Utilizing Website-Based EcoLearn Learning Media to Enhance Students’ Critical Thinking Skills
Keywords:
Critical Thinking Skills, Economics Education, Technology-Enhanced Learning, Web-Based Learning Media, Website-Based PlatformAbstract
This study looks at how well EcoLearn, a web-based learning tool, helps 11th-grade economics students at SMA N 3 Cilacap develop their critical thinking abilities. 72 students were split into experimental and control groups for the study, which used a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test control group. While the control group got traditional training, the experimental group used EcoLearn, which incorporates interactive case studies, economic simulations, and group discussion forums. Tests of critical thinking abilities were used to gather data, and independent sample t-tests were used for analysis. The findings show that students who used EcoLearn had considerably better critical thinking abilities (M=82.45, SD=6.23) than the control group (M=74.18, SD=7.89), with t(70)=4.87, p<0.001. According to the study, technology-enhanced learning environments especially those that include interactive elements and real-world economic scenarios effectively foster analytical reasoning, evidence evaluation, and problem-solving skills. These results advance our knowledge of how digital learning environments might be thoughtfully created to support higher-order thinking abilities in the teaching of economics.
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