THE EFFECT OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING ASSISTED BY VIRTUAL REALITY "MUSEUM SUMPAH PEMUDA" ON CRITICAL THINKING TENDENCIES AND LEARNING MOTIVATION IN SOCIAL STUDIES LEARNING

The Industrial Revolution 4.0 is reshaping social studies to address real-life problems and foster critical thinking skills. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) focuses on resolving actual issues, while Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive virtual learning environment within the classroom. This study investigates the effect of VR-assisted PBL, specifically the “Museum Sumpah Pemuda”, on critical thinking tendencies and learning motivation in social studies education. Utilizing a quasi-experimental approach with a pretest and posttest design, the study population consisted of 75 eighth-grade students aged 13-15 years, divided into three classes. Cluster random sampling was applied to select the control class (VIIIB) and the experimental class (VIIIC), each comprising 25 students. The research utilized a critical thinking self-assessment questionnaire developed by Masured Reasons LLC, featuring 20 questions, alongside Facione & Gittens's critical thinking indicators. Additionally, the learning motivation questionnaire was based on criteria from Hamzah B. Uno and included 24 questions. Results from the MANOVA hypothesis test (p<0.05) indicate a significant effect of VR-assisted PBL “Museum Sumpah Pemuda”, on both critical thinking tendencies and learning motivation in social studies learning. These findings suggest that VR-assisted PBL not only cultivates 21st-century skills but also resonates with students' experiences in the technology-driven era of 4.0. Keywords: Problem Based Learning, Virtual Reality, Critical Thinking, Learning Motivation, Social Studies