Miftakhul Khasanah, Ahmad Ipmawan Kharisma, Mochammad Miftachul Huda

Augmented Reality Media: Development and Validation to Improve Critical Thinking Skills of Elementary School Student

Introduction

Augmented reality media: development and validation to improve critical thinking skills of elementary school student. Discover how Augmented Reality (AR) media improves critical thinking skills in elementary school students. This study validates its high effectiveness & practicality for learning.

Abstract

This study aims to determine the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of Augmented Reality media in improving the critical thinking skills of fourth-grade students in IPAS subjects in elementary schools. This study uses the Research and Development method with the ADDIE model, which has five stages, namely analyze, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The study employed a Control Group Pretest-Posttest design with fourth-grade students at Muhammadiyah 1 Ngimbang Lamongan Elementary School. Data analysis was conducted through prerequisite tests and hypothesis testing. The results of the study indicate that: (1) The Augmented Reality learning media was found to be highly valid based on the validation results: media experts 3.80, design 3.84, content 3.86, and learning devices 3.80. (2) The media is considered practical based on student responses in small-group trials (3.46), large-group trials (3.57), and student activities (3.22 and 3.55). (3) The media is also effective, as evidenced by the T-test (0.000) and N-Gain scores of 40.62% (experimental class) and 68.09% (control class). It is concluded that Augmented Reality media can enhance elementary school students' critical thinking skills.

Review

This study presents an investigation into the development and validation of Augmented Reality (AR) media aimed at improving the critical thinking skills of fourth-grade elementary school students in IPAS subjects. Utilizing a Research and Development (R&D) methodology guided by the ADDIE model, the authors embarked on a comprehensive process to analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate their educational tool. The research design incorporated a Control Group Pretest-Posttest approach, allowing for a comparative assessment of the AR media's impact on student learning outcomes. The primary goal was to establish the AR media's validity, practicality, and effectiveness in fostering critical thinking at the elementary level. The strengths of this research lie in its systematic approach to media development and thorough validation. The abstract highlights consistently high scores from media, design, content, and learning device experts, indicating a well-conceived and pedagogically sound AR tool. Furthermore, the practicality of the media was robustly supported by positive student responses in both small and large-group trials, alongside favorable observations of student activities. The application of a pretest-posttest experimental design with statistical hypothesis testing (T-test) provides a structured framework for evaluating the intervention, suggesting a statistically significant difference between the groups. Despite the methodical development and validation, a significant inconsistency in the reported effectiveness findings raises questions about the study's ultimate conclusion. The abstract states N-Gain scores of 40.62% for the experimental class and a remarkably higher 68.09% for the control class. This finding, which implies greater learning gains in the control group, directly contradicts the conclusion that Augmented Reality media *can enhance* elementary school students' critical thinking skills and the reported T-test significance. This critical discrepancy needs to be thoroughly addressed and clarified, as it undermines the claim of effectiveness for the AR media. Further details on the specific critical thinking skills assessed, the nature of the IPAS subject content, and a more nuanced interpretation of the T-test results in light of the N-Gain scores would significantly strengthen the credibility and impact of this study.

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