Implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Approach in Chemistry Instructional with Context of Tofu Liquid Waste Treatment

Abstract

This research aims to determine the effectiveness of the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach implementation in chemistry instructional with the context of tofu wastewater treatment. This research used mixed methods with concurrent embedded research strategies and pre-experiment one-group pretest-posttest design. The subject of this study consisted of one chemistry teacher as a presenter, three teachers as observers, and 34 Class XI students in a High School in Bandung Indonesia. The instruments were lesson plan evaluation format, student worksheet evaluation format, students’ skill and attitude observation format with a content-validated rubric, and test items with the reliability coefficient of Kuder Richardson of 0.73. The research findings indicated that the PBL instructional planning strategy was classified as very good in terms of formulating learning outcomes, learning material compilation, and evaluation tools. The compilation of learning media and instructional stages were in good categories. Students’ performance displayed in all stages of PBL from problem identification to problem-solving was categorized as good. The results also showed that students’ learning outcomes in understanding the concepts of tofu wastewater treatment increased from 50 (the average pre-test score) to 85 (post-test). The increase in learning outcomes was categorized medium with the N-gain score of 0.67. Based on these findings and results, it can be concluded that instructional with the PBL approach can improve students’ learning processes and outcomes in chemistry learning. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.5.4