Development of Character-Based Science Teaching Materials Using the Webbed Model to Improve Students' Creative Thinking Skills

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Volume 8 Number 3 December 2022 page 172-179 p-ISSN:2460-1497 and e-ISSN: 2477-3840 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26858/est.v8i3.39360

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Development of Character-Based Science Teaching Materials Using the Webbed Model to Improve Students' Creative Thinking Skills

Abdul Haling¹, Sudirman², Nasruddin³, Syamsuddin⁴, Abdul Halik⁵

1 Educational Technology, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

2 Curriculum and Pedagogy, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

3 Learing Technology, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

4 Special Education, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

5 Elementary Education, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

Abstract. This study aimed to develop character-based Natural Science teaching materials to improve students’ creative thinking skills. The research design is development research with procedures namely initial information collection, designing, development, assessment, product revision, and dissemination and implementation. The teaching material products assessment were was text of character-based Natural Science teaching materials, guidebooks, and student worksheets. Products assessment was carried out in three stages of assessment, namely the assessment of validity, practicality, and effectiveness. The research has lasted for two years. The product testing subjects were 5 experts and the field trial subjects were the first grade teachers and students in five elementary schools in Bone regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The data collection was conducted through validation questionnaires for teaching materials, teacher and student response questionnaires, interview guide, and learning outcomes test. The data which was obtained consist of qualitative and quantitative. The data analysis is descriptively through validity, practicality, and effectiveness analysis. The results of the study showed that those teaching materials are valid, practical, and effective. In doing so, they can be disseminated and implemented for improving students’ creative thinking skills in elementary school.

Keywords: Developing Natural Science teaching materials, characters, and webbed models

INTRODUCTION

Teaching and learning process does not merely target mastery and understanding of concepts, but also improve high thinking skills which are balanced with education of moral values. Integration methods provide students

with new experiences and facilitation that encourage critical thinking and deepen their understanding of learning materials (Katherine, 2009). The integration was also perceived to associate with obstacles with teachers, curricula, (Received: 15-05-2022; Reviewed: 22-09 -2022; Accepted: 25-11-2022;

Available online: 03-12-2022; Published: 10-12-2022)

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and facilities for effective implementation (Kim

& Aktan, 2014).

Good teaching materials must be able to encourage potential students maximally. When instructional materials are not available, learners can not do well. This means that when learners are not doing well, the set objectives of education can not be achieved (Onyeachu,2008).

Wuryastuti (2008) states that the teaching and learning process at schools today does not or has not provided maximum opportunities for students to develop their creativity, especially in elementary schools with the 2006 curriculum, the teaching materials that emerge from each Basic Competence are dominated by academic knowledge. Such competencies are not enough to make students personally holistic. The curriculum needs to be developed and enriched with various moral values that can encourage the good character of the students. Teachers are challenged to plan and conduct teaching and learning processes with innovative strategies and models in accordance with an innovative curriculum. The reformed curriculum brings a variety of models that must be understood by teachers (Ogunbiyi, 2012; Shapiro, 2003).

Therefore, teachers need additional to training with modules for guidance in realizing the innovation (Kalin & Zuljan, 2007).

Found that one in five (20%) elementary school teachers in Bone regency had the classic view that teaching is transferring curriculum content to students as contained in the textbook (Sudirman, 2013). They rarely inspired students to be creative, and argue scientifically, and did not guide them for independent life. In fact, it is apprehensive if the learning process is only directed at achieving quantitative values.

Paradigms that only prioritize the score of tests or exams must be immediately converted into an emphasis on the learning process, because the test scores are actually the impact of an effective and quality learning process.

One of the important demands of a teacher is being able to develop general teaching materials into character-based teaching materials.

This issue deserves to be the mainstreaming in the implementation of the current curriculum, considering that the integration of student character values only appears at the level of administrative compliance. Teachers need experience on how to integrate subject matter with the character values that wish to be educated to the students. Many researchers concur that curriculum integration through use of problem or

case-based approaches increase the quality of instruction, improves cohesiveness in the sequencing of four-year programs, eand nhances communication (Katherine, 2009).

The idea of developing character-based Natural Science teaching materials emerged outside of the estimation of the majority of teachers. Natural Science subject that must be taught in elementary school is a tough challenge for elementary school teachers when associated with the character. Most of teachers assume that Natural Science is always related to technology and hardware. In fact, through a thorough search of technology, there is tremendous amazement that can encourage someone to live morally, both towards the environment, fellow human beings and also to God the creator of this universe.

There were 89.50% (2016) of elementary school teachers in Bone regency found it difficult to develop Natural Science teaching materials related to moral values (the results of Bone regency, Teacher Working Group). It is very brilliant if the teachers’ condition can turn into the inverted condition which is 89.50% of elementary school teachers were able to instill moral values through Natural Science learning activities. This concern was even growing when looking at the learning process in the classroom.

There was a habit of the teachers to delivering learning material according to the page order of the student book without considering the context of attitudes and skills. It happened for the encouragement of teachers to achieve the highest quantitative value of the students (Sudirman &

Mohd.Meerah, 2011). In this context, the research results of Kim and Aktan (2014) also found that the textbooks and teaching techniques used by the teacher were less relevant to students' daily lives.

Recommends that the design of teaching materials should modify one of the standard models (standard blueprint) that best fits specific learning needs (Reigeluth, 1992). A learning method or teaching material can be an inspiration for other people to design a learning model which is more innovative and suitable to the subject matter and the condition of the students. In this study, the researchers modified the webbed model to become a model in developing Natural Science teaching materials that we named Creative Webbed Model with a thematic approach. The thematic approach in the webbed model help students make connections with their learning (Cook, 2009; Laine, 2011). Therefore, it is essential to study the development of character-

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based Natural Science teaching materials in elementary schools

Teaching Materials. In general, teaching materials are a set of materials arranged systematically both written and unwritten to create an environment/atmosphere at allows students to learn (Sudrajat, 2008). Teaching materials can be in the form of information, tools, and text needed by a teacher/instructor for planning and reviewing the learning process.

Thus, the subject matter is said to be teaching material if the set of material is deliberately arranged by the teacher systematically for the benefit of learning. This definition indicates that subject matter is one of learning tools that a teacher must provide as teaching material.

In this study, teaching materials are defined as subject matter that a teacher intends to process with students. The most successful integrated themes are generated by students, based on their personal and social concerns (Schumacher, 1995). The Natural Science materials stated in the curriculum is the minimum competency that must be mastered by the students. Because it is minimal material, it is possible to develop it so that the student’s understanding can be wider and more advanced. The development of Natural Science teaching materials intended here is the development of material for building student character. The core material that is explicit in each basic competency is expanded and developed so that the students can gain experience not only for Natural Science-based material but also for student moral values.

According to Degeng (1989), the initial activity of learning is to design teaching materials that refer to the development model to make it easier for students to learn. In designing teaching materials, teachers must have knowledge and skills about how to determine moral values as a process of achieving goals and developing students' potential (Udelhofen, 2005). Teachers directly deal with students who play an important role in learning through decisions, planning, and assessment strategies (Hunt, Touzel, & Wiseman, 1999). Dimyati (1993) states that students who are associated with learning resources to learn messages will internalize and improve their cognitive, affective ,and psychomotor domains.

Character-based. In this study, character- based is a way of thinking and acting to develop Natural Science teaching materials that are based on positive character values. Each step of developing teaching materials must explicitly contain one or several character values that need

to be developed in elementary school. Every applicable curriculum certainly contains the principle of balancing cognitive, affective and psychomotor. The problem is that when the teacher is dealing with students at the implementation of the lesson plan, the teacher only takes one behavioral path, which is cognitive. This phenomenon is caused by the conventional paradigm which views the achievement of learning outcomes as seen in the high or low score of student acquisition after being tested both in writing and verbally.

The development of character-based teaching materials means that the values or aspects of the material as the result of the development, contain character values. The knowledge value of the teaching material is then developed or expanded into good social value, religious value, positive attitudes, and practices that can be carried out based on the core learning material of basic competencies.

The Webbed model in the Indonesian language is a net model. This model has been applied in the application of the 2006 Curriculum and 2013 Curriculum of elementary school with a thematic approach. Based on the thematic approach, the development of teaching materials begins with determining a learning theme, then determining the basic competencies that can be interrelated from each subject, which are then integrated into the theme. Trianto (2010) stated that in the web model after the theme has been agreed upon by the teacher, it is developed into a sub-theme by showing the relevance of other fields of study. From these sub-themes, there are developed learning activities that must be done by students.

According to Fogarty (1991), the webbed model is a pattern of teaching and learning in integrated learning that uses topics or themes to integrate and link several interrelated concepts into one learning package. The central theme can be sourced from the student's life to trigger interest in learning, the scope must be broad and provide provisions for students to learn more.

In this study, the intended web model is building a web (spider) about results of the development of the core material from each basic competence in Natural Science subjects. So, the development of the web model here is not as what has been used in thematic approaches in the implementation of the 2006 Curriculum and 2013 Curriculum that connect basic competencies. The web model that would be developed is the development of teaching materials carried out by

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expanding the network of Natural Science subject so that it looks like a spider web. Of course, in the process of developing teaching materials, it is necessary to have the ability to think with adequate knowledge and skills in determining and expanding character-based teaching materials. Teaching can be more effective and reduce stress if the teacher has a wide variety of activities that can make students happy with the languages that are easily understood by the students (Slattery & Willis, 2001)

Example of the development of character- based Natural Science teaching materials with web model is as follows: (a) Basic competence:

Describing the correlation among force, motion and energy through experiment (gravitational force, motion, magnetic force); and (b) Teaching materials: The correlation among force, motion, and energy. Standard material based on Curriculum and Books Source: Gravity is the force of attraction from the earth. When we throw something up, it falls down too. Fruit on the tree fall

METHOD

The type of this research is research- based deployment. This study aimed to produce character-based Natural Science teaching materials with a Webbed model. The study was carried out using the Borg and Gall (2003) procedural model. The research subjects were determined by purposive sampling, and they were: (1) three experts in the field of study and three experts of education technology, and three guide teachers of Natural Science; (2) 9 teachers;

and (3) early elementary school students as many as 135 students. Field trials were carried out in five elementary schools in Bone regency, Indonesia. To collect data, researchers conducted observations and interviews, distributed questionnaires, tests of learning outcomes, and analyzed documentation. Data analysis was conducted qualitatively and quantitatively, both at the time of data collection and after data collection had been conducted (Creswell 2005).

To obtain validity, practicality, and effectiveness, there were used criteria of very good, good, lack, and not good. The final target of this development activity was to produce character-based Natural Science teaching materials with a valid, practical, and effective Webbed model to be disseminated and implemented in learning.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results

A. Validation Result of Product

The results of this research and development produced: character-based Natural Science teaching materials, guidebooks, and student worksheet. The content of the product was then validated by content experts and design experts. The validation aimed to assess the content and construct validity, as well as the quality of teaching materials and devices through responses, criticisms, and suggestions from competent experts for improving the products.

Validation techniques were carried out by providing the products to competent experts.

Validators were provided with complete teaching materials and supporting devices together with the validation instruments. The goal was to provide an assessment of each component on a scale of 1 - 5 (very good, good, sufficient, lack, and not good) and give criticism/suggestions by filling the column provided on the instrument.

The validation results of each type of product are described below.

1. Validation Result of Teaching Materials To assess the feasibility of textbooks (student books), the validator gave an assessment in five aspects, namely: eligibility, design feasibility, language feasibility, presentation feasibility, and the feasibility of media and learning resources. Based on the results of the validator's assessment, the developed teaching materials were categorized as "very valid". The details of the validation results of teaching materials are presented in the following Table 1.

In Table 1, the developed teaching materials are in the "very valid" category.

Aspects of assessment in teaching materials consist of eligibility, design feasibility, language feasibility, presentation feasibility, and media feasibility.

The eligibility is "very valid". The assessment criteria of this aspect consist of:

content accuracy, systematics, appropriateness, material contentability, attractiveness, and integration with good character values. The presentation feasibility is categorized as "very valid", which is: encouraging active involvement, suitability, and contextual presentation.

Language aspect is categorized as "very valid", which is: readability, clarity of meaning, and compatibility with Indonesian language structure. Aspects of media and learning

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resources are "valid", which are: layout, typography, illustration and attractiveness. Each of these aspects has fulfilled the eligibility criteria

for content and structure so that they can be used in learning.

Table 1. Validation Result of Teaching Materials

No Component Mean score Category

1 2 3 4 5

Eligibility Design feasibility Language feasibility

Presentation feasibility Media feasibility

4,90 4,80 4,80 4,80 4,80

Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid

Mean 4,80 Very Valid

2. Validation Result of Teacher Guidebook To assess the feasibility of the teacher guidebook, the validator gave an assessment in four aspects, namely: clarity of instructions, syste-matics, clarity of information, and help/

convenience in the use of the instructional

materials. Based on eligibility and construct validation by content and design experts, the developed teacher guidebook is categorized as

"very valid". The details of the validation result of the teacher manual are presented in the Table 2.

Table 2. Validation Result of Teacher Guidebook

No Aspect Mean score Category

1 2 3 4

Clarity of instructions Systematics Language feasibility

Feasibility of use

4,90 4,80 4,80 4,90

Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid

In table 2, it is shown that the validated teacher book is categorized as "very valid". The assessment aspects of the teacher guidebook consist of: (1) clarity of instructions, (2) systematics (3) language feasibility, and (4) feasibility of use. Each of these aspects has met the eligibility criteria so that it can be continued to field trials stage.

3. Validation Result of Student Worksheet To assess the feasibility of the student worksheet, the validator gave assessment in some aspects which were instructions, construction, scope, eligibility, systematics, steps, time management, suitability between objectives and components of learning, and assessment. Based on the validation results from the content and design expert, the developed student worksheet was in "very valid" category. The details of the validation results of student and teacher are presented in Table 3..

In Table 3, it is shown that the developed student worksheet is categorized as “very valid".

To assess the feasibility of the student worksheet, expert of content and design provided assessment

toward the feasibility of instructions, construction, scope, eligibility, systematics, steps, time management, suitability between objectives and components of learning, and assessment. Each of these aspects has met the eligibility criteria so that it can be used to target students.

B. Result of Practicality Assessment

Products that have been validated also need to be assessed in the case of practicality.

Practicality analysis is an analysis that is carried out to find out whether the developed product can be applied easily by the stake holder which were early elementary school students. The test was a formative assessment. This assessment was a field assessment for product improvement through limited trial to nine model teachers and the trial was extended to 60 early class teachers of elementary school. This study was carried out through observations, interviews and responses from users, which are teachers and early elementary school students. The indication of assessment was feasibility: content, presentation, language, and media. Based on the results of

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quantitative data analysis, it was shown that the three types of the developed products were on average 3.71 with a percentage of 92.75% or

"very good" qualifications. Furthermore, the result of qualitative analysis showed that the component that need improvement was the

language that should be adapted to the age of students. Thus, the teaching materials products that have obtained validity and practicality testing can be applied easily to the stake holders, which are early elementary school students.

Table 3. Validation Result of Student Worksheet

No Component Mean score Category

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Clarity of instructions Construction Scope

Eligibility Systematics Steps

Time management

Suitability between objectives and components of learning

Assessment

4,90 4,90 4,80 4,80 4.80 4,80 4,80 4,80 4,80

Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid Very Valid

C. The Effectiveness of the Implementation of Character-based Natural Science Teaching Materials with Webbed Model for Elementary School Students.

The implementation of character-based Natural Science teaching materials with the webbed model in this study is said to be effective if the two types of assessment have reached the set standards, which are: (a) there is an increase in the value of pree-test and post-test, and (b) students' response to the application of teaching materials is categorized as at least "good"

category.

The implementation of character-based Natural Science teaching material with webbed model was conducted six times with different themes to six elementary schools in Bone Regency. Theme 1 is 'Function of human respiratory organ', theme 2 'Animal respiratory organs', theme 3 'Human circulatory organs', theme 4 'Green plants make food', theme 5 'Adjustments to their environment', and theme 6 'Correlation among force, motion, and energy.

To assess the students’ learning outcomes, there were used two types of assessment, namely: the assessment of pretest and posttest in the performance of making a map of thinking and assessment with the responses of students. The product is said to be effective if it reaches the minimum criteria of "good".

The results of data analysis from the implementation of thematic teaching materials

with webbed model show that on the average score of pre-test, 48% have not reached the criteria, while on the post-test, 84% have reached the criteria of “effective”. The learning outcomes show an increased score from “less effective” in pre-test to “effective” in post-test. Therefore, the implementation of teaching materials with webbed model at elementary school is in the category of effective, it is shown by: the improvement of students’ learning outcomes in the post-test with “effective” category and the response of students show very good activity.

The result show that the implementation of thematic teaching materials with webbed model is effective.

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Based on the development process conducted in this study, it can be concluded that the character-based Natural Science teaching material with webbed model and its supporting devices are valid, practice, and effective to use for students in elementary school. Specifically, the result of this study are: (1) Natural Science teaching material with webbed model and integrated with character-based education of 2006 curriculum which was developed based on students’ characteristics and needs, (2) the designing process produced teaching material which relevant to the needs and the structure consists of: title, introduction, understanding of concepts, content presentation, language, and

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integration of character value, (3) the produced teaching material was supported by relevant supporting devices which consist of; teacher guidelines and students worksheet, (4) the assessment result of content expert and design expert show that the products: teaching materials, teacher guidelines, and students worksheet have reached the criteria of validity so they are appropriate to use for samples of research, (5) the result of teacher response in testing show that teaching materials, teacher guidelines, and students worksheet are suitable with the needs and provide convenience for sample of the research, and (6) the result of product effectiveness testing show that the product of teaching materials and devices are in category of effective so it is appropriate to use for samples of the research.

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