Isti Setiasih, Nanang Winarno, Eka Cahya Prima, Fairus Qamila, Rohim Aminullah Firdaus, Nur Jahan Ahmad
Critical thinking is a key component of the 4Cs skills required to navigate the challenges of the twenty-first century. However, Indonesian students‟ critical thinking performance remains below the international average, as indicated by the PISA results. This study explored the influence of STEM-based project learning (PjBL) activities on junior high school students‟ critical thinking skills, particularly in lessons related to earthquakes. A quantitative methodology was adopted, employing a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design that included pretest and posttest measures. The experimental group received instructions through STEM PjBL, whereas the control group was taught via conventional learning. A total of 102 eighth-grade students from a public junior high school in Bandung, Indonesia, took part in this study, with 51 students assigned to the experimental group and 51 to the control group. Data were collected via an essay test comprising eight open-ended questions designed to measure critical thinking skills following the criteria by Ennis. The results revealed a significant difference in critical thinking improvement between the two groups. The N-gain value of the experimental group (0.6) was higher than that of the control group (0.4), suggesting a greater improvement in learning outcomes. These findings suggest that compared with conventional instruction, STEM PjBL provides more supportive learning conditions for developing students‟ critical thinking skills in earthquake-related science topics. ©2026 the Author(s), licensee by AIMS Press.
Department of Science Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia; Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science Education, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia; School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
