Abstract:
The development of critical thinking skills is one of the key factors to face the
opportunities and challenges of life in the industrial era 4.0. However, this skill has
not been trained properly. Therefore, the purpose of writing this paper is to analyze
the effectiveness of science handouts on the material diversity of living things to
improve students' critical thinking skills. This study uses formative evaluation with
Tessmer Model. The trial used a one group pretest and posttest design, for a small
group test on 12 students and a field test on 20 class VIII students of SMPN 1 Sungai
Durian. Collecting data through critical thinking tests and interviews. The results of
the research on the small group and field tests showed: (1) students' skills in
interpretation, analysis, explanation, evaluation, and inference were initially low to
moderate; and (2) students' critical thinking skills increased significantly at = 5%,
with n-gain in the moderate criteria. Thus, the science handout based on critical
thinking skills is effectively used in science learning.
Keywords: Critical Thinking Skills; Diversity of Living Things; Handout
