INTRODUCTION

Inclusive education is an educational approach that provides equal learning opportunities for all students, including those who experience learning difficulties. This approach emphasizes that schools should not only accommodate student diversity but also adapt the learning process to ensure that every learner can participate actively and meaningfully. UNESCO states that inclusive education is closely related to the global commitment to achieving equitable, high-quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all without discrimination. Therefore, schools are expected to enroll students with special educational needs and to provide adaptive learning environments to address individual differences (UNESCO, 2020). The significance of inclusive education is further underscored when related to students’ literacy skills. In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, only about 25% of Indonesian students reached Level 2 or higher in reading literacy, which is substantially lower than the OECD average of 74% (OECD, 2023). These results indicate that reading proficiency is still a serious educational problem in Indonesia, especially for students who have difficulty in reading and require instructional assistance according to their learning characteristics.

Typically, students who struggle with reading have difficulties with word recognition, reading fluency, understanding written texts, and interpreting textual information. Such difficulties are not necessarily tied with intellectual ability but with language processing deficits that require specialized instructional approaches (Cahyani et al., 2024). Thus, these students typically require more time to finish reading assignments, experience cognitive exhaustion in text-based learning tasks, and feel less confident when participating in classroom discussions. Without appropriate instructional interventions, these problems may slowly diminish students’ motivation, participation and interest in learning.These challenges are more visible in the domain of learning Social Studies. Social Studies uses concepts from geography, history, economics, sociology and civic life to help students understand society and their role as responsible citizens. Students need to do more than memorize information in order to learn Social Studies. They need to read, analyze, interpret and critically evaluate social phenomena. Therefore, reading competence is a fundamental aspect in assisting students to understand concepts and actively participate in classroom learning (Safitri et al., 2024).

Learning interest is one of the important factors influencing the success of Social Studies instruction. High interest in learning motivates students to pay more attention, enjoy classroom activities, participate actively in discussions, and persist in completing learning tasks. In contrast, low learning interest students tend to be passive, unwilling to participate and easily lose concentration in the class. Hidayah (2023) states that interest in learning is characterized by the presence of feeling fun, attention, curiosity, and active participation in learning activities. Thus, improving students’ learning interest is an important purpose, especially for students with reading difficulties. The result of the preliminary observation in Grade VIII of SMP Negeri 5 Sandaran found one student having reading difficulties. The student was unable to automatically recognize words . He or she had to still decode letters or syllables before pronouncing complete words . Furthermore, frequent errors in reading were found, such as reading jari as jadi, paku as kaku, kuku as ku and kotak as kota. These reading difficulties led to significant difficulties in the student's ability to read and understand written text, identify main ideas, summarize information, and understand Social Studies learning materials.

The result of these difficulties was that the student tended to have low participation in classroom instruction, low self-confidence, reluctance to answer the questions and minimal participation in classroom discussions. Today’s methods of teaching Social Studies depend mainly on textbooks and written exercises, which do not meet the needs of students who have difficulty in reading. Such text-focused pedagogical practices tend to dampen students' enthusiasm and engagement, resulting in less interest in learning.

Teachers need more visual, interactive and engaging instructional media to address these challenges. The use of suitable instructional media can simplify abstract concepts, reduce students’ dependence on lengthy written texts and create meaningful learning experiences . One instructional medium which has a considerable potential is the Spinner Media. Spinner Media is a wheel-based educational learning medium which includes pictures, keywords, questions, or learning activities to motivate students to participate actively during instruction. Students are more engaged in observing, discussing, answering questions and interacting with their peers through game-based learning activities which creates a more enjoyable learning environment. Spinner Media is particularly appropriate for students with reading difficulties as it combines visual, kinesthetic and collaborative learning experiences. Students can learn from pictures, oral questions, games and interaction with their peers instead of just reading. Spinner Media in learning Indonesian can increase students’ participation and learning outcomes significantly because the instructional process becomes more interactive and fun (Familia & Wardono, 2023). Similarly, Reading Spinner was effective in enhancing the beginning reading skills of elementary school students by improving students’ ability to recognize words and read simple sentences, according to Putri, Amalia, and Nurasiah (2023).Previous studies have also demonstrated that visual and game-based instructional media have a positive impact on students’ motivation, classroom engagement, and academic achievement. However, most of the previous studies have focused on improving reading ability, learning outcomes, or learning motivation of elementary school students. There is little research on the use of Spinner Media to increase learning interest in Social Studies among students with reading difficulties. Furthermore, the existing research has been more focused on the study of learning Indonesian than Social Studies in inclusive schools.

Rizal and Ulya (2025) in another relevant study investigated the practice of inclusive education in Social Studies learning. The study found that the success of inclusive teaching depends on the teachers’ ability to adjust teaching strategies, collaborate with stakeholders, and create flexible learning environments. However, the study also found that teachers still encounter significant challenges in catering to the varied learning needs of students with disabilities, underscoring the need to create more adaptive instructional media. These results show a number of gaps in the research. First, previous studies have mainly focused on Spinner Media in relation to reading achievement, learning outcomes and motivation, but not learning interest in Social Studies. Second, most of the previous studies have been conducted on elementary school students, and there is an insufficient amount of research on junior high school students. Third, there is little research that combines Spinner Media, reading difficulties, Social Studies learning, and inclusive education in one framework of classroom action research. The novelty of this research is the use of Spinner Media as visual and interactive instructional media to increase interest in learning Social Studies of Grade VIII students with reading difficulties in an inclusive school. Unlike previous studies that have concentrated on reading success, this research focuses on learning interest as a fundamental requirement for active and relevant involvement in Social Studies learning. This study aims to describe the implementation of Spinner Media and to examine the effectiveness of Spinner Media in improving the learning interest of Social Studies of Grade VIII students with reading difficulties in an inclusive school.

METHOD

The research applied Classroom Action Research (CAR) with the model of Kemmis and McTaggart consisting of four cyclical stages, namely planning, acting, observing, and reflecting (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2014; Sudaryono, 2023). The research was carried out in two action cycles at an inclusive junior high school in East Kutai Regency, Indonesia, involving one student of class VIII who had reading difficulties and low interest in learning Social Studies. Preliminary classroom observations indicated that the student was having great difficulties with automatic word recognition, often misreading words, needing to decode words syllable by syllable, showing limited participation, low confidence and minimal engagement during classroom instruction. Based on the results, Spinner Media was used as interactive visual learning media to improve student learning interest in social studies. Each cycle involved lesson planning, the use of Spinner Media to implement learning activities, classroom observation, and reflective evaluation to improve future instructional practices (Susanto, 2016).

Data were collected via classroom observation, learning interest questionnaire, and documentation. Based on Hidayah (2023) and Andriani and Rasto (2019), the instruments of observation and questionnaires were developed based on three indicators of learning interest, namely feelings of enjoyment, attention, and active participation. Supporting the observation results in the form of documentation (photographs and field notes) (Arikunto, 2010) The data were analysed by descriptive quantitative analysis, by calculating the mean score and the percentage of students’ learning interest at the end of each cycle, using the procedures proposed by Sudijono (2011). The action is considered successful if the student’s learning interest reached the high category (≥75%) with a significant increase after the implementation of Spinner Media (Riyanto & Hatmawan, 2020).

Figure 1. Classroom Action Research Design Kemmis and Mc Taggart Model

RESUL AND DISCUSSION

Result

The results of the initial observation (pre-action) conducted on April 1, 2026, showed that social studies learning in grade VIII was still dominated by the use of textbooks as the main media. This condition was unable to accommodate the needs of students who had difficulty reading, resulting in low interest in learning. A student with the initials SR (name disguised) was not yet able to read words automatically and still had to spell each letter or syllable before pronouncing the whole word. In addition, students often made errors in reading words, such as reading jari as jadi, kuku as kaku, and kotak as kota, which caused difficulties in understanding the content of the reading, grasping the main idea, and following text-based learning. These obstacles resulted in low student engagement during the learning process, which was indicated by a passive attitude, lack of focus, reluctance to ask questions, and considering social studies learning boring. The results of the learning interest assessment at the pre-action stage showed that SR obtained a score of 35%, which was in the low category, thus becoming the basis for implementing learning actions using spinner media to increase learning interest in the next cycle.

Cycle I

Cycle I The actions in Cycle I were performed during two meetings which were held on 29 April 2026 and 30 April 2026 respectively. Time allocation 2 x 40 minutes. Before carrying out the actions, the researcher prepared the learning tools, namely a teaching module based on a spinner, a spinner containing social studies material in the form of images and keywords, observation sheets, a questionnaire of learning interest, and research documentation. Students were introduced to how to use the spinner, then joined in learning activities through educational games where they had to spin the spinner, answer questions, complete words and discuss their answers through the process of learning. The teacher used the spinner as a way of reinforcing, giving feedback and assessing and reflecting on the students’ learning experiences at the end of the lesson.

The results of the observations and questionnaires in Cycle I showed positive changes compared to the pre-action situation. Students began to show better attention during the lesson, appeared more enthusiastic about participating in each stage of the game, and began to be more confident in answering questions and participating in discussions. However, students still needed guidance when reading certain words and occasionally hesitated to express their opinions independently. The findings show that the use of spinner media has begun to have an impact on increasing interest in learning, but the results obtained in Cycle I have not fully achieved the research success indicators so that improvements are needed in Cycle II.

Table 1. Results of the Assessment of Learning Interest of Students with Learning Difficulties in Cycle I, Meetings 1 and 2

Based on the teacher's observations during the learning process and SR's questionnaire completion at the end of each meeting, there was an increase in learning interest in Cycle I. In the first meeting, SR obtained a score of 5 in the moderate category. Students had shown cheerful expressions and began to pay attention to the lesson, although they still appeared easily bored, yawned several times, and their involvement in learning activities was still limited. SR was only willing to appear in front of the class after being encouraged several times by the teacher, while their activeness in following instructions, answering questions, and asking questions had not developed optimally. In the second meeting, the learning interest score increased to 6 and remained in the moderate category. Improvements were seen in the indicators of feelings of happiness and attention, marked by students who no longer showed boredom, were more focused on following the lesson, and did not engage in activities outside of learning activities. In addition, SR began to show courage to appear in front of the class by accompanying their group members. However, aspects of active involvement, especially in following instructions for the spinner game, answering questions, and asking questions, still needed to be improved, so that corrective actions were needed in Cycle II.

Table 2. Learning Interest Scores of the Student with Reading Difficulties in Cycle I

The results of the first cycle showed that the percentage of students' learning interest reached 55%, in the moderate category, an increase compared to the pre-action condition which only reached 35%. This increase was seen in the aspects of feelings of happiness and attention, where students began to show more cheerful expressions, no longer showed boredom during learning, were more focused on paying attention to the teacher's explanations, and did not engage in activities outside of learning. However, students' attention was not fully optimal because on several occasions they still appeared sleepy. In terms of engagement, students began to show courage to appear in front of the class when asked by the teacher. However, activeness in following the spinner game instructions, answering questions, and asking questions was still relatively low. These findings indicate that the implementation of the spinner media began to attract attention and increase students' learning interest, although the results obtained have not yet reached the research success indicators.

The results of the Cycle I reflection showed that the implementation of the spinner media still needed several improvements to be able to optimally increase student engagement. During the learning process, students seemed more interested when the material was presented visually and interactively, but the media used was still considered less varied in displaying images and game challenges. Therefore, corrective actions in Cycle II focused on modifying the spinner media by adding more interesting illustrations, varying challenges in each round, and providing appreciation (rewards) in the form of success emojis for every positive behavior demonstrated by students during the learning process. These improvements are expected to increase student attention, active involvement, and interest in learning so that the research success indicators can be achieved in the next cycle.

Cycle II

Cycle II was held in two meetings on 6 May 2026 and 7 May 2026 with 2 × 40 minutes for each meeting. In this cycle, the instructional actions applied were modified based on the result of the reflection on Cycle I. There were several improvements made to the program. The spinner media was changed to more visually appealing images, interactive challenges were added such as filling in missing letters and identifying pictures relating to Social Studies topics, and students were given symbolic rewards of success emojis when they successfully completed each task. Moreover, all instructional materials such as lesson plans, modified spinner media, observation sheets, learning interest questionnaires, and documentation instruments were prepared to support the implementation of the intervention.

In the learning process, the lesson started with the teacher providing learning objectives, apperception activities, and introducing modified spinner media. The student then engaged in several game based learning activities. The student spun a wheel, answered questions and completed the assigned challenges based on the result of each spin. During the activities the teacher gave immediate feedback, reinforcement and appreciation for the students’ responses. After each meeting, an evaluation and reflection session was carried out where the student reviewed the contents of the lesson, shared the learning experience, conveyed the difficulties in the activities, and reflected on the feelings and impressions after taking part in the learning process. The aim of this method was to promote active involvement and to create a more fun and supportive learning environment.

Classroom observations and learning interest questionnaires were administered during each meeting to evaluate changes in the student's learning behavior throughout Cycle II. The assessment focused on three indicators of learning interest: enjoyment, attention, and active participation during Social Studies learning. Data obtained from the observation sheets and questionnaires were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the modified spinner media in improving the learning interest of the student with reading difficulties and to evaluate the overall success of the intervention implemented in Cycle II.

Table 3. Results of the Assessment of Learning Interest of Students with Learning Difficulties in Cycle II, Meetings 1 and 2

Based on the results of teacher observations during the learning process and the completion of questionnaires by SR at the end of each meeting, there was a significant increase in learning interest in Cycle II. In the first meeting, SR obtained a score of 7 out of a maximum score of 10 on both the observation sheet and the questionnaire, so the percentage of learning interest was in the high category. This increase was seen in indicators of feelings of happiness and attention, where students showed more cheerful expressions, no longer showed signs of boredom, and were able to concentrate well during the learning process. However, the aspect of engagement has not developed optimally because students still need encouragement from the teacher to actively follow game instructions, answer questions, and ask questions when experiencing difficulties. In the second meeting, students' learning interest increased again, with a score of 9 on both the observation sheet and the questionnaire, which is considered high. All indicators of enjoyment and attention were achieved optimally, while the engagement indicator showed that students began to actively follow instructions on how to use the spinner, were brave enough to answer questions, and demonstrated better participation during the learning process. Although students were not yet able to independently ask questions when experiencing difficulties, the improvement demonstrated that the modification of the spinner media, accompanied by the addition of visual challenges and the provision of rewards, significantly increased learning interest. These results indicate that the implementation of the spinner media was effective in creating a more engaging and interactive social studies learning atmosphere and was able to increase the attention and engagement of students with reading difficulties.

Table 4. Learning Interest Scores of the Student with Reading Difficulties in Cycle II

Based on the results of actions in cycle II, students' interest in learning has increased compared to the results of actions in cycle I. From a value of 55% student interest in learning in the low category, it has increased to 80 in the high category.

The following table shows the increase in interest in learning from the results of this study starting from Pre-Action to Cycle II.

Table 5 Increasing Interest in Learning for Students with Reading Difficulties

It can be seen from Table 5 that the student’s learning interest rose steadily during the implementation of the classroom action research. The mean learning interest score was 3.5 (35%) during the pre-cycle and was categorized as low. The finding showed that the student had little attention, low participation and little enthusiasm in Social Studies lessons. The average score increased to 5.5 (55%) and was categorized as moderate after the implementation of Spinner Media in Cycle I. This improvement shows that the interactive learning media started to catch the students’ attention and invited them to be more involved in classroom activities, although active participation had not yet reached the expected level. In Cycle II the improvement was higher where the average learning interest score was 8.0 or 80%, classified as high. By adding more attractive visual elements, interactive learning challenges, and symbolic rewards, the improvement of the Spinner Media was successfully able to enhance the student’s enjoyment, attention, and active participation in the learning process. The findings suggest that the instructional enhancements implemented in Cycle II successfully fostered a more stimulating learning setting and met the established success criterion of minimum 75% learning interest.

To provide a clearer picture of the improvement in learning interest in the research stages, the image of the student's mean learning interest scores and percentages from the pre-cycle, Cycle I, and Cycle II is presented in figure 1. The figure clearly shows the upward trend, which is evidence of the effectiveness of Spinner Media in increasing the learning interest of the students with difficulties in reading the subject of Social Studies.

Figure 2. Improvement in the Learning Interest of the Student with Reading Difficulties

The use of Spinner Media successfully fulfilled the predetermined success criteria based on the overall evaluation of the learning activities implemented in Cycle II which significantly enhanced the learning interest of the Grade VIII student with reading difficulties during Social Studies instruction. In the previous cycle, the student seemed to be more enthusiastic, confident and actively involved in the whole learning process. The student always had a positive emotional response, was attentive to the teacher’s explanation and learning activities, actively followed the instructions of the game, and was willing to answer questions generated through the spinner media. Such improvements suggest the instructional intervention created a more engaging and supportive learning environment for the student. The positive results obtained in Cycle II were very much influenced by the changes in teaching after reflection of Cycle I. In particular, the spinner media was modified by adding more attractive visual illustrations, providing interactive learning challenges, and adding symbolic rewards of success emojis to reinforce positive learning behaviors. These changes aroused the curiosity, interest and desire of the student to participate actively in each learning activity. In addition, the use of visual aids and game-based activities in the delivery of Social Studies curriculum helped decrease the student’s reliance on text-based resources, thus reducing the difficulties associated with reading, leading to a more meaningful interaction with the subject matter.

The final results showed that the application of the modified Spinner Media improved the student learning interest in the three observed dimensions, namely the dimension of enjoyment, attention and active participation. The percentage of the students’ learning interest was 80% which was higher than the predetermined success criterion of 75%. Therefore, the classroom action research was successful. No further action cycle was needed as the intervention was effective in solving the identified learning problem, and it achieved the research objectives of increasing the learning interest of a student with difficulties in reading in an inclusive Social Studies classroom.

Discussion

The results of this study indicate that the application of Spinner Media was effectively used to increase the learning interest of the student with reading difficulties in learning Social Studies. This enhancement was consistently observed in the two cycles of action, which is illustrated by the rise in the student’s interest in learning, from 35% (low) during the pre-cycle, 55% (moderate) in Cycle I, and 80% (high) in Cycle II. The gradual increase shows that the interest of students with reading difficulties to learn can be improved by using instructional media according to their respective learning characteristics. Students who previously had short attention spans, low participation, and little enthusiasm were seen to be more attentive, confident, and actively involved in classroom activities after using Spinner Media. The enhancement in Cycle I indicates that the application of interactive learning media has been successful in attracting the attention of the student and reducing the monotony of the conventional textbook-based learning. Positive changes were observed in enjoyment and attention, even though the student was not yet actively involved in answering questions or in all of the independent learning tasks. These findings are consistent with the view of Mayer (2021) that learning is meaningful when verbal explanations are accompanied by appropriate visual representations in instructional materials. Visual learning media can reduce cognitive load of learners. So that learners can process information more effectively. Less reliance on long written text means students with reading difficulties can spend more cognitive resources on understanding concepts rather than decoding words.

There was a greater improvement in Cycle II, after several instructional modifications were introduced. The redesigned Spinner Media featured attractive visual illustrations, game-based learning challenges, and symbolic rewards that encouraged increased student engagement. These improvements increased the student’s enjoyment, attention and classroom engagement and met the success criterion that was predetermined. This finding is consistent with the Self-Determination Theory, which states that positive feedback, enjoyable learning experiences, and opportunities for active participation increase students’ intrinsic motivation and support ongoing participation in learning activities (Ryan & Deci, 2020). The symbolic rewards in this research were not only external reinforcement; they were positive recognition that boosted the student’s confidence and readiness to participate in classroom learning.

The results also corroborate previous research on the efficacy of Spinner Media in classroom instruction. Familia and Wardono (2023) found that Spinner Media enhanced students’ motivation, classroom participation, and learning outcomes because it changed traditional teaching into an interactive learning experience. Reading Spinner had a good effect in increasing beginning reading skills as it made students active in participating in learning activities related to literacy, as stated by Putri, Amalia, and Nurasiah (2023). Although the previous studies mainly addressed reading achievement and learning results of elementary school students, the current study extends existing knowledge by showing that Spinner Media can further promote the learning interest of a junior high school student with reading difficulties in an inclusive Social Studies classroom. Accordingly, the present study extends the use of Spinner Media to the context of inclusive secondary education and offers evidence of its effectiveness.The present findings from the perspective of inclusive education point out the importance of adequate instructional adaptations in ensuring meaningful participation of students with learning difficulties. UNESCO (2020) emphasizes that inclusive education necessitates teachers to provide learning environments that accommodate diverse learner characteristics via flexible instructional strategies and adaptive learning resources. In the present study, Spinner Media reduced barriers associated with text-based instruction by delivering Social Studies concepts through visual representations, interactive games, and collaborative learning activities. As a result, the student engaged more actively in classroom learning, despite ongoing reading challenges.

The results are also in line with the learning interest concept proposed by Nurmalina et al. (2020), which states that enjoyment, attention, and active participation are the main indicators of students’ learning interest. Throughout the implementation of the classroom action research, all three dimensions showed a progressive improvement. Initially, the student showed little enthusiasm and participation in traditional instruction. However, after the introduction of Spinner Media, the student showed more pleasure, kept attention during the class sessions and showed an increasing readiness to participate in discussions and to carry out learning activities. These behavioral changes suggest that learning interest is dynamic and can be developed through appropriate instructional interventions. This study also contributes importantly to the practice of Social Studies instruction in inclusive classrooms. Students who struggle with reading have a tougher time learning social studies because reading from a textbook and learning abstract social concepts is often required. The current findings suggest that the use of visual media and educational games in classroom instruction can reduce the learning barriers and, at the same time, enhance student engagement. Therefore, teachers should be able to adapt the instructional media according to the students’ learning needs and not only use the text-based teaching.

Despite positive findings this study has several limitations. First, the classroom action research was only conducted on one student who had reading difficulties so the generalization of the findings to broader populations was limited. Second, the intervention was conducted for two action cycles, which might not fully reflect the long-term sustainability of increased learning interest. Therefore, the study recommends that future research should use larger samples in various inclusive schools and study the effects of Spinner Media on learning interest, academic achievement, and reading comprehension in the long run. In general, the results suggest that Spinner Media is an effective instructional alternative to improve social studies learning interest for students with reading difficulties. Spinner Media creates a more engaging and inclusive learning environment that caters to the diverse learning needs of students by incorporating visual representations, interactive challenges, and positive reinforcement. The findings contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of interactive instructional media in inclusive education and provide practical suggestions for teachers seeking to increase student engagement in Social Studies classrooms.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this classroom action research demonstrate that Spinner Media is an effective instructional medium for improving the Social Studies learning interest of a Grade VIII student with reading difficulties in an inclusive school. The use of game-based visual activities encouraged greater enjoyment, sustained attention, and active participation throughout the learning process, resulting in a substantial improvement in learning interest from the pre-cycle to the end of the intervention. These findings highlight the value of interactive and adaptive instructional media in supporting meaningful participation and engagement among students with diverse learning needs in inclusive classrooms. To maximize its educational benefits, teachers are encouraged to adapt Spinner Media for various subjects, such as Science, Mathematics, Language, and Civics, by modifying the questions, visual materials, and learning tasks according to the learning objectives and students' characteristics. School leaders should support this practice by providing appropriate learning resources, professional development opportunities, and policies that encourage the use of innovative and inclusive teaching strategies. Future studies are recommended to examine the effectiveness of Spinner Media with larger samples, different educational levels, and diverse subject areas to strengthen the empirical evidence regarding its impact on students' learning interest and academic achievement in inclusive education.