Journal of Science and Education (JSE)

Critical Thinking Development Through Digital Play: A Systematic Literature Review of Early Childhood Context

Sherllyn Azzaharra Asbi — 2025-12-23

In today’s modern era, the world of early childhood education is inseparable from both online and offline games. Games are no longer viewed merely as tools for entertainment, but also as potential learning media that can support children’s development. The rapid advancement of technology has made digital play an integral part of children’s daily lives. Although digital games present certain challenges, they also offer notable educational benefits, particularly in fostering children’s critical thinking abilities. This study aims to systematically collect, evaluate, and analyze research related to the development of critical thinking skills in early childhood through digital games. The research employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach focusing on identifying pedagogical strategies, digital game designs, and aspects of critical thinking embedded within digital play. It also explores the teacher’s role and the empirical findings within early childhood education contexts. A total of 12 eligible studies were analyzed. The findings indicate that digital games contribute positively to the enhancement of children’s critical thinking skills. The most frequently stimulated components of critical thinking include problem-solving, logical reasoning, decision-making, independent evaluation of information, memory enhancement, and understanding of cause-and-effect relationships. Teachers play a crucial role as facilitators, companions, and guides in ensuring meaningful learning experiences through digital play. The reviewed digital games were generally designed to be both educational and interactive, highlighting the integration of learning and engagement. These findings underscore the significance of teachers’ involvement in achieving learning objectives through digital games and provide valuable insights for future curriculum development and digital educational innovation in early childhood settings.

Implementation of Augmented Reality (AR) Learning Media on Learning Comprehension of Ship Safety Device Introduction

M Masrupah — 2025-12-23

The development of digital technology brings major changes in the world of education, including the maritime sector. One of the relevant and potential technologies is Augmented Reality (AR), which can integrate virtual objects into the real world in real-time, thus providing an immersive and interactive learning experience. This study aims to implement AR-based learning media introducing ship safety devices, such as life jackets, ring buoys, lifeboats, and fire extinguishers, and measure its effectiveness compared to conventional methods. The research method used a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design (pretest-post test control group design). The research sample was fourth semester Nautical students at Makassar Polytechnic of Shipping Science (PIP), with the division of experimental groups using AR and control groups using conventional methods. The results showed a significant increase in students' understanding of ship safety devices. The average score increased from 58.49 (pretest) to 66.94 (post test). The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test result-ed in a p value = 0.003 (p < 0.05), which confirms the effectiveness of AR in improving learning outcomes. This finding shows that AR not only helps visualize abstract concepts to be more concrete but also increases student motivation and engagement. This study recommends the use of AR as a learning media innovation in the maritime field, while encouraging the development of broader, collaborative, and sustainable interactive content.

Development of Japanese Language Teaching Materials Based on Activity-Based Learning with A Communicative Language Teaching Approach for Vocational Training Participants

Rezki Fajriannoor — 2025-12-23

This study examines how grammar-focused practices in vocational training institutes (LPKs) impair learners' communicative ability despite the Japanese Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program. The study seeks to produce CLT-based activity-oriented Japanese teaching materials, assess their feasibility through expert validation, and test their effectiveness in improving speaking ability. This study's focus on LPK trainees as apprenticeship prospects and authentic, interactive assignments to improve communicative speaking abilities is innovative. This study was motivated by students' low communicative engagement in Japanese language practice and the need for materials that show communicative activities at vocational training institutes. Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate comprise the ADDIE development model. The CLT technique was used to create and develop the instructional materials, emphasizing structural, quasi-communicative, functional communication, and social interaction learning activities. Learning media, Japanese language, and learning design professionals examined the instructional materials for viability. We then evaluated with interviews and questionnaires. The pretest-posttest findings of 17 LPK Kokorono Siji students were used to test effectiveness using N-Gain testing. The Japanese teaching materials were "feasible" according to the feasibility test results, which averaged 2.83 (learning media), 3.60 (material), and 3.22 (learning design). The average N-Gain score of 0.45 (moderate criteria) indicated that the teaching materials improved learning outcomes. This proves the instructional materials are successful for occupational Japanese language acquisition. The findings show that activity-based Japanese teaching materials using a CLT method for trainees at this vocational training institution are practicable in content, media, and learning design and improve communicative skills. Thus, vocational training institutions can incorporate these instructional materials into Japanese language learning.