Implementation of Cognitive-Based Science Learning Strategy to Improve Students' Science Abilities on the Topic of Temperature and Heat

Students’ limited ability to comprehend and apply scientific concepts continues to be a major challenge in junior high school science education, especially for abstract physics topics such as temperature and heat. Observations conducted at SMPN 3 Pallangga Gowa showed that Grade VIII students had difficulty differentiating temperature from heat, explaining both concepts, solving heat-related problems using appropriate formulas, and responding to contextual questions. This study aimed to apply a cognitive-based science teaching strategy and examine its effectiveness in improving students’ scientific proficiency on the topics of temperature and heat.A pre-experimental method with one group and pretest–posttest measurements was used, involving 30 eighth-grade students at SMPN 3 Pallangga Gowa. Data were obtained through a science test administered before and after the cognitive-based teaching strategy was implemented. The descriptive results revealed a substantial increase in students’ performance, as the average pretest score improved from 50.61 (SD = 6.97) to 84.40 (SD = 9.88) on the posttest. A paired t-test produced a t-value of 19.97 (p < 0.001), indicating a highly significant difference between the two scores. The calculated effect size, Cohen’s d = 3.65, demonstrated a very large effect. Furthermore, the distribution of students’ achievement categories changed considerably: initially, 66.7% of students were classified as “very poor,” whereas after the intervention, 50% achieved the “very good” category. These findings indicate that the cognitive-based science teaching strategy was effective in significantly enhancing students’ scientific proficiency in understanding and applying the concepts of temperature and heat