This study is fostered by the low independence of Amalya Kindergarten's group B children in learning activities. Most of the children were not able to do the assigned tasks independently at school, not able to put items/ objects to their original places independently, feared to appear alone in front of the class, and tended to ask teachers’ helps when doing various activities at school. Therefore, it was necessary to use an appropriate and fun method for children, namely by using visual media storytelling methods to increase their independence. The objective of the study was to find out the independence of the children of Amalya Kindergarten Group B after using the visual media storytelling method. A pre-experimental research design with a one-group pretest-posttest design was carried out in this study. The data were collected by using observation, documentation and interview. The subjects of this study were 10 children. The data obtained in the field were analyzed by using the Wilcoxon’s match pairs test data analysis technique, with the formula Tobtained<Ttable. If Tobtained<Ttable, then this study has a significant influence between the 2 variables. From the results, it was found that the total score of the independent pretest of group B children was 59 with an average score 5.9 each subject and the results of the total posttest score was 120 with an average score 12 each subject. The results of the Wilcoxon’s match pairs test show that Tobtained = 0 is smaller than Ttable with a significant level of 5% = 8, so Tobtained<Ttable (0<8). Thus, it can be concluded that Ha is accepted and Ho is rejected. This means that the research hypothesis stating that there is an influence of using visual media storytelling methods on the independence of Amalya Kindergarten's group B children, Bintan Regency, Riau Islands, is accepted.

Pembelajaran di tengah pandemi covid 19 membawa banyak perubahan pada suasana pembelajaran anak usia dini. Anak-anak menjadi tidak bersemangat dalam kegiatan pembelajaran di sekolah, bergantung dengan guru dan tidak antusias mengerjakan tugas. Pengetahuan guru tentang metode pembelajaran yang membuat anak lebih antusias masih terbatas. Kualifikasi akademik guru PAUD se-kecamatan Gunung Kijang sebagian besar lulusan SMA. Setelah dilaksanakan pelatihan diharapkan bisa meningkatkan kemampuan dan skill guru PAUD dalam menerapkan metode pembelajaran yang aktif dan menyenangkan, sehingga bisa menjawab solusi permasalahan yang dialami guru dalam pelaksanaan kegiatan pembelajaran di sekolah. Metode yang dipakai yaitu Asset Based Community-Driven Development (ABCD), merupakan metode yang berupaya memberdayakan masyarakat dengan mengenali aset-aset yang dimilikinya baik yang bersifat materi maupun imateri. Setelah dilaksanakan pelatihan, praktik pelaksanaan STEAM di sekolah, evaluasi pelaksanaan STEAM dan monitoring penerapan STEAM di beberapa lembaga PAUD, bisa dilihat bahwa pengetahuan dan kemampuan guru terhadap penerapan metode pembelajaran yang aktif dan menyenangkan bisa meningkat. Penggunaan  metode STEAM dengan bahan loose parts membuat anak-anak tampak antusias menerangkan bahan loose parts serta dapat mengenal keanekaragaman alam sekitar baik ciri, tekstur maupun fungsinya (Science), peralatan yang digunakan membantu anak mengembangkan kordinasi tangan dan mata, melatih otot tangan dan jari (Technology), meningkatkan kemampuan anak usia dini dalam merangkai atau membangun suatu bentuk dengan menggunakan media loose parts (Engineering), meningkatkan kemampuan anak mendesain sebuah hasil karya dan mengeksplorasi benda-benda yang dapat digunakan disekitar untuk menghasilkan karya seni (Art), meningkatkan kemampuan matematika (Mathematics) anak usia dini dengan bermain loose parts yang tersedia disekitarnya.

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