The Urgency of Cognitivism in the Merdeka Curriculum

The Urgency of Cognitivism in the Merdeka Curriculum

By: Saifullah Arief Budiman

Student of the Chemistry Education Study Programme

Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training

UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta

            Teaching and learning activities are important for improving the quality of a nation's human resources. A nation with excellent human resources will create a good civilisation in every field. As the quality of human resources improves, it naturally becomes an important pillar in the development of a nation, both technologically and socio-culturally. In this regard, the field of education is the front-line pawn in producing individuals of strong character who are able to compete in today's global competition.

            Choosing the right learning method makes it easier to produce individuals with strong character as an output. Of course, this requires an important role from the government and educators, who work together to determine the direction of the learning methods to be used. This cooperation can be built through in-depth observation of the smallest units of education in each region, and then coordinating the survey results with the relevant government bodies so that an educational environment is created that suits the situation and conditions of this nation.

            Teaching and learning methods cannot be separated from the role of cognitive understanding. In this approach, cognition influences a person's level of intelligence. This theory can therefore be seen when a person is learning, building an idea, and solving a problem (Anis, 2021). Understanding formed from an individual's way of thinking is the main point of urgency in the cognitive approach. The cognitive approach is a learning theory that refers to a person's ability to think about what they are facing. By analysing existing events and understanding the connections in the application of what is learned, each individual's cognitive ability is formed.

            John Piaget argued that children construct their own knowledge from their own experience with the environment (Jahja, 2011). The development of cognitive understanding depends on how far learners actively manipulate and interact with their environment. John Piaget's theory assumes that all students grow and pass through the same sequence of development, but that this growth proceeds at different speeds. Differences in cognitive understanding between individuals will naturally produce varied capacities to grasp different material. It is because of these differing speeds of comprehension that the teacher's role becomes that of a facilitator and the book's role that of a provider of information.

            The role of language as a means of communication also underlies the development of learners' cognitive understanding. Presenting material in a structured way, with communication language that is easy to understand, makes it easier for learners to grasp and process information about the material presented. According to Bruner's theory, language development in each learner has a great influence on cognitive development. In this regard, language is a tool for opening up the horizons of the world's knowledge. A person's cognitive development occurs through three stages determined by how they view the conditions of their environment, namely: the enactive stage, the stage  in which  a person applies  activity in an effort to understand the environment. The iconic stage, the stage in which a person views the world through images in the form of verbal visualisation. The symbolic stage, the stage in which abstract ideas are influenced by language and logic in thinking.

            Understanding in learning does not arise from external stimulation, but from a situation that is faced which contains distinctive and dense concepts, principles and rules. The situations that arise usually tend to require each individual to understand, discover principles, draw conclusions and apply them. In this regard, cognitive theory is of course able to align with the concept of the curriculum applied in this nation, namely the Merdeka Curriculum.

            The Merdeka Curriculum is a curriculum suited to the development of the times. This curriculum requires learners to think creatively and to be able to apply their thinking across a variety of content and media. Strong cognitive understanding will become the basic foundation for every learner in developing their potential in exploring diverse concepts that can strengthen character through the competencies they have. The role of educators as facilitators is also very decisive for the cognitive development of learners. A variety of media and diverse content presentations that focus on each individual's understanding through thinking can be applied in this curriculum.

            With the implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum, differences in the capacity to grasp understanding between individuals can be overcome. Freedom in learning and a variety of methods will require learners to take an active part in seeking and understanding the material presented. Of course, individual initiative to understand a concept will improve cognitive quality itself. Newly acquired experience combined with the theory that has been delivered will strengthen an existing mindset, so that an understanding is created that can become the foundation of each individual's thinking.

            Knowledge processed in each learner's mindset is the first stage for students in understanding learning material.  Applying knowledge in learning is the gateway to understanding the material delivered. Once the material has been delivered, this is where the students' cognitive role begins, by understanding the related material. With proper understanding, learners are able to turn that understanding into something real. This implementation will also give rise to synthesis.

Developing strong understanding will create innovative products from the cognitive aspects that differ in every individual. In this synthesis itself, new material and real application can be created, which will trigger the development of thinking about the original theoretical concept. The final stage of cognitive understanding is the ability to give an evaluation of one's understanding of a piece of learning material. Evaluation is formed from complex thinking in the form of an individual's comments on the material delivered

            The role of cognition in learning serves as a reference for thinking about other aspects that support understanding. Proper understanding will create good attitudes. The affective role is influenced by the cognitive aspect of each learner, meaning that in acting, each learner is able to implement their understanding as an appropriate attitude. In this regard, the character of an individual can certainly become a pioneer of the advancement of existing human resources.

            The development of the psychomotor aspect is also closely related to the cognitive role. Skills that emerge in relation to the material delivered will be easier to understand if cognitive understanding is the basis of thinking in each individual. With strong and well-understood theory, a skill will of course be easily implemented in practical activities within learning. In this Merdeka Curriculum, learners are usually given the freedom to be independent in responding to a problem, so that strong skills and understanding form by themselves. This makes the role of an educator that of a provider of adequate facilities who is able to support the creativity of every learner.