Implementing E-Learning-Based Virtual Laboratory Media to Students' Metacognitive Skills

Abstract

The development of information and communication technology has penetrated various sectors, one of which is the education sector, especially in learning. The application of technology in the learning process is in the form of using virtual laboratory media to explain concepts that require a practicum, particularly in ab-stract materials. This study aims to determine students' metacognitive skills after applying the e-learning-based virtual laboratory media in physics experiment courses at the Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Papua. This qualitative research went through the stages of a lesson study. The data were collected from tests and questionnaires on stu-dents' metacognitive skills, observation sheets, interview guidelines, and video recordings during the open class. Further, the data were analyzed through Rasch modeling technique utilizing the Winstep application to analyze the students' met-acognitive activity questionnaire after learning. The lesson study encompassed three stages of a series of activities, namely Plan, Do, and See. In the Plan stage, discussions were held with the lecturer team to develop learning tools in the form of chapter designs, lesson plans, and learning media. In the Do stage, the model lecturer performed the learning process based on the media that had been estab-lished. In the See stage, the reflection was done to examine the learning imple-mentation carried out by the model lecturer in order to uncover weaknesses and strengths to be followed up on further learning. The results show that the quality of learning and students’ metacognitive skills at each meeting are improved. It is proven by the good and very good category of the aforementioned results. To sum up, e-learning based virtual laboratory media are able to improve learning quality and develop students' metacognitive skills in the physics experiment courses.