Learning as a Communication Process
Creating a learning that is able to develop learning outcomes as much as possible is the duty and obligation of the teacher. To design learning activities that can stimulate the creation of a more effective and efficient learning, strategies are needed in its delivery.
Teachers must be able to create a learning that also changes the old pattern from teacher-centered to student-centered. In essence, learning is a communication process, namely the process of delivering messages from the message source through certain channels or media to the recipient of the message.
Messages, message sources, channels or media, and message recipients are components of the communication process. The message to be communicated is the content of the teachings or education contained in the curriculum, the source of the message is the teacher, students, other people, the author of the book, the channel is a learning medium, and the recipient of the message is the learner.
In the process of communication, it is not always successful because at any time the interpretation of the contents of the message can be successful and can also fail. The failure is caused by the inhibiting factors of the communication process, known as barriers or noises.
For example, differences in learning styles, interests, intelligence, limited memory, disability, barriers of geographical distance, time, and others. Learning by using media means using media to support one's learning, because media users aim to facilitate all the activities of delivering information.
In general, there are five basic components of communication that are widely known and understood by the public that refer to the definition of communication put forward by Harold Lasswell, namely:
1. Source of information (source)
Source of information or sources are those who have the initiative or have the need to communicate, it can be a person or individual, group, organization, company or even a country.
2. Message
The message is what is sent by the sender to the recipient. Message is a set of verbal and or non-verbal symbols that represent feelings, values, ideas, thoughts or intentions of the sender of the message.
3. Channels or media
The channel or media in communication is a tool or vehicle used by the source to convey its message to the recipient of the message.
4. Receiver (receiver)
The recipient is a person or group of people who receive messages from the sender of the message. The process of the recipient of the message interpreting verbal and / or non-verbal symbols received from the sender of the message is called the decoding process.
5. Effects
The effect is what happens to the recipient of the message after receiving the message. This effect depends on the substance of the message received. Can be in the form of increased knowledge and information as well as insight, entertained, changes in attitudes and skills, changes in beliefs, changes in behavior and so on.
Other elements that must be added are feedback (feed back), interruption / communication constraints (noise / barriers) and the context or situation of communication.
6. Feedback (feed back)
Feedback is the response of the recipient of the message that is able to influence the sender of the message for further communication.
7. Interference / communication constraints (noise / barriers)
Communication disruption occurs if there are interventions that disrupt one component of communication, so the communication process does not take place effectively.
Thus, it can be concluded that there are seven components of communication, namely; 1) source / communicator, 2) receiver / communicant, 3) channel / media, 4) information / message, 5) effect, 6) feedback / 7, interference / barrier. One of human's natural instincts is to connect with other humans, form relationships and group. A group, both large and small, is a collection of several people who have the same basis and philosophy and goals and have common rules that are obeyed by all group members.