Building students’ problem-solving skill in the concept of temperature and expansion through phenomenon-based experiential learning

Abstract

This research is aimed to describe students’ problem-solving skill in phenomenon-based experiential learning especially in the subtopics of temperature and expansion. The problem-solving skill is one of the vital skills in physics learning that should be applied in measuring students’ understanding level. This research used a mixed-method approach with research design of an embedded experimental model for 32 eleventh graders of State Senior High Schools in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. The data were collected by pretest and posttest using tests and interview. The result shows that there is an improvement of students’ problem-solving skill after being taught by using phenomenon-based experiential learning. The calculation result of the N-Gain score showed the improvement of students’ problem-solving skill on a moderate category and the calculation result of d-Cohen effects size in on strong category. Meanwhile, the result of the qualitative calculation showed that students’ problem-solving skill is improved from beginner category to expert category that is 62.5%. The students’ problem-solving skill should be intensively trained by using contextual scientific problems in daily life.