The Impact of Problem Solving Instruction on Academic Achievement and Science Process Skills among Prospective Elementary Teachers

Abstract

Nowadays, it is not enough for future teachers if they are only equipped with abilities andscientific skills, they need to apply their knowledge to real-world inside and outside the classroom. In fact,the previous studies report their low knowledge in understanding science. This research aims to improvingstudents’ academic achievement and Science Process Skills (SPS) through Problem Solving Instruction (PSI),and analyzing the correlation between both dependent variables. A quasi-experimental design wasconducted for six weeks at Muhammadiyah University of Ponorogo, Indonesia. Forty-eight prospectiveelementary teachers completed Academic Achievement Test (AAT) and SPS Test (SPST). The reliabilitycoefficient Cronbach’s alpha of both tests was .81 and .86, respectively. Data were analyzed by using N-gainscore, Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s rho correlation at significance level .05. The findings indicatethat there is significant difference on academic achievement and science process skills betweenexperimental and control groups in favor of experimental group students, and there is a high positive andsignificant correlation between both dependent variables. We recommend to the lecturers to use PSI as atool to promote students’ scientific skills and abilities to satisfactory performance in order to respond fastchanges in 21st century learning.