Experiential learning integrated peer instruction: An innovative learning model to improve students’ science inquiry skills

To learn about nature and phenomena, science inquiry skills require a mix of science content knowledge, science process skills, creativity, and critical thinking. Acquiring these skills is typically a goal in fundamental science education because they are required for conducting scientific research. The principal objective of this study was to look for ways in which the use of an experiential learning model combined with peer education can improve students’ science inquiry skills. This intervention study involved 30 eighth grade students in a public Junior High School in Surabaya city. The instruments used were science inquiry skills test and student response questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using normalized change (<c>), scatterplot visualization, and percentage of response questionnaire. All the instruments used in this study had high internal consistency, as indicated by the Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega values that were above the threshold of 0.70. This study revealed that the student who have low pretest score, could reach 4c region, this illustrates that the experiential learning model integrated with peer instruction intervention can and has the potential to have a positive impact on students’ science inquiry skills. It can also show that the experiential learning model integrated with peer instruction can provide student learning satisfaction, so that it can have a positive impact on science inquiry skills.