Enhancing higher-order thinking skills using discovery learning model’s on acid-base pH material

Abstract

This study aims to describe the practicality, effectiveness and effect size of the discovery learning model in enhancing students’ higher-order thinking skills. Population in this research is all student of class X in senior high school in Metro, Indonesia. The method in this research is pre-experimental design with one group pretest-posttest design. Sampling was chosen randomly by cluster random sampling technique to get 2 experimental class that is class X.5 and X.8 which was treated by using learning model of discovery learning. The results showed that the implementation of the discovery learning model and the ability of teachers in managing the learning of “high” category, the response and the student activity during the learning category is “very high”. The students’ high-order thinking skills in both experimental classes increased with respect to the average n-Gain obtained, which was categorized as “medium”. The discovery learning model has an effect on the improvement of students’ higher-order thinking skills, as evidenced by the result of effect size test that is “high” in both experiment class. The results of this study can be concluded that the discovery learning model on acid-base pH material is practical, effective and has a large effect size in enhancing students high-order thinking skills.