DEVELOPING DIGITAL TEACHING MATERIALS FOR PROSE FICTION APPRECIATION TO FOSTER LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

Abstract

This study is aimed at developing digital teaching materials for Prose Fiction Appreciation course to foster students' learning and engagement. This study employed research and development design summarized in 4D steps: Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate. The results of validation and product testing show that the teaching materials are suitable for the learning and able to foster the students' learning and engagement. The notion of engagement is of great importance to be promoted as it suggests that the students are active learning subjects. What are the defining characteristics of 21 st-century learners? This question is worth asking for these learners will be those that prospective teachers who are currently attending universities have to deal with, including prospective teachers of Indonesian literature and linguistics. An understanding of the characteristics of 21st-century learners will help the teacher determine the suitable selection of teaching materials, learning strategies, media, and learning evaluation. The 21 st-century learners are deemed to be a digital generation. They have grown up with an easy access to technology, thus rendering them more technology literate; they are users of mobile technology by which they can find information anytime and anywhere easily from laptops and smartphones; they are highly adaptable (Jati, 2016). This tendency makes learning tasks focused on what-, when-, and how-type questions no longer fully appropriate for these digital generation learners. As such, the teacher does not serve as the only source of learning activities. The 21 st-century learners are good at multitasking generation meaning that they can perform several tasks at the same time. Smartphones are one of the media widely used by learners for multitasking. Learners prefer to multitask while studying in the classroom. However, research findings show that multitasking does not satisfy cognitive needs but emotional needs (Tchernev, 2012). Withdrawing students from multitasking with their smartphones is not a wise decision based on sound judgment. To approach this problem, it is essential to consider the integration of technology in learning activities. Learning activities must provide opportunities for learners to access learning materials or resources by utilizing their smartphones and the learning material must previously be well designed so that learners are able to solve problems, find solutions, and write/publish their work using their smartphones. This way will create a learning experience that fosters students' learning engagement and simultaneously develops creative-critical thinking skills. Rosen et al. (2012) assert that the learning approach by integrating technology can help improve the learning focus of the respondents. Integration of technology into classroom learning must function as an intellectual partner in the learning process. Learners do not learn from technology but learn from technology-facilitated thought processes (Jonassen, et al., 2003). Technology must help foster engagement and support thinking skills.