Implementation of the Synectics Model to Enhance Religious Creativity at SMP Negeri 7 Alasa

Abstract

This study aims to examine the implementation of the Synectics learning model in enhancing students’ religious creativity at SMP Negeri 7 Alasa. Religious creativity is defined as the ability of individuals to generate innovative ideas and works rooted in religious values. This aspect is essential in religious education as it enables students to express their understanding of faith in a more reflective, imaginative, and contextual manner. The Synectics model, first developed by William J. J. Gordon, is a learning approach that emphasizes the use of analogies and metaphors to connect seemingly unrelated ideas. Through this method, students are encouraged to think beyond conventional boundaries and to produce creative solutions to problems, including those in the context of religious learning. This research employed a classroom action research (CAR) approach conducted over two cycles, involving 32 eighth-grade students as participants. Each cycle consisted of the stages of planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The findings revealed a significant improvement in students’ religious creativity, with an average increase of 37.5% from the first cycle to the second. This improvement reflects the effectiveness of the Synectics model in facilitating the integration of religious subject mastery and creative thinking skills. Through activities based on metaphors and analogies, students became more active, reflective, and innovative in expressing religious values. Therefore, the application of the Synectics learning model has proven to be an effective strategy for fostering students’ religious creativity in Christian Religious Education.