The concepts of force and motion are essential material in physics. However, students experience many difficulties in the concept of force in rotational dynamics. This research was conducted to measure students' concept acquisition of the rotational dynamics through Interactive Demonstration assisted by Free-body diagram. The mixed research method was chosen through the use of test instruments in the forms of 10 multiple-choice with open ended questions. The subjects of the research were 35 students XI IPA Senior High School 2 Sungai Penuh-Indonesia. Students' concept acquisition was measured before and after the intervention to be analyzed quantitatively. The obtained N-gain score was 0.41, and it showed that there was a moderate improvement in students' concept acquisition, while the effect size value was 1.82 showing that the intervention strongly affected students' concept aquisition. The data were also supported by the results of the qualitative analysis of the students' answers and worksheets given during the intervention process.

Teaching physics are always challenging tasks. Teachers need to be responsive to their students’ needs. The best tool to utilized is Physics Education Technology (PhET). PhET provides features that support learning and teaching physics, including testing. These feature can be expanded as confirmatory tools for students. To explore and compare the tests result between two groups of students, the quantitative experimental methods was applied. The first group took the test using graph paper and with confirmatory tools. The other group took the test without any tools. The students’ answer were graded using vector assessment rubric. The collected data were analyzed descriptively and using an independent sample t-test. The results showed that the group of students who use PhET simulation obtained significanly different results (ρ=0.000), with average score of 80.43, which was higher than other group (62.35). The effect size was approximately 1.07, which is much larger than typical sized effect.

The concepts of gravity and orbits are difficult to visualize and understand. Computer simulations offer significant advantages for designing learning environments that address these difficulties. One of the best and most popular computer simulations is Physics Education Technology (PhET), which help student with simulation during inquiry-based learning. A quantitative method with the pre-and post-test design was applied to explore student conceptual understanding and concept acquisition about gravity and orbits. The study population consisted of 35 students taking basic physics courses, which was small enough that the entire population was used. A worksheet was designed based on simulation and concepts, with minimum guidance from a teacher. Conceptual understanding data was collected through three stages of testing: pre-test before learning, formative tests just after guided inquiry-based learning, and post-test at the end. The data from all the tests were analyzed descriptively to provide an overview of students’ conceptual understanding. N-Gain was also calculated. Then the condition in which students’ concept acquisition was categorized as loss, hold, and increase was measured. The average pre-test score was very low (32.26), but it increased significantly in the formative test (74.27) and post-test (74.73). The N-Gain values varied significantly among students, with an average categorized as medium (0.63). There were 18 students with high N-Gain, 8 students with medium N-Gain, and 5 students with low N-Gain. Based on formative and post-test data, we concluded that both gain and loss can occur in learning. Concept acquisition can give us more information about conceptual understanding.

Kompetisi Sains Nasional (KSN) cabang Kebumian menjadi tantangan besar bagi siswa. Kebumian merupakan sains interdisipliner yang melibatkan konsep dan apllikasi dari sains lain. Di Indonesia kebumian tidak dipelajari sebagai mata pelajaran yang terpisah. Untuk menghadapi tantangan ini Guru-Dosen membentuk kerja sama untuk melaksanakan pelatihan KSN cabang Kebumian. Metode Community-Based Research (CBR) dalam bentuk pembelajaran dengan pendekatan strategis. Pembelajaran dilaksanakan dalam 10 kali pertemuan yang terdiri dari pengenalan materi dan strategi pembelajaran, diskusi materi dan evaluasi. Evaluasi menggunakan 60 butir soal pilihan ganda. Berdasarkan evaluasi ditemukan kecenderungan tidak menjawab soal yang tinggi, yaitu 41%. Hasil evaluasi digunakan untuk menentukan peserta yang akan mewakili sekolah untuk mengikuti KSN-K pada tingkat Kota Sungai Penuh. Setelah KSN-K, semua peserta dari SMA Negeri 2 Sungai dinyatakan lulus dan dapat mengikuti KSN tingkat Provinsi. Kondisi ini menunjukkan bahwa tujuan kerja sama Guru-Dosen telah tercapai. Berdasarkan kegiatan yang telah dilakukan, penulis berharap Kebumian dapat menjadi mata pelajaran baru di lingkungan SMA agar sekolah dan siswa lebih siap menghadapi tantangan baru dalam dunia pendidikan.

Dua masalah utama untuk mengajar di kelas heterogen adalah penentuan materi dan cara mengajarkannya. Untuk itu pengajar harus kreatif dalam mendesain pembelajaran. Pembelajaran berbasis game (game-based learning) telah menjadi pilihan yang populer sebagai bagian dari lingkungan belajar dengan berkembangnya teknologi komputer dan smartphone. Namun pada kondisi kelas yang heterogen dan tanpa dukungan gawai, game-based learning diarahkan ke bentuk non-digital. Pengabdian melalui penerapan pembelajaran berbasis game (game-based learning) diharapkan dapat menjadi alternatif solusi mengajar di kelas heterogen. Kegiatan pengabdian berbasis pada kebutuhan dari suatu komunitas (Community-Based Research, CBR). Komunitasnya terdiri dari pengurus pesantren dan santri Pesantren Tahfidz. Populasinya adalah 1 kelas heterogen yang terdiri dari 19 orang santri. Kelas ini bersifat heterogen karena yang terdiri dari 6 orang santri tingkat SD, 9 orang tingkat SMP, dan 4 orang tingkat SMA. Pengabdian dilakukan sebanyak enam pertemuan pembelajaran, dimana empat pertemuan untuk pembelajaran berbasis game dan dua pertemuan untuk evaluasi. Untuk materi pecahan, diperoleh rata-rata nilai yang cukup tinggi secara keseluruhan adalah 86,98. Nilai ini mengindikasikan bahwa pembelajaran berbasis game dapat membantu siswa dalam belajar dan meningkatkan kemampuan matematis siswa. Untuk materi koordinat, rata-rata nilai secara keseluruhan jauh lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan rata-rata pada materi pecahan, yaitu 65,79. Lebih lanjut pembelajaran berbasis game juga dapat meningkatkan motivasi, keaktifan, keberanian berpendapat, dan pemahaman materi. Melalui penerapan pembelajaran berbasis game ditemukan satu fakta menarik terkait proses pembelajaran, yaitu situasi pembelajaran yang dapat menjangkau santri dengan berbagai tingkatan. Jadi pembelajaran berbasis game dapat menjadi alternatif solusi mengajar di kelas heterogen.