Developing Students’ Creativity through the Group Investigation Method in Islamic Cultural History Learning

Abstract

Developing students’ creativity is an important objective in contemporary education, particularly in Islamic Religious Education, where learning should promote critical thinking, active participation, and meaningful understanding. However, the teaching of Islamic Cultural History (Sejarah Kebudayaan Islam/SKI) in many madrasahs remains dominated by teacher-centered approaches, which limit students’ opportunities to develop creativity. This study aims to examine the implementation of the Group Investigation method in developing students’ creativity in SKI learning at Islamic elementary school Nurul Haq Rite and to analyze its impact on students’ creative development. This research employed a qualitative descriptive approach. The research participants consisted of the SKI teacher and twelfth-grade students at Islamic elementary school Nurul Haq Rite. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis followed the Miles and Huberman interactive model, including data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicate that the implementation of the Group Investigation method transformed the learning process from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. Students actively participated in investigation, discussion, and presentation activities related to Islamic reform and modernization topics. The results show improvements in students’ creativity, particularly in the aspects of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. Students also demonstrated greater enthusiasm, collaboration, and confidence in presenting ideas during learning activities.These findings suggest that the Group Investigation method is an effective learning strategy for enhancing students’ creativity and promoting active learning in Islamic Cultural History education.