Profile of Learning Experiences and Students’ Scientific Inquiry Skills in Science Subjects

Abstract

Indonesia's PISA results are relatively low when compared to other countries. Student learning experience is thought to be an important factor that influences students' lack of scientific inquiry skills. This study aims to describe the profile of students' learning experiences and scientific inquiry skills in science subjects. This descriptive study involved 1305 respondents from public and private high schools in West Java. The instrument used was a questionnaire consisting of 40 items to reveal student learning experiences in learning science and scientific inquiry skills tests in the form of 55 multiple choice and essay items developed based on the PISA framework with the adjustment of the junior high school science curriculum. Research data were analyzed descriptively using graphs. The results showed that some students (51.0%) stated that learning science in elementary and junior high schools was not fun, more than half (56.6%) rarely did practicum at school, and some to most students (42-75%) rarely plan and carry out experiments or scientific inquiry independently. The results of the research that have been presented indicate that the learning experience of students in learning science has not been maximal and students' scientific inquiry skills need to be improved. The implications and recommendations of the research findings are presented at the end of this article.

Management Analysis of the Uhamka Physics Laboratory in Jakarta: Evaluation of Planning, Organizing and Maintenance

“…Natural science (IPA) is one of the subjects in school and is a branch of science where the objects are natural objects whose truth has been tested through systematic steps which are also called scientific methods (1). Knowledge in the field of science is obtained through learning and proving or knowledge that covers a general truth of natural laws that occur, for example obtained and proven through the scientific method (2).…”