The Influence of Game-Based Learning Media on Students' Motivation and Understanding of Programming

This study examines the impact of the SoloLearn online learning platform on students' motivation and understanding of programming in a high school context. The research instruments included a programming comprehension test (pre-test and post-test), a Likert-scale-based learning motivation questionnaire, and an observation sheet for student engagement. All instruments were validated by subject matter experts and tested for reliability, with the motivation questionnaire yielding a Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.927, indicating high internal consistency. The study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest approach involving experimental and control groups. The participants were 11th-grade students selected through purposive sampling. The findings revealed that the experimental group, which used SoloLearn, demonstrated significantly greater motivation and comprehension improvements than the control group. An independent samples t-test indicated a statistically significant difference in post-test scores between the groups, with a p-value of 0.000 and a mean difference of 23.78. These results suggest that SoloLearn is an effective educational tool for enhancing programming instruction and aligns well with the principles of the Merdeka Curriculum.