PBL-STEM Based Interactive Learning Video to Enhance Student’s Critical Thinking Skills in Ecosystem

Abstract

The integration of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through digital learning media offers a promising approach to supporting students’ critical thinking in biology. This study aimed to develop a PBL-STEM-based interactive learning video for ecosystem learning and evaluate its validity, practicality, and preliminary evidence of improvement in students’ critical thinking. A Research and Development design using the ADDIE model was employed, involving 34 Grade X students of MAS Insan Kesuma Madani. Data were collected through expert validation, teacher and student response questionnaires, and an essay test assessing interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. Media and subject matter experts rated the product at 88.79% and 91.30%, respectively, both categorized as Very Valid. Teacher and student responses reached 88.64% and 92.37%, respectively, both categorized as Very Practical. Students’ mean critical-thinking score increased from 46.44 on the pretest to 91.24 on the posttest, yielding an N-Gain of 0.8354, categorized as High. All six critical-thinking indicators reached the Very Good category, with explanation scoring highest (93.06) and interpretation lowest (89.71). The findings indicate that the developed video is valid and practical and provides promising preliminary evidence for supporting critical thinking in ecosystem learning. However, the one-group pretest–posttest design without a comparison group limits causal interpretation of the observed improvement.