PENDAHULUANProses pembelajaran sebagai salah satu komponen pendidikan hendaknya menyenangkan dan dapat memotivasi peserta didik untuk berpartisipasi aktif, serta memberi ruang untuk berkreasi. Guru sebagai salah satu komponen dalam proses pembelajaran harus terampil dalam menggunakan model dan media pembelajaran yang tepat. Tanpa penggunaan model dan media yang jelas, proses pembelajaran menjadi tidak terarah dan tidak menghasilkan hasil yang optimal. Model dan media pembelajaran yang digunakan guru diharapkan mampu mempermudah guru dalam menyampaikan materi sehingga peserta didik dapat menguasai konsep dengan baik.Fisika sebagai salah satu bagian IPA berperan penting dalam membentuk peserta didik yang berkualitas. Fisika merupakan pengetahuan, gagasan dan konsep tentang alam sekitar yang diperoleh dari pengalaman melalui pengamatan dan diaplikasikan dalam dunia nyata [1]. Fisika memiliki konsep, prinsip dan hukum. Gunawan [2] menyatakan bahwa "beberapa konsep fisika termasuk konsep yang abstrak". Konsep fisika yang abstrak sering kali menjadi kendala bagi guru dalam menyampaikan materi kepada peserta didik, sehingga peserta didik belum optimal dalam memahami konsep yang dijelaskan guru. Hal ini tentunya berdampak pada minat belajar peserta didik dalam menerima pelajaran fisika yang menyebabkan rendahnya penguasaan konsep peserta didik untuk menyelesaikan suatu persoalan.Permasalahan yang sering terjadi dalam proses pembelajaran fisika adalah penggunaan model pembelajaran yang belum optimal. Penggunaan model pembelajaran yang kurang sesuai dengan kemampuan peserta didik membuat suasana belajar yang monoton bahkan kadang membosankan. Hal ini membatasi kemampuan peserta didik dalam menemukan dan mencoba hal-hal baru. Anggapan bahwa fisika rumit menyebabkan antusias peserta didik dalam mengajukan pertanyaan dan berdiskusi dengan guru masih belum optimal. Kurangnya minat belajar peserta didik menyebabkan penguasaan konsep masih rendah. Menyikapi permasalahan tersebut ditawarkan model project based learning yang dapat meningkatkan penguasaan konsep peserta didik.Project based learning merupakan pembelajaran inovatif yang berpusat pada peserta didik (student centered) dan menempatkan guru sebagai motivator dan fasilitator, di mana peserta didik diberi peluang bekerja secara otonom mengkonstruksi belajarnya [3]. Model project based learning mengarahkan peserta didik pada permasalahan secara langsung kemudian penyelesaiannya melibatkan kerja proyek yang secara tidak langsung aktif dan dilatih untuk bertindak maupun berpikir kreatif.

Pembelajaran fisika seharusnya mampu memberikan peluang bagi peserta didik untuk berkreasi dalam memahami hal yang dipelajari. Salah satu upaya yang dilakukan untuk meningkatkan kualitas pembelajaran fisika adalah dengan menggunakan model project based learning berbantuan media virtual. Penelitian ini bertujuan menguji pengaruh model berbantuan media virtual terhadap kreativitas peserta didik. Penelitian ini menggunakan jenis penelitian kuasi eksperimen dengan desain pretest-posttest control group design pada materi alat-alat optik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya peningkatan kreativitas peserta didik pada kedua kelas. Kelas eksperimen mengalami peningkatan kreativitas yang lebih tinggi dibandingkan kelas kontrol. Peningkatan kreativitas verbal dan figural juga terjadi pada kedua kelas. Kreativitas verbal meningkat lebih tinggi dibandingkan kreativitas figural. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa model project based learning berbantuan media virtual yang diterapkan berhasil meningkatkan kreativitas peserta didik dalam pembelajaran fisika.

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Virtual laboratories have been developed in this study as an alternative to the limited equipment of physics experiments. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of virtual lab models to improve creativity and problem-solving skills for prospective physics teachers. The research and development have been divided into 3 phases namely, preliminary study, design development, and model testing. Model testing was performed on two groups of thermodynamic courses using a pre-test post-test control group design. The instruments that have been used are creativity tests and problem-solving tests in the form of essays. Instruments of creativity include verbal and figural aspects. Each data was analyzed using t-test and normalized gain score. The results showed that there was an increase in creativity and problem-solving skills in both groups. The creativity of students of the experimental group was higher than the control group. Student problem-solving skills in the two groups differed significantly. The experimental group has a higher problem-solving ability than the control group. This suggested that the developed virtual lab model proved to improve the creativity and problem-solving skills ability of prospective physics teachers.

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Problem-solving is a high-level ability to find solution to a problem. In the problem-solving process, students have to identify and understand the problems, plan the solutions, execute the plans and review the resolution process. This ability is needed by students to produce meaningful knowledge. This article discusses the effect of virtual labs in physics learning toward student’s problem-solving abilities. The improvement of problem-solving skills was analyzed in each step of the solution process. This quasi-experimental study was conducted at three different senior high schools. There were 165 students participating in this study, all of whom were divided into three experimental groups and three control groups. The research instrument used was five to eight questions of essay test. The results showed that the problem-solving ability of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group at each school. The analysis of each problem-solving step showed that, in each school, the students' ability to identify and define the problem and also to establish goals and objectives show a similar result. Students have an excellent ability in identifying problem up to plan for problem-solving, whereas for the step of analyzing the choice of ideas and step to follow up of problem-solving overall still need to be improved. Students who are unable to complete a particular problem-solving step will not be able to complete the next step well.

The concept of physics consists of concrete and abstract concepts. Students should be able to master the concept of physics as well as to be able to solve problems in physics. Students' concept mastery can be improved by technology-based learning. The study was conducted at three different high schools. We investigated the students' mastery improvement in physics learning assisted by virtual lab media. The sample was chosen using purposive sampling resulting 34 male students and 36 female students. The results showed that there was an increase in entire students' concept mastery. In general, male students' mastery of the concept was higher than the female students.In particular, male students demonstrated higher mastery of higher concepts on higher cognitive aspects (analyzing, synthesizing, creating), while female students had a higher ability in the lower cognitive aspects (remembering, understanding, and applying).

Improving the quality of education is done by improving the quality of learning devices. Learning devices are important to facilitate students' conceptual understanding and creativity. Utilization of information technology such as the use of learning management systems (LMS) can make learning effective. The final goal of this research is to produce LMS tools in mechanics courses that are feasible to use and can improve students' conceptual understanding and creativity. This study is a research and development using a 4-D model consisting of 4 stages of define, design, develop, and disseminate. The validity test was conducted by 3 expert lecturers and it was concluded that the device developed was suitable for use. Expert assessment on learning devices is reliable, which means there are no significant differences in each assessment. Criticisms and suggestions given are used as material for revision/improvement so that learning devices are obtained that are intact and ready to be used for learning.