Teachers' Persuasive Communication Strategies in Motivating Students Through Learning Innovation Based on Mathematics Gamification at SMA Negeri 1 Cibitung

This study investigated the persuasive communication strategies employed by a mathematics teacher at SMA Negeri 1 Cibitung to motivate students through gamified learning innovations, particularly within the context of Indonesia's Kurikulum Merdeka. Utilizing interviews and observations, the research analyzed the teacher's approach through DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach's framework, identifying psychodynamic, sociocultural, and meaning-making strategies. Key findings indicate that the teacher effectively fostered student engagement by building emotional connections through personal narratives, leveraging reward systems and collaborative group activities, and transforming abstract mathematical concepts into interactive, game-based experiences. This multifaceted approach resulted in high student enthusiasm, active participation, improved collaboration, increased satisfaction with mathematics learning, and a significant 20% average increase in daily assessment scores. The study concludes that a strategic combination of persuasive communication and innovative gamified pedagogy is highly effective in enhancing student motivation, fostering engagement, and improving academic performance in mathematics