PEMETAAN GAYA BELAJAR SISWA SEBAGAI DASAR IMPLEMENTASI PEMBELAJARAN BERDIFERENSIASI DI SEKOLAH MENENGAH ATAS

Abstract

The implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum requires teachers to adopt differentiated instruction that accommodates students' diverse learning characteristics and needs. One of the initial steps in designing differentiated instruction is mapping students' learning styles. This study aimed to describe the learning style profiles of tenth-grade students at Taruna Bangsa Senior High School as a basis for implementing differentiated instruction. The study employed a descriptive quantitative approach involving 24 tenth-grade students as the research sample. The research instrument was a learning style questionnaire adapted from the VARK model to identify students' preferences for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form of percentages. The findings revealed that the visual learning style was the most dominant, accounting for 58.33% of the students, followed by the auditory learning style at 41.67%, while no students exhibited a kinesthetic learning style. These findings indicate that most students learn more effectively through visual representations, whereas others demonstrate stronger preferences for verbal or auditory explanations. The results of this learning style mapping provide valuable information for teachers in designing differentiated instruction by selecting appropriate instructional strategies, learning media, and classroom activities that align with students' learning characteristics. Such an approach is expected to enhance student engagement and improve the overall effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.