STUDENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES WITH DIRANCARA QUR’AN MEDIA IN ELEMENTARY QUR’AN READING: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

Abstract

Learning to read the Qur’an in elementary school requires students to connect letter recognition, pronunciation, and repeated reading practice, yet teacher-centered instruction offers limited opportunities for direct interaction with learning materials. This qualitative case study examined the implementation and perceived pedagogical value of Dirancara Qur’an, a locally developed multimodal medium that combines audiovisual presentation with manipulable hijaiyah-letter blocks, in a fourth-grade Qur’an reading class at SD Negeri Mojokambang 1, Jombang, East Java. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the Qur’an teacher and selected students, classroom observations, and documentation, and were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: making Qur’anic symbols more concrete through multimodal representation, learning through manipulation and active participation, collaborative interaction and enjoyment, and implementation constraints. Participants valued being able to move, rearrange, and correct letters, and students used the recitation as a model for reading the blocks. However, engagement was uneven and depended on teacher guidance, group organization, sufficient lesson time, reliable equipment, and durable materials. The study contributes a classroom-based account of a hybrid medium and suggests that multimedia learning theory may be extended to settings that combine screen-based and physical representations. Further research should involve several schools, longer observation, and designs that test learning outcomes.