Implementation of the Marking Method in Enhancing Qur’anic Memorization Accuracy among Santri: A Case Study at Buq Yasinat Islamic Boarding School, Jember

Abstract

This study aims to examine the implementation of the marking method in the Qur’anic memorization practices of students at the Chuffadh Dormitory of Buq Yasinat Islamic Boarding School, Jember, and to analyze its role as a cognitive learning strategy from the perspective of information-processing theory. The research seeks to explain how naturally emerging visual marking practices support students’ attention, encoding, and retrieval processes during tahfidz activities. This study employed a qualitative field research design with a descriptive analytical and case study approach. Data were collected through non-participant observations of memorization activities, semi-structured interviews with students and tahfidz mentors, and documentation of marked mushaf pages. Participants were selected purposively based on their direct experience with the marking method. Data were analyzed using the interactive model of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing, complemented by thematic analysis and triangulation to ensure credibility and trustworthiness. The findings reveal that the marking method develops naturally as a student-initiated learning strategy rather than as a formally institutionalized technique. Students selectively use visual signs such as circles and underlines to identify verses that are difficult, similar, or prone to confusion. The method functions in three principal ways: directing attention toward critical verses, strengthening encoding through focused and repeated rehearsal, and facilitating retrieval by serving as visual memory cues during revision and recitation. As a result, students who marking demonstrates improved concentration, memorization stability, and faster recall. Unlike prior studies that primarily emphasize formal teacher-directed memorization methods such as talaqqi and tasmi’, this research highlights an informal, learner-generated strategy and interprets it systematically within a cognitive learning framework. The study offers an original perspective by conceptualizing marking as an integrated attention-encoding-retrieval mechanism rather than merely a technical habit. The study contributes theoretically by extending cognitive learning theory into the context of Qur’anic memorization, empirically by documenting authentic learning practices within a pesantren environment, and practically by providing insights for educators to recognize and optimize students’ self-regulated strategies. The findings encourage the development of pedagogically effective and ethically appropriate marking aids to support sustainable tahfidz learning.