THE EFFECT OF USING WEB BASED VIRTUAL LAB MEDIA ON SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS IN PLANT TISSUE PRACTIKUM

Abstract

Science process skills are important abilities in biology learning; however, they are still relatively low due to the limitations of conventional practicum implementation. One alternative to overcome this problem is the use of web-based virtual laboratory media. This study aims to determine the effect of using web-based virtual lab media on students’ science process skills in plant tissue material. This research employed a quasi-experimental method with a nonequivalent control group design. The research subjects consisted of a control class and an experimental class. The research instruments included a science process skills test, observation sheets of teacher and student activities, and media validation sheets. The data were analyzed using the t-test and N-Gain analysis.The results showed that the science process skills of students in both the experimental and control classes were in the moderate improvement category. However, the mean N-Gain of the experimental class (0.61) was higher than that of the control class (0.31). These findings indicate that the use of web-based virtual lab media has a greater effect on improving students’ science process skills compared to conventional learning. Therefore, it can be concluded that web-based virtual lab media positively influences the improvement of students’ science process skills compared to conventional learning.