Nurturing higher order thinking ability through visual scaffolding in group investigation

Abstract

This study aims to determine whether prospective physics teachers who learn through visual scaffolding in group investigation have higher-order thinking ability better than that of learning by verificative methods. The research applied the mixed method with the explanatory design. Subjects were 69 physics education students of Jember University, 32 students as an experimental group and 37 students as a comparison group. The results showed that higher-order thinking ability of prospective physics teachers who learn through visual scaffolding in group investigation better than that of learning through the usual methods. Candidates for physics teachers who learn through visual scaffolding are superior in all aspects of higher-order thinking ability. They also revealed that visual scaffolding in group investigation is very helpful in understanding the concepts of geometry optics and guiding as well as directing them in problem exploration activities to find solutions for investigations.