Improving chemistry teacher candidates’ mental models in the kinetics course using SiMaYang type II learning

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the profile of chemistry teacher candidates’ mental models in the kinetics course and improve it using SiMayang Type II learning. The subject of this study was a class of chemistry education students at UIN Walisongo Semarang who had taken kinetics course. Sample was carried out using convenience sampling technique. This study used a descriptive design and pre-experimental one group pretest-posttest design. The results of investigation showed that before being given treatment using SiMayang Type II learning, mental models of students were dominated by initial mental models with a percentage of 55.53% while the rest were synthetic one. After being treated, it was found that there were reduction in the number of initial mental models by 18.03% and synthetic mental model by 4.47%. Meanwhile the scientific mental model increased by 22.50%. The results of statistical tests showed that the learning of SiMayang Type II is effective in improving students’ mental models of chemistry teacher candidates. Learning outcomes have increased with the moderate category based on the N-gain test.