The Effectiveness of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics-Inquiry Learning for 15-16 Years Old Students Based on K-13 Indonesian Curriculum: The Impact on the Critical Thinking Skills

Agus Pahrudin,Nur Endah Susilowati,Antomi Saregar,Adyt Anugrah,Gita Alisia,Misbah Misbah,Ardian Asyhari

doi:10.12973/eu-jer.10.2.681

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify">Industrial revolution 4.0 is currently present in various countries, including Indonesia. Indonesia responded quickly through technological developments, especially education. The actions of the Indonesian government to deal with industrial 4.0 are contained in the 4C principle, one of which is Critical Thinking. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning approach has become an alternative in building critical thinking skills, especially in science learning. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively measure the impact of the STEM-inquiry model based on the K-13 Indonesian Curriculum towards critical thinking skills of 15-16 years old students. This study employed quasi-experimental with non-equivalent control group design at SMAN 1 (State Senior High School) Padang Cermin, Lampung, Indonesia. The research subjects consisted of 50 students. The critical thinking skill was measured through 10 items of an essay question on the momentum and impulse material. Based on the results of the non-parametric statistical hypothesis test Mann Whitney, the significance level of 0.004 was obtained (sig <0.05). The results of the hypothetical test showed that the student's critical thinking skills before and after using the STEM-based inquiry model were different. It can be concluded that the application of the STEM-based inquiry model was effective in increasing students' critical thinking skills.</p>

Highlights

The industrial revolution 4.0 has become a major topic of discussion in the world, including Indonesia (Anwar et al, 2018; Suwardana, 2017; Venti, 2018)
The experimental class applied the STEM-inquiry model based on the K-13 Indonesian Curriculum with 25 students as the subjects, and the control class applied the Student Team Achievement Division (STAD) model based on the K-13 Indonesian Curriculum with 25 students as the subjects
The results of this statistical test show that the student's critical thinking skills before and after using the STEM-based inquiry learning model are different

Summary

Introduction

The industrial revolution 4.0 has become a major topic of discussion in the world, including Indonesia (Anwar et al, 2018; Suwardana, 2017; Venti, 2018). Education in Indonesia prepares the era of the industrial revolution 4.0 by applying the 4C principles that cover communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving, and creativity and innovation which are listed in the K-13 Indonesian Curriculum (Elyusra & Saputra, 2019). According to Piaget's theory, students who can think critically can analyze problems scientifically and solve problems around the age of 11-18 years (Piaget & Inholder, 2008). Critical thinking has been applied from an early age (Hurk et al, 2018; Yahaya & Lajium, 2018). Students aged 11-18 should be directed to think critically. In the 21st century, critical thinking is one aspect that must be possessed by a student to activate problem-solving ability, especially in learning physics (Susilowati et al, 2017)

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