PENGARUH PROBLEM BASED LEARNING TERHADAP KEMAMPUAN BERPIKIR KRITIS DAN KETERAMPILAN PROSES SAINS PESERTA DIDIK SD

Abstract

Critical thinking skills and science process skills among elementary school students
remain relatively low, as observed in Grade III of SD Negeri Tritih Kulon 09,
Panjaitan Cluster, North Cilacap District, where students had never conducted
simple experiments, formulated hypotheses, or carried out scientific inquiry on the
metamorphosis topic due to teacher-centered instruction. This study analyzes the
effect of the Problem Based Learning (PBL) model on critical thinking skills and
science process skills, while examining the relationship between the two variables.
The study employed a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design
(Nonequivalent Control Group Design), involving 51 Grade III students divided into
an experimental group (28 students from SD Negeri Tritih Kulon 09) and a control
group (23 students from SD Negeri Tritih Kulon 06). Data were collected through
tests, interviews, and documentation, and analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U Test
since the data did not meet the assumptions of normality and homogeneity. Results
show that PBL had a significant effect on both critical thinking skills (Mean Rank
experimental 36.89 vs. control 12.74; Sig. = 0.000) and science process skills (Mean
Rank experimental 34.52 vs. control 15.63; Sig. = 0.000), with mean gains of 26.61
and 16.07 points in the experimental group, while the control group declined on both
variables. This study provides empirical evidence that PBL can develop critical
thinking skills and science process skills in an integrated, simultaneous manner
within a single learning topic, a focus rarely addressed in previous PBL studies,
which have generally examined the two variables separately.