• Audiovisual media assessment instrument (link and hard copy)

• Teacher teaching assessment instrument (Researcher) (link and hard copy)

• Instruments for assessing students’ prayer comprehension abilities (link and hard copy)

• RPP assessment instrument

1. Cycle 1

After all the preparations made were considered ready, the researchers took action in the form of Cycle 1. However, the implementation was delayed from the initial plan, originally the research was to be carried out at the end of February but these activities were constrained due to the Mid Semester II Assessment, so the cycle could be carried out in early March 2021. The research was conducted within 3 weeks, as follows:

1. Week 1

Day 1, Thursday, March 4, 2021

The first day takes place on Thursday, March 4, 2021. Learning takes place from 08.30 to 10.00. The activity took place according to the RPP that had been prepared long beforehand. The activities that took place at that time were documented by the teacher (Researcher).

The teacher (researcher) greets students with greetings and takes attendance students in a friendly manner as usual. Thank God, class 1B students are indeed students who are generally diligent students so that almost every day they are always present and join in the learning even though sometimes they are sick (dizziness, flu, and diarrhea) they still take part in learning with enthusiasm, so they like permission not to open their videos while studying. And this time all are in good health so they can follow the lessons with enthusiasm.

The teacher gave an ice-breaking in the form of a “Spirit” clap to the students to break the atmosphere to make it more lively and enthusiastic. The activity continued by asking about last week’s material about the stories of the Prophets, as well as explaining today’s material, namely about prayer. The learning video in the form of PPT Camtasia is played, during the video playback the teacher pays attention to students one by one through their video images, occasionally the teacher reminds students who are starting to break their concentration, but overall students can observe the video in an orderly manner. Playing prayer learning videos: The video playback activity ends by watching the process of prayer activities from start to finish complete with readings and prayer movements that researchers have taken from YouTube. Some of the children enthusiastically followed the reading, especially Habibie who had almost mastered the prayer readings, but not many of them were very new and unfamiliar with the prayer readings played by the teacher.

After the material was played the teacher held questions and answers about the material they had just watched together, the students looked enthusiastic in answering the teacher’s questions directly and together both in the form of pictures and direct questions. For learning not to be boring, the teacher has prepared a game that not only hones students’ abilities but is also able to drive away boredom and make them happy and challenged in answering questions directly and invites them to compete to find the best and fastest in answering the questions the teacher gives. The game is in the form of the Quizziz application. This application is a game application that can be adapted to the needs of the subject matter. But it is a shame that at the end of the broadcast, there were a few signal problems so the winners could not be shown on the screen, they felt a little disappointed, because usually, they would feel happy and proud if they managed to become the top three in the match.

The next activity is that the teacher allows students to ask questions about the material that has just been given, and immediately closes by giving a conclusion to the prayer material to students, not forgetting that the teacher explains to students to practice praying at home and also practice praying every day through zoom meetings with teachers at the end of each lesson starting from Monday to Thursday at 10.00–10.15. the teacher has also provided prayer tutorials in the form of audiovisuals in the Google Class Room (GCR) so that parents can easily view and save them for practicing at home. The lesson was closed by saying hamdalah together, reading Q.S. Al ‘Asr, the prayer after studying, the prayer for riding a vehicle, and the prayer leaving the classroom.

Day 2, Monday, March 8, 2021

As previously stated, the prayer practice will continue every Monday–Thursday together after learning ends at 10.00–10.15 via zoom meeting. Practice in the first week is focused on memorizing prayer readings, while prayer movements will be focused on the following week. On the first day of the additional prayer practice for approximately 15 minutes, there was a challenge for the teacher (researcher) because the children were used to having finished studying at 10.00 but had to increase their study time by about 15 minutes for prayer practice. so that today one of the children asked “Mrs. Dilla, can Adam ask a question?” “Yes Adam, what do you want to ask Adam?” Mrs. Dilla asked back “What time do we finish studying?” Adam asked “fifteen more minutes, kid” replied Mrs. Dilla.

They feel a little burdened when one of the students asks this because they are worried that they do not like or are already bored with the material or that it is a form of protest for their dislike/discomfort with this new additional material. But the teacher immediately changed the atmosphere to a learning atmosphere.

On this day the teacher offers two prayer practice videos, namely prayer practice videos taken from YouTube, and the second is a prayer practice video worked on by SD Ar-Rahman Motik Collection. And based on deliberation and consensus, all agreed to use the video that was worked on by researchers belonging to the school collection because the reading was quieter and not too fast so it was easy to follow.

The teacher plays a prayer learning video after the children feel ready, there is only one child named Habibie who is a boy while the others find it difficult to follow him. But the teacher continues to motivate students until they finally try to do it. The activity lasted until 10.15 am.

Day 3, Tuesday, March 9, 2021

The third day went on as before, this time the children no longer asked when learning was over, but there was one child who was seen eating snacks while reciting prayer readings. At that time the teacher did not reprimand the child, some children were just silent because they felt they could not pronounce it and felt less interested because they were still adapting from the previous time when learning activities only lasted until 10.00. The teacher realizes that this activity is not interrupted by breaks. It turned out that the activities were even less interesting when there was signal interference when the teacher played the video. The video does not play right away, it just rotates, until finally the teacher cancels the video playback and is replaced by opening the school’s handbook, all goes on until the end of the reading.

Day 4, Wednesday, March 10, 2021

On the fourth day, the activities were getting better under control, the children were able to follow the prayer readings in an orderly manner, they already looked more compact and had started to follow the reading flow quite well, moreover, the teacher always motivated students with the lure of Achievement Stars and attractive prizes for those who can carry out prayer activities five times a day using video tutorial guidance that has been made and shared by the previous teacher through the Google Class Room.

1. Week 2

Day 5, Thursday, March 11, 2021.

The second week on Thursday, March 11, 2021, the teacher started the lesson, as usual, greeting, asking how they were doing, and taking students’ attendance. Alhamdulilah all present. And all look happy when entering the lesson. Some students did enter the zoom room from 07.00. they are children who are diligent and enthusiastic in learning even though virtually, behind them there are parents who really care about education even though learning is done virtually parents are very supportive and enthusiastic every day in accompanying children in the process of teaching and learning as well as submitting assignments independently to Google Class Room.

The second meeting on Islamic Religious Education material this time still discussed prayer, this time the material focused more on prayer movements. The teacher explains and practices directly with students through zoom meetings, the teacher gives an example and the students follow it, the teacher also explains the names of each prayer movement, and everything is done from Takbir to greetings. After finishing everything the teacher evaluates by conducting questions and answers through visual media, namely in the form of pictures of the prayer movement, the children are very enthusiastic, as well as when evaluating individually, around 95% of students master the name of the prayer movement.

The lesson was continued by singing a song entitled “5 Prayer Times”. Some of the children have already mastered the song because some of them are from Ar-Rahman Motik Kindergarten and they have been taught it so they can follow it.

The children wrote down the lyrics of the song and then continued by watching the video “Nusa and Rara” entitled “Prayer is Obligatory” and continued by playing quizziz. Quizziz is a game application that can be created and managed by the teacher and adapted to the subject matter, in this case, the material is about Movement and Prayer readings, which can be done directly or used as Homework. Usually, children like this game, because they will compete to be the champion.

Day 6, Monday, March 15, 2021

On the sixth day, the students seemed to be used to the prayer practice routine after learning, it was seen that no one was asking when the lesson was over. And on the sixth day, students began to practice prayer using movement and reading, so that students were immediately directed to position themselves so that the whole body could be seen. In this case, the children are still assisted by adults or parents who accompany them. And again, parents are very supportive of this activity. They started putting up prayer rugs and the girls put on a prayer tool in the form of a mukena. Prayer practice can run smoothly and there are no signal problems until the activity is complete.

Day 7, Tuesday, March 16, 2021.

The seventh day of prayer practice this time is not as usual because today’s learning takes a long time because there are two materials, namely Civics, and SBDP to make crafts to draw grandparents which requires a little more time than usual. So today the children just read it without doing the movement and without playing the prayer reading video.

Day 8, Wednesday, March 17, 2021.

On the eighth day of prayer practice, the children’s abilities were increasingly visible, the teacher felt very happy, the feeling of happiness was expressed to the students and the students became more enthusiastic when they were given appreciation by the teacher. The ability of students, especially in reciting the prayers of bowing and prostrating, all seemed to have mastered it, even the iftitah prayer, which was originally only Habibie who mastered this time, has very many children who have mastered the recitation of the prayer. as well as other readings. Like a sitting prayer between two prostrations and a tasyahud prayer.

1. Week 3

Day 9, Thursday, March 18, 2021.

Day 9 is the last week of the target to be achieved. This time, before the prayer practice begins, there is prayer material in the third week, namely discussing the Islamic Religion package on pages 111–11990 and practicing answering the questions in the book.

The activity continued with singing the song “Uphold the Prayer”. Almost all of the children mastered the song because almost every day the song is sung before learning begins. In addition to the short rhymes and easy-to-follow tunes, this song is easy and fun for children.

The activity ended by playing Quizziz Live. The kids like this quizziz, especially when it is done live, they like to compete to see who has the most correct answers and in the shortest amount of time, because the top three who succeed will get an Achievement Star.

When the lesson was over, as usual, the children rushed to prepare their prayer equipment and adjusted their positions as well as their laptops to carry out the prayer practice. This time the children seemed to have almost mastered the prayer readings starting from the iftitah prayer, bowing, I’tidal prostration, sitting between the two prostrations, the initial and final tasyahud, and greetings.

Day 10 Monday, March 22, 2021

The tenth day of prayer practice can be carried out smoothly, there are no obstacles whatsoever, and the children continue to get motivation from the teacher because they are doing well, especially since their ability to read their prayers is getting smoother. In the prayer movement, there are still some children who are still playing around while doing it, the teacher continues to watch throughout the prayer practice while occasionally reminding students who are still playing around and not concentrating while doing it.

Day 11 Tuesday, March 23, 2021.

The exercise this time was still the same as the previous day, students could carry out the exercise, as usual, it was seen that there were still some children who were less focused and still having fun while doing it. And the teacher did not hesitate to remind them.

Day 12 Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

The last day of the research target has arrived. Before this exercise, the teacher reminds students to be more focused and concentrated when doing it, because the teacher will assess all students while doing it.

The students were very enthusiastic, especially when the teacher promised them that they would get two stars if they could do it well. They can do prayer exercises well and solemnly they can do prayer movements and recitations as well as possible. Teachers feel proud and happy with the results achieved by students.

Teachers keep motivating them to continue praying until the end of their lives wherever and whenever they are. And this prayer practice will continue to be carried out at the end of the second semester except during the month of Ramadan.

In the last opportunity for this exercise, the children were invited to play the Wordwall Game. This is one of the games that are also in great demand by students, the game not only hones academic skills but can stimulate students’ adrenaline because they have to answer and also have to avoid monsters. Ready to devour them if they are not careful. In this game, the teacher gives two games related to this prayer material, namely the prayer movement games and the five prayer times games.

4. Discussion

4.1 The use of audiovisual media in improving students’ understanding of prayer during the COVID-19 pandemic at SD Ar-Rahman Motik Jakarta

Grade 1 elementary school children fall into the Early Childhood category, at this early age which contributes a lot to the development of children when they become adults [28]. Several ways are carried out either by parents, the community environment, or educational institutions, both formal and non-formal, so that the children in their environment become a proud generation [29], especially for the advancement of Islam. It is a challenge in itself for teachers, especially Islamic Religion teachers, how to make Religion subject matter as optimal as possible during an outbreak of the virus that is currently hitting and learning is not being carried out as before, all is done online [30].

One of the efforts to optimize prayer learning is conducting Classroom Action Research using prayer learning media in the form of audio, visual, and audiovisual which is carried out virtually/online [31]. By using Zoom meetings. Prayer learning media is already owned by the school. However, in this case, the researcher tries to create new media as well as modify existing media.

In classroom action research, the initial steps of research that must be carried out by a researcher are planning, implementing, and reflecting on actions in a collaborative and participatory manner to improve his performance as a teacher, so that student learning outcomes can increase [32]. So in conducting this research, the researcher planned before researching so that this research would get good results that would be beneficial for researchers in particular and the world of education in general. The steps taken by the researcher are as described previously.

4.2 Making audio, visual, and audiovisual media

After obtaining permits and conducting outreach to parents and students, the researchers did was to observe or observe the students’ abilities in terms of understanding prayers.

As we know that observation is an activity that includes the activity of paying attention to an object by using all the senses. it can be said that observation activities can be carried out through sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste, also known as direct observation. In the sense that observation can be done with tests, questionnaires, recorded pictures, and sound recordings. Observation activities can be carried out in two ways, namely:

1. Non-systematic observations made by observers without using observation instruments.

2. Systematic observation, is carried out by observers using guidelines In this study, the researcher made observations in these two categories, during the observation to find out the initial abilities (pre-cycle) the researcher made systematic observations, and during the cycle, the researcher used non-systematic observations

From the data obtained, the researchers concluded that students currently have little ability in terms of prayer both reading and movement, because some of them are alumni of the Ar-Rahman Motik Kindergarten who indeed learn to pray has been taught every Friday. And some of them are alumni of kindergarten outside Ar-Rahman Motik.

So some do not seem to master at all, especially in terms of reading their prayers. Furthermore, the researcher chose the right media to optimize the ability of students to understand prayer towards the implementation of prayer. And audiovisual media is media that is considered capable of increasing students’ prayer understanding in this research.

According to Syaiful Bahri Djamarah and Aswan Zain, media are all tools that can be used as teaching aids. Media as an intermediary tool conveys [33], which indeed if seen the word media comes from Latin, besides that the word media functions as a source of learning that can overcome space and time, also have a communicative function, motivation, meaning, perception, and individual equality [34], that caters to the needs of individuals who have different talents and interests. Learning media is an important part of this research, as we know media comes from the Latin medius which means “middle,” “intermediate,” or “introductory.” In Arabic, media is an intermediary or message delivery from the sender to the recipient of the message [35].

Hamalik (2009) suggests that the use of learning media in the teaching and learning process can generate new desires and interests, generate motivation and stimulate learning activities, and even bring psychological influences on students. In addition to arousing student motivation and interest, instructional media can also help students improve understanding, present data interestingly and reliably, facilitate interpretation of data, and condense information [36].

Audiovisual learning media are widely used as learning media, especially during a pandemic through online learning, such as educational videos, video recording activities, use of commercial films or TV programs. Even social network podcasts, the diversity of use and allocation of audiovisual resources in the classroom are generally supported by the understanding that films and videos can:

1. Enables critical perception of students

2. Arouse, and strengthen the demand, and motivation of students

3. Presenting everyday facts to class and open channels of privileged access to cognitive and affective levels.

Grade 1 elementary school children who are in the age range of 6–7 years according to Jean Piaget’s theory are children who are in a transitional period between concrete pre-operational and concrete operational [37]. At this time his ability to remember and think logically is also increasing and all his developmental processes always make maximum use of all five senses in the learning process. Thus the researchers are trying their best to make prayer learning media in the form of audio, visual, and audiovisual with the hope that students are capable and interested so they can maximize their potential and learning objectives can be achieved to the fullest, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Being interesting and worthy of research, teacher researchers feel compelled to answer a big challenge so that prayer learning can be maximally carried out in grade 1 SD Ar-Rahman Motik. So one of the tasks that must be done is to make learning media that are not only interesting but can actualize learning to the fullest, in this case, the researcher makes learning media in the form of:

1. audio (recording the reading of the four rak’ah prayers).

2. visual (image of complete prayer movement).

3. audiovisual (learning videos and complete prayer movements and readings) the prayer learning media in the form of audio is already owned by the school, but researchers will complement it again according to research needs.

4.3 Making audio, visual, and audiovisual media assessment instruments and validating them

After the learning media and the Achievement Star Book was made, it was time for the researcher to evaluate the media that had been made for an assessment of the learning media by making several assessment instruments. Research instruments are tools or facilities used by researchers in collecting data so that their work is easier and the results are better. In the sense that it is more thorough, complete, and systematic so that it is easier to process.

To get convenience in the research process, such as its function the instrument is made to make it easier for researchers to carry out their research and get satisfactory results. Then all the instruments needed in the research were made and completed by the researcher.

The learning media assessment instrument was validated by three people who were considered capable of giving suggestions on the feasibility of the media to be presented. They are supervisors, principals, and colleagues. And when the media has received approval, the media is suitable for use.

4.4 Steps for using audio, visual, and audiovisual media

4.4.1 Steps to use audio media

There are several steps (in general) that need to be known in utilizing audio media for learning activities. These steps include preparatory steps, implementation steps, and follow-up steps [34]. Below is an explanation of the three steps.

1. Preparation: The activities carried out by the teacher during preparation are (1) making a lesson plan, (2) studying the instruction manual for using the media, and (3) preparing and managing the media equipment to be used.

2. Implementation/Presentation: The use of this media is to send it to the parents of students to play it when the children perform the obligatory prayers when they are not with the teacher.

3. Follow-up: This activity is carried out to strengthen students’ understanding of the material that has been delivered using audio media. In addition, this activity aims to measure the effectiveness of learning that has been implemented. Activities that can be carried out include discussions, observations, experiments, exercises, and adaptation tests.

4.4.2 Steps to use visual media

1. Preparation: The activities carried out by the teacher during preparation are (1) making a lesson plan, (2) studying the instruction manual for using the media, and (3) preparing and managing the media equipment to be used.

2. Implementation/Presentation: When carrying out learning using visual media, teachers need to consider things such as (1) ensuring that the media and all equipment are complete and ready to use, (2) explaining the objectives to be achieved, (3) explaining the subject matter to students during the learning process, (4) avoid events that can disturb the concentration of students. This media is used during question-and-answer activities about prayer movements. When the explanation of the material takes place.

3. Follow-up: This activity is carried out to strengthen students’ understanding of the material that has been delivered using visual media in the form of pictures/photos of prayer movements. In addition, this activity aims to measure the effectiveness of the learning that has been carried out. Activities that can be carried out include discussions, observations, experiments, exercises, and adaptation tests.

4.4.3 Steps to use audiovisual media

Audiovisual learning media has stepped in its use like other learning media. Learning steps using audiovisual media are as follows:

1. Preparation: The activities carried out by the teacher during preparation are (1) making a lesson plan, (2) studying the instruction manual for using the media, and (3) preparing and managing the media equipment to be used.

2. Implementation/Presentation: When carrying out learning using audiovisual media, teachers need to consider things such as (1) making sure the media and all equipment are complete and ready to use, (2) explaining the objectives to be achieved, (3) explaining the subject matter to students during the learning process, (4) avoid events that can disturb the concentration of students. This media is used during prayer and explanation of prayer material. Conducted at the time of learning/subject matter ends. Played and the children followed the readings and movements shown.

3. Follow up: This activity is carried out to strengthen students’ understanding of the material that has been delivered using audiovisual media. In addition, this activity aims to measure the effectiveness of learning that has been implemented. Activities that can be carried out include discussions, observations, experiments, exercises, and adaptation tests.

4.4.4 Implementation techniques for using audio, visual, and audiovisual media

The use of audiovisual media is used during learning every day. This research process lasted until the time limit is not limited. Even this audiovisual media is used by students every day at prayer times In addition to learning media, researchers are trying their best to make something so that learning is still interesting and keeps children motivated in doing learning during this virtual. This is by making a reward (Prize). In this case, the researcher made a Prayer Achievement Card. Every day the child who performs the prayer must be written down and signed by the parents on a card that has been prepared. Every child who prays five times a day, the child is entitled to get six stars. And the star is written in the Book of Stars. For every multiple of 20 Achievement Stars, students are entitled to exchange it for a prize that has been prepared at school.

They can get prizes by exchanging achievement stars by coming directly to the school and making an agreement with the teacher beforehand and of course following the health protocol, namely: wearing a mask, washing hands, and Keeping Your Distance, or known as 3 M [38]. Prizes are a form of motivation for students. What is the real motivation? The word “motive” is defined as the effort that encourages someone to do something [39]. According to Mc. Donald, motivation is a change in energy within a person which is marked by the appearance of “feeling” and is preceded by a response to the existence of a goal [40].

In a learning theory put forward by Edward L Thorndike in a Connectionist theory, he found three laws of learning including Thorndike’s The Law of Effect making motivation the basis of the law of effect. He sees in this law of learning the need for additions or assistance to the law of forming habits through repetition. According to Thorndike, repetition in the law of effect learning theory is very important because it will have an impact on the behavior of the learner. The law which is also closely related to motivation is the law of Exercise. It is a continuation of the process of the relationship between Stimulus and Response, Thorndike refers to the relationship between learning and practice and training, and learning activities will weaken when learning activities are not supported by training. With repeated practice, learning can be maximized [41]. Also, the theory of Behaviorism presents the “Reward and Punishment” technique, one of the learning techniques that are quite well known in education and psychology circles and is considered quite effective in children’s learning, namely techniques or punishments, and rewards. a teacher will give a prize/reward to the student if he succeeds in carrying out the task or is given punishment if he does otherwise [42].

Motivation can also be said to be a series of attempts to provide certain conditions, so that a person is willing and wants to do something, and if he does not like it, he will try to negate or avoid that feeling of dislike. Motivation to learn is a psychological factor that is non-intellectual. Its distinctive role is in terms of growing passion, feeling happy, and being eager to learn. According to behavioristic theory, learning is a change in behavior as a result of the interaction between stimulus and response. In other words, learning is a form of change experienced by students in terms of their ability to behave in new ways as a result of the interaction between stimulus and response. A book entitled Talent Is Never Enough (talent alone is never enough) states that many things a person can succeed by developing all the potential that exists within us that sometimes we never imagined before, with confidence, passion, initiative, persistence, and practice., courage, and focus will answer all the despair that we all have talent. Making prizes is expected to be able to make prizes as motivation for students to do good things that can change them for the better and learning objectives can be achieved optimally.

4.4.5 Assessment of students’ prayer understanding ability by using audio, visual, and audiovisual media

This activity is carried out after all the subject matter has been delivered. Students are assigned to video their prayers and send them to the Google Class Room. Furthermore, the teacher will assess the results of their prayer videos.

4.5 Results of students’ prayer

4.5.1 Understanding mastery of student prayer reading

From the results of the research conducted in Cycle 1 (for 3 weeks), the following is data on students’ ability to recite prayers before and after Cycle 1. After conducting class research actions using audiovisual media, the following is the ability to read the students’ prayers after the cycle.

4.5.2 Mastery of student prayer movements

From the results of the research conducted in Cycle 1 (for 3 weeks), the following is data on students’ ability to pray before and after Cycle 1. After carrying out class research actions using audiovisual media, the following are the post-cycle students’ prayer reading abilities: The students’ prayer ability that was measured was the ability to memorize prayer readings and the accuracy in carrying out prayer movements. Implementation is done by conducting a pre-cycle assessment where learning does not use audiovisual media. The pre-cycle results on the ability to memorize prayer readings were 61% insufficient, 28% sufficient, 11% good, and 0% very good. While the results of the pre-cycle prayer movement were in the less category, namely 6%, sufficient at 89%, good at 6%, and very good at 0%. Then after the activities in Cycle 1, the results shown in the ability to memorize prayer readings were 0% insufficient, 5% sufficient, 39% good, and 56% very good. While the results of cycle 1 of the ability to perform prayer movements are 0% in the less category, 0% sufficient, 40% good, and 60% very good. Improving students’ abilities in reading and prayer movements carried out in class 1B cannot be separated from the media presented to students.

Arsyad said in his book “as in general, audiovisual media has a fairly high level of effectiveness, according to research, the average is above 60–80%” [43]. Given the improvement in cycle 1, there was an increase in students’ prayer skills both in memorizing prayer readings and accuracy in prayer movements. In the ability to memorize prayer readings students who get good grades, very good, or have reached 95% KKM (Minimum Completeness Criteria), while for the ability to perform prayer movements correctly, all students achieve. Minimum completeness criteria score of 100%. Then cycle 2 is not necessary. This is in line with Suharsimi Arikunto’s opinion that the success of classroom action research is marked by the presence of conformity percentage criteria, as described in Table 2 below:

Criteria Conformance (%)	Explanation
0–20	So not enough
21–40	Not enough
41–60	Enough
61–80	Good

Table 2.

Success of classroom action research.

The success of learning to pray after improvements have been made, namely the use of audio media in the form of recorded prayer readings, visuals with pictures of prayers, and audiovisual in the form of films. It turns out that the media used is not only more effective in improving students’ abilities but also can motivate students in learning. Children prefer to learn by using more interactive media. Also, a variety of audio, visual, and audiovisual can facilitate students’ diverse learning styles. Bobbi De Porter said that students’ learning styles consist of three types, namely, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic [44].

The way children learn with a visual learning style paying more attention to explanations made using pictures or there is eye contact with what is being learned. Students who have a visual learning type will quickly learn the subject matter presented in the form of pictures. On the other hand, material that is only conveyed verbally or through gestures is still poorly understood. Visual learning media can facilitate understanding and strengthen memory [45]. Students with the auditory type find it easy to learn subject matter that is presented in sound form so that the information conveyed by the teacher will be easily absorbed by the child [46], such as radio or cassette sound and friends (discussion).

In addition, audio media is very helpful for students in understanding objects that require sound clarity, such as in the case of memorizing the Qur’an according to the rules. Children with a kinesthetic learning style like to move and need elements of physical movement. Media that contains elements of motion and sound such as films can facilitate children with the kinesthetic type.

The use of media that facilitates all types of children’s learning will be able to provide learning motivation for all children [36]. Teachers can also keep children’s focus on the material being taught, and on learning situations that are carried out online, the role of parents and other family members. Especially concerning the habit of praying, a behavior that becomes a daily routine at home considering that prayer is carried out five times a day as a form of obligation that must be carried out by Muslims wherever they are. Parents are the closest environment for children and the right example in instilling good values in social skills [47].

Based on the data, there are still some children who are still not optimal both in memorizing readings and in prayer movements, this happens because there are several factors including:

1. The seriousness of students in following the prayer practice process.

2. Some children seem to have difficulty pronouncing Arabic.

3. The role of parents in accompanying students during the learning process takes place.

4. Collaboration of parents in carrying out prayer exercises using audio media when the time for obligatory prayers arrives. And outside of study hours. This is proven by the number of children who did not fill out the Prayer Achievement Cards.

5. Busyness and weak supervision from parents.

Based on the results of the analysis and discussion of the research data described above, it can be concluded that the audio, visual, and audiovisual visual learning in learning to pray in memorizing prayer readings and performing movements increases from the results of the pre-cycle to the first cycle. The increase in value is also seen as significant at 95% for the ability to memorize prayer readings while for the ability to perform prayer movements correctly, all achievements are 100%. Prayer learning media is also easy for teachers to make at school. Teachers can record prayer readings which can be accessed on a computer or mobile phone, pictures of a series of prayer movements, and also prayer learning films which contain moving pictures, oral explanations, and writing. This media can facilitate three types of children’s learning and can motivate children in learning. Given that all of these media can be played and viewed repeatedly children can study them at home under the guidance of their parents.

5. Conclusions

Prayer apart from being an obligation as a Muslim is also a mandatory program that is carried out by all students from grade 1 to grade 6 at Ar-Rahman Motik Jakarta Elementary School. The implementation process is carried out jointly in schools. However, this activity stopped since the government implemented online learning. Especially for grade 1 students who should learn to pray by practicing prayer from the start. Grade 1 students are students between the ages of 6–7 years.

At this time, children are in a transitional period between concrete pre-operational and concrete operational 115 according to the theory of Jean Piaget, one of the child development psychologists. This time is the golden age or the Golden Age. Because at this time all the processes of growing and developing children are very rapid both in their development and growth. So the researchers are trying to create a learning media that is able to make students at this time to be able to optimally use their potential so that the learning process can be as maximal as possible, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic which requires learning to be carried out not face to face but through virtual/online. Line. This research is carried out continuously every day through the zoom meeting application which is carried out after learning ends, namely at 10.00–10.20 WIB. And also at other prayer times monitored the parents of students by writing them in a prayer achievement book.

In addition to video tutorials for implementing prayers, several other supporting applications are presented to students so that students do not get bored, namely by doing games that are interesting and fun. Classroom Action Research conducted in class 1B SD Ar-Rahman Motik can run smoothly and get full support from parents, to optimize students’ prayer understanding in class 1 during the COVID-19 Pandemic by using learning media in the form of audio, visual, and audiovisual.

From the results of the pre-cycle study, it was found that the average ability to read prayers for students was 69 while the KKM (Minimum Completeness Criteria) for Islamic Studies had to reach 76. Then Cycle I was carried out. Cycle I was carried out for 3 weeks starting on March 4 to March 24, 2021. Learning activities were carried out continuously, namely carried out on every effective school day at the end of learning around 10.00–10.20 minutes. The activity lasts about 15–20 minutes. Obligatory prayer monitoring every day is carried out through a prayer achievement card.

Apart from using learning media in the form of audio, visual, and audiovisual, many other supports are also used to optimize learning, including (1) IT-based learning applications (Google Class Room, Quizziz, wordwall. Life Worksheet), (2) Achievement Sheets Prayer, (3) Star Book, (4) Reward (Prize), and (5) Book of Islamic Religion Assessment (Salat guide book and daily prayer). At the end of the lesson, the researcher evaluates students’ ability to read and pray movement by giving assignments to students to make a two-rakaat prayer video and send it to the Google Class Room.

The results of the study showed an increase from before the use of audiovisual media to after use. That is, 11% good and 89% of the ability to read prayer readings is sufficient and lacking. About 5% is good and 95% of the child’s ability to carry out prayer movements is sufficient and lacking, this number is still below the KKM (Minimum Completeness Criteria) after the Action is carried out the result is an increase Namely, 94% is good (39% is good and 55% is very good). As for the prayer movement, it was 100% good (39% good, 61% very good) although there were 6% or one child who was judged to be lacking in prayer reading. But overall 80% have met the criteria so cycle II is not needed. Based on the research conducted, the following suggestions are made regarding prayer learning activities using prayer learning media in the form of audio, video, and audiovisual.