Hindu Religious Education Teachers' Innovations in Increasing Interest in Learning the Bhagavad Gita in Junior High School Students in the Digital Era

This article is in the field of Hindu religious education and digital pedagogy, focusing on teaching the Bhagavad Gita to junior high school students. This study aims to describe and analyze the innovations of Hindu Religious Education teachers in increasing interest in learning the Bhagavad Gita in the digital age, as well as explain how these innovations work in classroom practice. The research uses a qualitative case study approach, with two Hindu Religious Education teachers and thirty junior high school students as subjects, through classroom observation, in-depth interviews, pre- and post-learning interest questionnaires, and learning document analysis. The working hypothesis of this study is that teacher innovations that combine cooperative strategies, interactive digital media, and contextual approaches can increase students' interest in learning the Bhagavad Gita. The results of the study show a significant increase in learning interest, a shift towards a more dialogical classroom, and a growing tendency for students to relate the slokas to their moral experiences. The contribution of this article lies in the formulation of an “ecological innovation” framework for teaching the Bhagavad Gita in junior high schools. These findings are important as a reference for the development of Hindu pedagogy that is relevant to the character of the digital generation.