IDENTIFYING STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENTATION SKILL AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL 1 ARGAMAKMUR, NORTH BENGKULU

Abstract

This is a preliminary study aimed to identify students’ scientific argumentation skill at Junior High School 1, Argamakmur, North Bengkulu. The data were gathered by online survey to 8 science teachers in Bengkulu and test to 32 students of grade eight in Junior High School 1, Argamakmur, North Bengkulu. Online survey consisted of 4 questions focused on science learning issues. The essay test to obtain scientific argumentation skill consisted of 4 questions, where each question was covering four indicators of scientific argumentation: claim, data, warrant and backing. A valid scientific argumentation test was adopted from Putri (2016). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics by calculating the percentage of average score of teacher answers and students’ scientific argumentation skill as a whole. The data analysis revealed that the teachers argue that students’ scientific argumentation skill was still very low compared to others skill like the science process skill, critical thinking skill, creative thinking skill, scientific literacy skill and student independence and this statement supported by test result where the score of students’ argumentation skill achieved low category. This phenomenon might be caused by the lack of educational learning process that facilitates students in expressing their opinions according to scientific evidence both orally and in writing. This paper also offers an idea helping teachers to improve students’ scientific argumentation skill by implementing phenomenon-based learning with video assistance through a modified " flipped classroom " approach.