Enhancing critical thinking skill by implementing electronic student worksheets based on guided inquiry in natural science subject for elementary school

Students’ critical thinking skills currently fall short of the requirements for effective learning in the 21st century, highlighting a need for innovative educational models to help cultivate these skills. This study investigates the enhancement of critical thinking skills among sixth-grade elementary students by using an E-LKPD (electronic student worksheets) grounded in guided inquiry. The study utilized a pretest and posttest non-equivalent control group design, encompassing the full student cohort as the sample. Information regarding students' critical thinking abilities was obtained via a descriptive assessment that satisfied recognized validity and reliability standards. The study results, analyzed with an independent t-test on the N-gain score, show an overall improvement rate of 76.16%, exceeding the 70% threshold for high effectiveness. When analyzed by group, the control group achieved an N-gain of 68.11%, falling in the moderate category, while the experimental group reached an N-gain of 84.21%, showing a huge level of effectiveness. Those results conclude that the guided inquiry-based E-LKPD significantly increased critical thinking skills.