Strategies for Using Learning Media in Islamic Religious Education Subjects

Abstract


INTRODUCTION
The education sector cannot escape being affected by the increasingly rapid flow of technology, this of course opens up opportunities for the development of quality education, both from the human aspect and the technological aspect (Setiawan, 2019).Superior education certainly requires superior educators as well.This is a necessity considering the increasingly rapid technological advances in this era.Therefore, educators need to continue to develop themselves so that they can keep pace with current developments, and must even be several steps further than students in carrying out learning activities.This not only includes providing relevant learning materials, but also the use of learning media that is in line with developments over time (Zainiyati, 2017).
Learning media can be defined as a tool or something that can channel messages from the sender to the recipient so as to stimulate students' thoughts, feelings, attention and interests and willingness in the learning process in terms of achieving the goals of effective learning (Zainiyati, 2017;Mustaqim, 2016;Rohima, 2023).Learning media is also referred to as a learning aid to assist student learning activities.Because learning is a form of communication that occurs in a learning system, learning media can be a quite important component (Ekayani, 2017).So that learning media becomes an important integral part of the learning process because it provides a bridge between educators and students.Learning media can be divided into several categories, namely print media, audio media, visual media, audio-visual media, and computer-based media.Learning media can be used alone or in combination with other media, the choice of learning media can be adjusted to the learning objectives, characteristics of the subject matter, and characteristics of the students.
The values and teachings in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) are important provisions for every student to learn.According to Chabib Thoha in (Pai, 1997) published in 2018, Islamic religious education is one of three subjects that must be included in the curriculum material of every formal school institution in Indonesia.This is because religion not only teaches religious rituals but also the application of religion in everyday life so that it is realized in an integrated manner.This research further states that education originating from Islamic religious teachings is realized by the awareness of educators to prepare their students through appropriate guidance, teaching or training activities with the goal to be achieved so that students can believe, understand and practice religious teachings in everyday life.
The Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Educational Institution was established and is required to provide real contributions that have a positive impact on social and state life, especially in the religious aspect.In fulfilling this goal by providing IRE learning to students.IRE learning at Wonokoyo Tsanawiyah madrasah uses learning media, including print and audio-visual media, to deliver IRE materials to students.
Previous research conducted by (Anam, 2015) with the title The influence of learning media on students' interest in learning in IRE subjects at Bani Muqiman Bangkalan Middle School resulted in the use of learning media in IRE lessons that had been implemented at Bani Muqiman Bangkalan Middle School.Bani Muqiman Middle School students' interest in learning about IRE lessons is not good, students' interest in learning can be influenced by the use of learning media.This is known to be a very small percentage, namely 0.49327, this is also because the use of learning media at Bani Muqiman Bangkalan Middle School is very small with a percentage range of only 0.09728%, because of this the influence is categorized as "not good".Another research by (Lailiyah & Mardiyah, 2021) with the title Problems in the use of ICT-based learning media in Madrasah Ibtidaiyah found that it is important to develop school facilities as an effort to achieve increased teacher professionalism in the use of ICT-based learning media.It is important to develop school facilities to develop certain theories because one aspect that influences this is an inappropriate educational background and the belief that IRE learning will only be appropriate if it uses conventional methods.
This study has novelty in the context of the application of learning media in Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo, focusing on the factors that influence the success of the application.It is expected to provide solutions or strategies to improve the effectiveness of the application of learning media in IRE learning in the madrasah.Learning media can be utilized as a medium that supports learning process activities if it can be implemented properly.Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the strategy of using learning media in IRE subjects at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo, East Java.

METHODS
Descriptive qualitative research was chosen to be used in this study.According to (Abdussamad & Sik, 2021) this method is a method suitable for research with natural object conditions, where the position of the researcher as an important instrument.In this research method, the material collected is not based on theory, but based on the truths encountered during direct research.While the research method uses literature searches, observations, and interviews.Researchers collected materials relevant to the research topic from various sources such as books, journals, scientific articles, and mass media.Furthermore, researchers conducted observations at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo and conducted interviews with three IRE teachers at the school.
The collected data were then described and elaborated to gain an in-depth understanding of the research topic.After that, the data were analyzed using data reduction techniques, presented in descriptive form, and then conclusions could be drawn regarding the strategy of using learning media in IRE subjects at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo, East Java.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Religious education currently has a role in shaping a person's character and personality for the better.As we understand, the teachings of the Islamic religion, one of which requires education.Apart from education as knowledge for provision in life, it is also understood that education can be one of the needs of human life which, if fulfilled, can achieve prosperity and happiness in this world and in the afterlife (Dwistia et al., 2022).Because the goal of Islamic education is the realization of Islamic values that students obtain from Muslim teachers originating from activities that are centered on success (products) that have an Islamic personality (Nabila, 2021).The Islamic personality is having faith and obeying the provisions of God Almighty, having a noble personality, being healthy spiritually and physically, being clever in science, having skills, creativity, being independent, and being able to become a democratic and responsible citizen.In this way, you can improve your personality to become an obedient servant and have equally important knowledge of the world and the afterlife, which ultimately forms an Islamic personality that is devoted only to Allah SWT.
Madrasah Tsanawiyah, which was established as one of the educational systems in Indonesia guided by Islamic education, has the most important goal of providing more significant Islamic religious guidance to its students.This includes learning about the Koran, hadith, religious education, knowledge of interpretation, and Muslim ethics (Pangestu & Inayati, 2023).However, along with developments, what initially only taught religious knowledge has now expanded to general education for Islamic students as well (Akhyar & Samsudin, 2023).So the learning system at Madrasah Tsanawiyah is important, apart from providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to continue higher education, it also forms students who have strong faith and piety based on the Islamic religion.
Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo, which is in Malang, East Java, in the tagline of its social media page states "Guiding Students to Become More Devout and Faithful" with the aim of guiding students to become more devout and faithful through IRE learning.IRE learning at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo is carried out using various learning methods, one of which is the learning media method.However, from the results of observations of the implementation of learning methods using learning media used in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) subjects, they still show significant weaknesses.Several factors are the main causes, such as the lack of support provided by madrasahs for the provision of IRE learning media, and the lack of motivation and willingness of IRE teachers to increase their competence in using learning methods.It is very unfortunate considering that learning media is important during learning activities.
The importance of using learning media during the IRE learning process cannot be denied, because without media teachers will have difficulty conveying learning messages effectively.Learning media are media that can be used as a link for messages or information, including the aims and objectives of learning.So learning media is very important to improve students' ability to acquire new concepts, skills and competencies (Hasan et al., 2021).Other research states that learning media as part of learning activities is needed as a means of conveying educational messages or information between teachers and students, thereby producing an effective and efficient learning atmosphere (Wahyuliani et al., 2016).Therefore, learning media that is carried out well can be interpreted as the role of educators in IRE fulfilling their obligations to help students awaken the psychological aspects embedded in them such as observation, memory, interest, attention, thinking, fantasy, emotions and the development of their personality (Maesaroh, 2014).Seeing the importance of learning media in teaching activities, strategic efforts are needed from the Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo Tsanawiyah Madrasah in realizing the goals of the Tsanawiyah Madrasah.MTs Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo's efforts to increase the success of IRE learning media can be done by making management improvements in the following aspects:

Curriculum
According to Ralph Tyler in (Huda, 2017) defines the curriculum as all student lessons planned and carried out by the school to achieve its educational goals.In the curriculum itself there are curriculum components consisting of objectives, learning materials, methods and evaluation.Curriculum objectives are the targets that education wants to achieve, while learning materials are the content or substance that students must learn, learning methods are the methods used by teachers to convey learning materials to students, and evaluation is an activity to measure the success of achieving curriculum objectives.In the form of a curriculum system, it will work towards an educational goal with mutual cooperation between all its components.For example, curriculum objectives will be achieved if the learning material taught is relevant to the curriculum objectives, the learning methods used are active and interactive, and the evaluations carried out are objective and continuous.Having a curriculum certainly makes it easier for students and educators to be more focused, so curriculum development is very important to make it easier to achieve learning goals (Adiyono et al., 2023).The curriculum needs to be designed to support the effective use of learning media.The curriculum must contain material that meets the characteristics of the learning media to be used.Apart from that, the curriculum must also contain learning activities that can optimize the use of learning media.
The MTs Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo curriculum can be designed to support the effective use of learning media by first adding material related to the use of learning media in the curriculum, material related to the use of learning media can be integrated into relevant subjects .This material can include understanding learning media, types of learning media, how to choose learning media, and how to use learning media effectively.Second, organize learning activities that can optimize the use of learning media maximally , for example teachers can use learning media to delivering material , helping students to understand learning material in more depth, improving students' thinking skills and increasing students' creativity.The following are several examples of learning activities that can optimize the use of learning media, such as presentations using presentation media, observing pictures or videos, preparing models or simulations, and playing games or simulations.

Teacher
The teacher is the motor of learning who dynamizes all elements related to learning itself, he seems to be the central figure in a lesson in the classroom (Budiman, 2013).By referring to the skills that educators must have, it can be revealed that becoming a teacher is not an easy thing.Especially because being a teacher is now considered a profession that requires special skills .One of the skills that teachers must master is the skill of making learning plans, because this will influence the implementation of the learning process and even the evaluation of learning (Hidayat & Syafe'i, 2018).
In order to implement good IRE learning media, teachers need to increase their competence in using learning media and get used to using learning media in learning.It is important for teachers to receive training and develop competence in using learning media.As one of the indicators supporting the professional competence of the teaching profession, experience in training can be identified as an important influencing factor (Mulyawan, 2012).Training is a structured effort to acquire certain skills, rules, concepts, or behavioral actions that contribute to improved performance.This training and competency development can be carried out through various activities, such as workshops, seminars or online training.The following are several examples of management changes in teachers that can be carried out by MTs Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo, namely preparing a training program for using learning media for IRE teachers, providing a budget for procuring learning media, facilitating teachers to take part in training in using learning media, and giving awards to teachers who use media.effective learning.By making changes in teacher management, it is hoped that MTs Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo can increase the success of IRE learning media.

Learning methods
Learning methods are methods, models, or a series of forms of learning activities that educators apply to their students in order to increase the student's learning motivation in order to achieve teaching goals (Ahyat, 2017).The methods used by teachers to convey learning material to students can help students to understand learning material more effectively , because learning methods by educators are one of the factors that influence the achievement of good learning (Maesaroh, 2013) .Learning methods will influence several aspects of learning, namely student understanding because active learning methods and involving students in the learning process can increase students' understanding of the learning material .Both students' thinking skills, such as critical thinking, creative thinking, and logical thinking, learning methods that require students to think and solve problems can improve students' thinking skills.Student motivation to learn because interesting and interactive learning methods can make students more enthusiastic about learning .Lastly, learning methods also influence student learning outcomes.Student learning outcomes can be measured in various ways, such as tests, assignments, or portfolios .MTs Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo can increase the success of IRE learning media by making changes to the management of its learning methods.Changes in learning method management can be carried out in the following ways: a. Developing learning methods that are more interesting and fun Innovative and newest learning methods can make IRE learning more interesting and enjoyable for students.This learning method can be a learning method that utilizes technology, a learning method that requires students to be active, or a learning method that is student-centered.
Achievement in learning can be achieved if all supporting aspects are well supported, such as learning methods because interesting learning methods enable students to achieve their learning competency (Maesaroh, 2013).b.Applying learning methods that suit student characteristics Learning methods that suit student characteristics can make IRE learning more effective and meaningful for students.Student characteristics that can be considered in selecting learning methods include student ability levels, student interests, and student learning styles.
The following are some tips for implementing learning methods that suit student characteristics.Firstly, by recognizing student characteristics, teachers can make direct observations of students or use assessment instruments.After recognizing student characteristics, teachers can choose appropriate learning methods.Next, teachers can adapt to the chosen learning method.Adaptations can be made so that the learning method is more suited to student characteristics.

c. Development of an effective learning evaluation system
An effective learning evaluation system can help teachers to assess the success of using IRE learning media.Evaluation of the learning process can be done by observing student activities during learning.Activities that can be observed include student activities in participating in learning, answering questions, doing assignments, and discussing.Observation data can be analyzed to assess the effectiveness of using IRE learning media.By using an effective learning evaluation system, it is hoped that teachers can assess the success of using IRE learning media accurately and objectively.

Learning media
Learning media can be utilized by teachers to attract attention and increase student motivation in learning, especially in learning IRE.Because with the learning media, students do not feel bored and bored if they only receive material from one direction, namely the teacher, so that the subject matter becomes easy for students to understand (Sartika et al., 2020).At MTs Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo, the learning media used include print media and audio-visual media.Print media are various media that contain supporting text and illustrations, such as textbooks, magazines, and worksheets (Sunarno, 2015).Meanwhile, audio visual media is media that combines elements of sound and images that can be seen, such as video recordings and films (Maryam et al., 2020).Audio-visual media has the advantage of displaying images that can stimulate students' reasoning and backsound that can stimulate students' emotions in understanding an event.To increase the success of using IRE learning media, MTs Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo can make management changes in the use of learning media.Management changes in learning media can be carried out by: a. Choose the right learning media Appropriate learning media are learning media that suit learning objectives, learning materials, and student characteristics.Several criteria need to be considered in choosing the right learning media, namely the learning objectives to be achieved, the learning material to be conveyed, appropriate student characteristics, media availability, and teacher skills in using the media.Selecting the right learning media will help teachers achieve learning goals more effectively and students can also easily understand the subject matter, especially IRE.b.Development of learning media.
Learning media can be developed by the teacher himself, or can be obtained from other parties.Teachers can develop their own learning media by maximizing the media provided by the school, such as a library or laboratory.Learning media development requires certain skills and knowledge.Therefore, it is necessary to provide training for teachers and experts so that they can develop quality learning media.c.Learning media management Learning media needs to be managed well so that it can be used effectively.Learning media management includes procurement, storage, maintenance and use activities.Procurement of learning media aims to provide the learning media needed for the learning process.Learning media procurement activities can be done by buying, making your own, or borrowing.Meanwhile, learning media storage aims to organize learning media so that it is easy to find and use.Learning media needs to be stored in a safe place and protected from damage.Maintenance of learning media aims to keep learning media in good condition and can be used optimally.Learning media needs to be maintained regularly so that it is not damaged or worn out.Lastly, the use of learning media aims to use learning media effectively and efficiently in the learning process.Learning media needs to be used appropriately in order to achieve learning objectives.
Not all educational media are learning media, but every learning media is definitely educational media (Falahudin, 2014).So, every learning media is definitely included as educational media because it is used actively in the learning process and aims to achieve certain learning goals.However, not all educational media are learning media because many educational media have a more general function in supporting the educational process as a whole, not just focusing on the learning process.For this reason, it is important to use learning media to achieve learning goals such as increasing students' motivation and interest in learning, making it easier to understand subject matter, and improving the quality of learning.
Learning media has now become a very important tool for Islamic religious education.Learning media not only functions as a teaching aid, but also as an integral part of the religious education system.Learning media also not only functions to assist educators in conveying lesson material, but can also help students learn independently.So it can be explained the benefits of learning media which can be utilized optimally to help teachers run their duties smoothly, improve the quality of students, and change traditional teaching styles to modern ones.
By implementing good learning media, it can not only be done by the Miftahul Ulum Woonokoyo Tsanawiyah Madrasah but can be applied at any Tsanawiyah Madrasah to achieve the goal of religious education, namely learning the creed.Learning creeds has the potential to form religious character in students.With in-depth understanding, it is hoped that students can apply it in their daily lives so as to create individuals who are religiously devout and highly knowledgeable.This clearly has a positive impact on students if they can apply the values of Islamic religious education in their lives.

CONCLUSION
The management of learning media use in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) subjects at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo still shows significant weaknesses.Several factors are the main causes, such as the lack of support provided by the madrasah for the procurement of IRE learning media, and the lack of motivation and willingness of IRE teachers to improve their competence in using learning media.Improvements in the management of the use of IRE learning media at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo require a series of management improvements, including curriculum management that can support the effective use of learning media, the role of teachers to improve their competence in the use of learning media, learning methods and learning media.So that with these management improvements, it is expected to improve the quality of management of the use of IRE learning media in Madrasah Tsanawiyah Miftahul Ulum Wonokoyo East Java.