DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE FLIPBOOK TYPE E-BOOK TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS ON ACID-BASE TOPICS

Abstract

Critical thinking is an essential competency that should be developed in chemistry learning; however, conventional teaching methods are often considered insufficient to foster this skill effectively. One potential solution is the use of an interactive e-book as a learning material. The interactive e-book was designed by integrating Facione’s critical thinking indicators, namely interpretation, inference, analysis, explanation, evaluation, and self-regulation, to facilitate students’ independent learning and improve their understanding of acid-base concepts. This study aimed to develop an interactive flipbook-type e-book on acid-base topics and evaluate its validity, practicality, and effectiveness in improving students’ critical thinking skills. The study employed the ADDIE development model. The product was validated by three validators consisting of a media expert, an acid-base subject matter expert, and a senior chemistry teacher. A limited field trial was conducted with 33 twelfth-grade students. The interactive e-book achieved a minimum validation mode score of 4 for both content and construct validity, indicating that it was valid for use in chemistry learning. The implementation of learning activities obtained an average score of 97.58%, while the practicality score reached 96.66%, indicating that the interactive e-book was implemented very well and was highly practical. The effectiveness of the interactive e-book was evaluated using the Shapiro–Wilk normality test followed by a paired-samples t-test. The analysis revealed a statistically significant improvement in students’ critical thinking skills after using the interactive e-book (p < 0.001). These findings indicate that the developed interactive flipbook-type e-book is valid, practical, and effective in enhancing students’ critical thinking skills in learning acid-base concepts.