The Application of the Group Investigation (GI) Model of Cooperative Learning to Improve Students’ Understanding of Biodiversity in Year 10 at SMAN 2 Mori Atas

Biology instruction at SMAN 2 Mori Atas was predominantly conducted through conventional teaching practices. Preliminary observations revealed that students had difficulty understanding biodiversity concepts, and several students did not meet the minimum passing criterion of 70. These conditions highlighted the need for learning activities that promote active investigation, discussion, and conceptual connections. This classroom action research examined the use of the Group Investigation (GI) cooperative learning model to improve Grade 10 students’ classroom engagement and conceptual understanding of biodiversity, as assessed through Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) questions based on the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy. The study involved 23 purposively selected students, comprising 8 females and 15 males. Grounded in constructivist theory, the study was implemented in two action cycles. Data were collected through observations of teacher and student activities and HOTS tests. Students’ conceptual understanding was analyzed according to five SOLO taxonomy levels: prestructural, unistructural, multistructural, relational, and extended abstract. The findings showed that teacher and student activities improved to the “very good” category in Cycle II. Students’ thinking also developed from predominantly prestructural and unistructural levels in Cycle I to multistructural (12 students) and relational (11 students) levels in Cycle II. In conclusion, implementing the GI model was associated with progressive improvements in classroom engagement and the structural complexity of students’ conceptual understanding. The shift toward multistructural and relational levels suggests that GI can serve as an alternative instructional strategy for supporting engagement and higher-order thinking in biodiversity learning.