Analysis of Teachers’ and Students’ Needs in the Development of Two-Tier Multiple-Choice Questions on Environmental Issues in Ecology and Environmental Pollution
Keywords:
Tapak Jedah, open dumping, protected forest, community-based waste management, Bengkulu CityAbstract
Background: The assessment of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is a crucial aspect of 21st-century science education. However, current evaluation instruments in schools are still dominated by Lower-Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) questions in the form of conventional multiple-choice questions, which trigger a “guessing effect” among students and are unable to accurately map conceptual understanding
Methods: This study is a preliminary research project employing a mixed-methods approach with a sequential explanatory design. Participants consisted of 421 junior high school students and 30 science teachers selected using purposive sampling. Data collection was conducted through Likert-scale questionnaires and open-ended questions. Data analysis used descriptive percentages for quantitative data and thematic analysis aided by NVivo software for qualitative data.
Results: The findings revealed that 60.83% of teachers still predominantly use LOTS-standardized assessments, while 70.33% of students often guess answers at random when encountering difficulties. The integration of real-world environmental case studies was highly favored by 81.01% of students because it helped make abstract ecological concepts more concrete. A total of 84.17% of teachers expressed an urgent need for a valid two-tier multiple-choice instrument, hoping for stimulus designs that are concise, visual, and feature a practical scoring system.
Conclusion: There is a high urgency to develop a two-tier multiple-choice instrument focused on environmental issues as an objective, diagnostic, and practical solution for evaluating Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).
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