the factors affecting teachers’ readiness in developing

AdvancesinSocialSciencesResearchJournal–Vol.6,No.9PublicationDate:Sep.25,2019DoI:10.14738/assrj.69.7133.

Budiastra, A. K., Erlina, N., & Wicaksono, I. (2019). The Factors Affecting Teachers’ Readiness In Developing Science ConceptAssessmentThroughInquiry-BasedLearningProcessInElementarySchools.AdvancesinSocialSciencesResearchJournal,6(9)355-366.

Copyright©SocietyforScienceandEducation,UnitedKingdom 355

TheFactorsAffectingTeachers’ReadinessInDevelopingScienceConceptAssessmentThroughInquiry-BasedLearningProcess

InElementarySchools

A.KetutBudiastraUniversitasTerbuka,Indonesia

NiaErlina

InstitutAgamaIslamNegeriJember,Indonesia

IwanWicaksonoUniversityofJember,Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Teachers need to develop their professionalism in teaching to achieve 21st centurylearningcompetencies.Theroleof the teacher isnotonly toprovide informationbutalsotoassessthelearningprocessandoutcomescomprehensivelyandinanintegratedmanner.Thisstudyaimedtodescribethefactorsthatsupportthereadinessofteacherstocarryoutassessmentsininquiry-basedscienceinelementaryschools.Respondentsinthisstudywere87elementaryschoolteacherswhowere87studentsspreadacrossfour regionsof theUTRegionalOfficenamelyPangkalpinang, Jakarta,Denpasar, andKupang.ThesefourregionsoftheUTRegionalOfficewerechosenasarepresentationof the regions ofWest, Central and East Indonesia. From this sample, teachers wereexamined to see their readiness to compose a lesson plan and carry out an inquiryassessment. Next, teachers filled in the response sheet to find out their readiness tocarry out an inquiry assessment in science learning in elementary schools. Teachinginquiry-basedsciencerequiredteacherstospendmoretimepreparinglessonplanstoprepare tools and learning materials. Factors which supported the readiness ofteacherstomeasuretheinquiry-basedsciencelearningprocessinelementaryschools,including theirsufficientcapacity todevelop lessonplanswhichwereoriented to theinquiryprocess,peersupportandteachers’workinggroup.Someeffortsweredonetoovercome obstacles namely developing the ability to assess the mastery of scienceconcepts through inquiry-based learning processes in elementary schools, utilizingteachers’workinggroup(TWG)andthesupportofschoolprincipals/assessorstomakerelevantassessmenttools.Keywords:assessment,science,inquiry,elementaryschoolteachers

INTRODUCTION

Assessment is a structured activity of a teacher which is carried out comprehensively andintegrated with the learning process. Curriculum 2013 in elementary school has set theplanning, implementationandprocessingofassessmentsbyteachers.Assessmenttechniquesused by teachers in elementary schools are assessment through attitudes, knowledge, andskills(Demir,Tananis,&Trahan,2019).Attitudeassessment is intendedasanassessmentofstudentbehaviorinthelearningprocesswhichincludesspiritualandsocialattitudes(Şimşir,Seki, & Dilmaç, 2018). Affective assessment is intended to foster behavior in the context ofshapingstudentcharacter.Knowledgeassessmentiscarriedoutbymeasuringstudentmasterywhichincludesdimensionsoffactual,conceptual,proceduralandmetacognitiveknowledgeatvarious levels of the thought process. Knowledge assessment procedures start from the

Budiastra,A.K.,Erlina,N.,&Wicaksono,I.(2019).TheFactorsAffectingTeachers’ReadinessInDevelopingScienceConceptAssessmentThroughInquiry-BasedLearningProcessInElementarySchools.AdvancesinSocialSciencesResearchJournal,6(9)355-366.

356 URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.69.7133.

preparation of planning, development of assessment instruments, implementation ofassessment, processing, and reporting, aswell as utilization of assessment results (Popescu,2019).Skillassessmentiscarriedoutbytheassessmentofperformance,project,andportfolio.Inperformance,theemphasiscanbeplacedontheprocessorproduct.Projectisanactivityofevaluatingataskthatmustbecompletedwithinacertainperiod/time.Portfolioiscollectionofdocumentsresultingfromassessments,awards,andstudentworkincertainfieldthatreflectdevelopment(reflective-integrative)overacertainperiodoftime(Sherfinski,Jalalifard,Zhang,&Hayes,2019).The learningprocessof science subject in elementary school requires teachers tobeable toprovide and managing science learning with approaches and supporting techniques thatenable students to experience all stages of learning which contain process skills, scientificattitude,andmasteryofconcepts.Theinquiryapproachisanapproachthatpreparesstudentsin an atmosphere to conduct their own extensive experiments so that they can seewhat ishappening, want to do something, ask questions and find answers themselves (García-Carmona,2019). Inquiry involvesstudentstoconnectonefindingwithanotherandcomparewhatisfoundbyotherstudents.Somefindingsindicateweaknessesofinquiry-basedlearningincluding: (1) Inquiry is used as a learning model, so it will be difficult to control studentactivitiesandsuccess; (2)Thismodel isdifficult inplanning the learningprocess,because itcontrastswithstudents’learninghabits;(3)Implementationofinquiryrequiresalongtimesoit is often difficult for teachers to adjust it to the allotted time; (4) All success criteria aredetermined by students’ ability to master the subject matter, so the inquiry model will bedifficult to be implemented by every teacher (Cairns & Areepattamannil, 2019). Teacherprofessionalism competence is more focused on teachers to master the learning materialwidelyanddeeply.Althoughthecurriculumtraininghasbeencarriedout,therearestillmanyteachers who admit that it is difficult, complicated and confusing to master this newcurriculum,especiallyhowtoassessstudents(Arnold,Boone,Kremer,&Mayer,2018).Manydifferentopinionsabouthowtoassessmaketheteachersconfusetoapplyitinthefield.Theteachersfeel thatthedemandsofassessmentonthecurriculummaketeachersdifficult.Asaresult, each school has differences in assessing the students (Hondrich,Hertel, Adl-Amini,&Klieme,2016).However,frompreviousstudiesfoundthatthetestmodelsdevelopedinsciencetendtoonlyfocus on the aspects of knowledge, especially facts (M.M. Arnold, Graham, &Hollingworth-Hughes, 2017). In addition, the types of questionsdevelopeddonot support the learning ofscienceusingtheinquiryapproachintheclassroom.Supposedly,questionsaskedindailytests,midterms, finalterms,ornationalexaminationsshouldnotonlyaskaspectsofknowledgebyrevealing factsor conceptsbut shouldalsoaskquestions regardingaspectsofwhyandhow(Budiastra& Purwoningsih, 2014). In otherwords, questions asked to students should alsoincludequestionsthatrequirestudentstobeabletoanswerquestionsthatdemandahigherlevel of ability such as analytical and synthesis questions adjusted to development level ofchildrenaroundelementaryschoolage(Handayani,Hartono,&Sustainable,2019).Fromtheresultsofthestudy,itcanbesuggestedthatquestionsthatshouldbetestedattheschoollevel,ornationalfinalexaminationalsocontainquestionsbasedoninquiry,sothatteachersfeelhowimportant it is to introduce elementary school children to carry out inquiry-based sciencelearning. Thedimension of developing aspects of knowledge, skills and attitudes introducedthrough science should bewell understood by teachers so that they feel they have amoralobligationtointroducetheapproachtostudentsthroughvarioustopicsorsubtopicsofsciencetaughtinelementaryschools.

AdvancesinSocialSciencesResearchJournal(ASSRJ) Vol.6,Issue9Sep-2019

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PERSPECTIVEAssessmentTheteachers’assessmentisaimedatdeterminingthelevelofstudents’ learningoutcomesaswell as feedback for improving the learning process by using relevant instruments (Boud&Soler, 2016).The level of students’ learning achievement is in the formof a level of studentmasteryof thematerial thathasbeengiven, skills,motivation, talents, interests, attitudesofstudentstowardsthelearningprogram,thelevelofprogressandsuitabilityofstudentlearningoutcomeswiththestandardcompetenciesandbasiccompetenciesthathavebeenset(Uçar&Sungur,2017).Teachersmustknowwhatbasiccompetencehavebeenmasteredbystudentsand take immediate corrective actionswhen there are studentswith lowgrades orperformless than the expectations. Four important awareness points for teachers in giving anassessment are (1) Sense of goal,measuring the ability or competence of students after thelearningprocess is done in accordancewith indicators in standardof competence andbasiccompetencewhichmustbemasteredby students; (2)Senseof regulation,makingquestionswhicharefullofregularityandinaccordancewiththeblueprintsbasedonagreementbetweenfellowteachersandschoolprincipals;(3)Senseofachievement,abletomakeeverystudentbehigh-achieveranddiscover theiruniquepotential; (4)Senseofharmony,academicandnon-academicabilitiesthatareharmoniousandbalanced(Semken&Freeman,2008).ScienceScienceisthestudyofconditionsandeventsinnaturesystematicallythroughobservationandexperimentstofindoutfacts,concepts,processesofdiscoveryandscientificattitudes(Fuller,2019).Learningisaprocessofeducatingthestudentsbysystematicplanning,implementation,and evaluation so that students can achieve learning objectives effectively and efficiently.Science learningprocess iscarriedout to teachstudents tounderstandthenatureofscience(processes,productsandtheirapplications)todevelopanattitudeofcuriosity,determination,perseveranceandawarenessofthevaluesthatexistinsocietyandthedevelopmentofpositiveattitudes (Akerson, Carter, Pongsanon, & Nargund-Joshi, 2019). The purpose of learningscienceinelementaryschoolsistohelpstudentstogetideas,understanding,experience,skillsand abilities to think scientifically and be able to apply them in life properly and beresponsible.Scienceforelementaryschoolsisadjustedtothestagesofcognitivedevelopment(Deieso&Fraser,2019).AccordingtoPiaget,eachindividualexperiencesthefollowinglevelsofintellectualdevelopment:(1)Motorsensory(0-2years);atthisstagethechildregulateshisnaturewithhissensesandactions(motor); (2)Preoperational (2-7years),at thisstage thechildhasnotbeenabletocarryoutmentaloperations;(3)Concreteoperations(7-11years),atthisstagethechildbeginstothinkrationallyandiswillingtoaccepttheopinionsofothers;(4)Operationalformal(11yearsandover),atthisstagechildrencanformulatemanyalternativehypotheses inresponding toproblemsand thinkingasadults (Demetriouetal.,2018).Fromthistheory,itisclearthatelementarystudentsaregenerallyataconcreteoperationalstage.Inquiry-basedLearningInquiry isoneof thestrategiesused inprocess-orientedclassrooms; it isa student-centeredteaching strategy that encourages students to investigate problems and find information(Chevalier&Buckles,2019).Thelearningprocessthatusesinquirymodelcanbecarriedoutbyfollowingthestepsasfollows:(1)Orientation,fosteringaresponsivelearningatmosphereso that it can stimulate and encourage students to solve problems; (2) Formulating theproblem, bringing students to a puzzling problem; (3) Propose a hypothesis, a temporaryanswertoaproblembeingstudiedwhichneedstobetestedfortruthasatemporaryanswer;(4) Collecting data, capturing information needed to test the proposed hypothesis includingexperiment or experiment; (5) Testing the hypothesis, determining the answers consideredacceptable inaccordancewiththedataor informationobtainedbasedondatacollection;(6)



Formulating conclusionsdescribing the findingsobtainedbasedon the resultsofhypothesistesting(Inoue,Asada,Maeda,&Nakamura,2019).Thegoalofinquirylearningistodeveloptheabilitytothinksystematically,logically,andcritically,ordevelopintellectualabilitiesaspartofmental processes (Fry, Klages, & Venneman, 2018). Some main characteristics of inquirylearningstrategiesare:(1)Optimizingstudents’activitiestosearchandfind,whichmeansthattheinquirystrategyplacesstudentsassubjectsoflearning;(2)Directingstudents’activitiestoseek and find their own answers to the questions, so that it is expected to foster theirconfidence (self-belief); (3) Aiming to develop the ability to think systematically, logically,critically,ordevelop intellectualabilitiesaspartofmentalprocesses(Laursen&Rasmussen,2019).TeacherTeacherplaysamajor role in thedevelopmentofeducation,especially thosewhichareheldformallyinschools.Theteacheralsolargelydeterminesstudentsuccess,especiallyinrelationtotheteachingandlearningprocess(Liu&Hallinger,2018a).Teacheristhemostinfluentialcomponentincreatingqualityeducationalprocessesandoutcomes.Asprofessionaleducator,teacher is required tohave teacherprofessionalcompetency inany levelofeducation.Othercompetencies are personality competence, pedagogical competence, and social competence(Sayko,2018).Basedonobservations,lowstudentlearningoutcomeisduetoseveralfactors,namely:(1)Theteacherisnotusingappropriatelearningapproach,sothematerialdeliveredbytheteacherisnotoptimallyabsorbedbystudents;(2)Students’lackmotivationtolearn;(3)Science learning processes give more emphasis on students’ ability to memorize theorieswithout developing students’ ability to solve problems; (4) Teacher also tends to makestudents as learning objects, so students cannot develop the ability to think critically,creatively,innovatively,andsystematically(Liu&Hallinger,2018b).Thisshiftofparadigminassessment requires teachers to take full control of learning activities. Of the three areasassessedinthiscurriculum,eachofattitude,skillsandknowledgeaspecthavedifferentwaysofassessmentwhicharenotthesameasthepreviouscurriculum.Theteacherneedstothinkquickly,aboutbothhowtoassessofstudents’understandinganddirectinteractionstowardseffectivelearning(Tican&Deniz,2019).Theteachermustpinpointthestrengthsofstudentsandadvisehowtodevelopthem,explainweaknessesandhowtheyovercomethem,aswellasprovide students with opportunities to improve their work (Tan, Whipp, Gagné, & VanQuaquebeke,2019).

METHODParticipantsThepopulationofthisstudywasalltheelementaryschoolteacherswhoaretakingthecourseof Strengthening Professional Capabilities in Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,Universitas Terbuka. The respondentswere spread in four regions of UT Regional Office inPangkalpinang, Jakarta, Denpasar, and Kupang, with the proportion shows in the followingTable1.

Table1.SpreadofRespondentsBasedontheResearchLocation

NO LOCATION(UTREGIONALOFFICE)

NUMBEROFRESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE(%)

1 Pangkalpinang 27 31,032 Jakarta 20 22,993 Denpasar 20 22,994 Kupang 20 22,99

TOTAL 87 100



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CasematerialsanddiscussionquestionsThisresearchwasbasedonpreliminarystudiesfactwhichshowedthatteachershaddifficultyimplementing assessment in inquiry-based learning in elementary schools (Budiastra &Purwoningsih, 2014). The focus of this studywas to analyze the factors that influenced thereadiness of teachers to develop assessments to measure the mastery of science conceptthrough the inquiry-based learning process in elementary schools. The formulations of theproblemwere(1)Howistheteacher’sunderstandingofinquiry-basedlearning?;(2)Whatarethe factors that support the readiness of teachers to measure the inquiry-based sciencelearningprocessinelementaryschools?;(3)Whatarethefactorsthatinhibitthereadinessofteachers tomeasure the inquiry-based science learning process in elementary schools?; (4)Whataretheeffortsmadebyteacherstobeabletodevelopassessmenttoolstomeasurethemasteryofscienceconceptsthroughinquiry-basedlearningprocessesinelementaryschools?;and (5)What is the role of school principals/ supervisors/ assessors/ peers to support thereadinessofteacherstodevelopassessmenttoolstomeasurethemasteryofscienceconceptsthroughinquiry-basedlearningprocessesinelementaryschools?InstrumentsThis study used a Likert Scale tomeasure and collect data bymeasuring andweighing theitemsofquestionscontainingleveledchoices(Whiteetal.,2019).Datafromrespondentswerecollectedusingdescriptivequestionnaireswhichhadlevels.Theresponsesoftheelementaryschool teachers towards the questions in questionnaire were divided into five categoriesnamely:5=verysatisfied(VS);4=satisfied(S);3=quitesatisfied(QS);2=lesssatisfied(LS);1=veryunsatisfied(VUS).TeachersfromeachUTRegionalOfficewerestudiedtintermsoftheirreadinesstoplaninquiryassessmentsandcarryoutinquiryassessmentsinsciencesubjectinelementaryschools.Theabilitytodevelopthesequestionswouldappearintheformativetestswhich they compiled in lesson plan for the task in Strengthening Professional Capabilitiescourse. Then the teachers from eachUTRegionalOfficewere given in-depth interviewed tofind out their readiness to carry out an inquiry-based assessment of science subject inelementaryschool.DataAnalysisThis research was a survey research, where the data were analyzed quantitatively andqualitatively.Qualitativedatawereprocessedbythroughorganizingdata,sortingoutdatatomake units that can be managed, then sorting, grouping, coding, and categorizing them togeneratefinding.Whilequantitativedatawereprocessedbasedonhowtoretrievedatausingquestionnairesandanalysisoflessonplandocumentsdevelopedbytheteachers.

RESULTSANDDISCUSSIONTheresultsofthisstudypresenteddataonseveralthings,whichareteachers’understandingon the importance of inquiry learning, factors that support and inhibit teacher readiness tomeasureinquiry-basedsciencelearningprocesses,effortsmadeteacherstobeabletodevelopassessmenttoolstomeasurethemasteryofscienceconceptsthroughinquiry-basedlearning,and the role of school principals, supervisors, assessors, peers to support the readiness ofteachers develop assessment tools to measure the mastery of science concepts throughinquiry-based learning processes in elementary schools. In this study, respondents’understanding of inquiry-based science learning in elementary schools, including theimportance of understanding and implementing them in learning science in elementaryschools, was obtained by asking a number of questions which include: (1) Science was aninteresting subject to be taught in elementary school; (2) Teaching science in elementaryschoolswasidenticaltoactivitiestomanipulateteachingaidsormaterialsoroftenreferredtoas hands-on activities; (3) Teaching science in elementary schools was identical to training



process skills to elementary students; (4) Science was a difficult subject to be taught inelementaryschool;(5)Sciencerequiredstudentstobeactiveinthelearningprocesstofindtheconcepts they were learning; (6) To teach inquiry-based science required teachers to takemore time to prepare the lesson, tools and learningmaterials (science equipment); and (7)Inquiry-based science learningdidnotonly trainanddevelop students’ abilities in cognitiveaspects,butalso theiraffectiveaspects/attitudesandpsychomotoraspects/students’ skills.Elementary school teacher responses to inquiry and the importance of inquiry in learningscienceinelementaryschoolscanbeseeninFigure1.

Figure1.

Teachers’ResponsestowardtheImportanceofInquiry-BasedScienceLearninginElementarySchool

Figure1showedthatsciencewasaninterestingsubjectmatter,evenitwasveryinterestingtobe taught in elementary school as stated by 78 respondents (89.66%). In addition, 63respondents (72.41%) of elementary school teachers stated that teaching science inelementaryschoolwasidenticaltoactivitiestomanipulateteachingaidsormaterialsoroftenreferred to as hands-on activities, and as many as 72 respondents (82.76%) stated thatteachingscienceinelementarywasidenticaltotrainingprocessskillstoelementarystudents.In terms of the level of difficulty in teaching science in elementary schools, 61 respondents(70.11%) said that sciencewas easy enough, easy andvery easy tobe taught in elementaryschool.However,therewere26respondents(29.89%)whostatedthatthematerialwasquitedifficult to teach in elementary school. In addition, 75 respondents (86.21) stated that thesciencerequiredstudentstobeactive inthe learningprocessto findtheconceptstheywerelearning.Theother75respondents(86.21%)saidthattoteachinquiry-basedsciencerequiredteachers to spend more time prepare the lesson, tools and learning equipment (scienceequipment).Almostallrespondentsagreedthatlearningscience-basedinquiryinelementaryschool in addition to training and developing students’ abilities in cognitive aspects, alsotrained and developed aspects of affective/ attitude and psychomotor/ skills (Kuo, Tuan, &Chin, 2019). Inquiry do not only train cognitive abilities but also trains affective andpsychomotorabilities(Budiastra&Purwoningsih,2014).The factors that supported the readiness of teachers to assess the inquiry-based sciencelearningprocessinelementaryschoolswerecollectedbyaskingquestions/statementswhichincluded:(1)Teachershadsufficientabilitytodeveloplessonplanswhichwereorientedtotheinquiryprocess inscience learning inelementaryschool;(2)Inyouropinion,peers fromthesameelementaryschoolwereveryimportantsothatyoucanassesstheinquiry-basedlearningprocess in elementary school; (3) The work environment in elementary school played animportant role so that you could assess the inquiry-based learning process in elementary



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school;(4)Bytheexperience,theTWGwasconsideredtohaveanimportantroleinsupportingyour ability to be able tomeasure the inquiry-based science learningprocess in elementaryschool; and (5) Attending scientific activities (e.g. seminars, conferences, writing book, etc.)greatlyhelpedyoutodeveloptheabilitytobeabletoassessthelearningprocessof inquiry-basedscienceinelementaryschool.Theresponseofelementaryschoolteacherstothefactorsthat supported the readiness of teachers to measure the inquiry-based science learningprocessinelementaryschoolscanbeseeninFigure2.

Figure2.

Teachers’ResponsestowardtheFactorswhichSupporttheReadinesstoMeasuretheProcessofInquiry-BasedScienceLearninginElementarySchool

The factorswhichsupported thereadinessof teachers tomeasure the inquiry-basedsciencelearningprocess inelementaryschoolsamongotherswere that theyhadsufficientability todevelop lesson plans (RPP) which were inquiry-oriented process in science learning inelementaryschools(Owiny,Hollingshead,Barrio,&Stoneman,2019).Inaddition,peersfromeitherthesameelementaryschoolorotherelementaryschoolsintheTWGhadanimportantrole,sothat theycouldmeasurethe learningprocessbasedon inquiry inelementaryschool.Theworkingenvironmentattheelementaryschoolwasalsostatedtoplayanimportantroleso that theycouldmeasure the inquiry-based learningprocess inelementaryschool.TWG isconsideredtohavequiteanimportantroletosupporttheabilityofelementaryschoolteachersto be able to measure the inquiry-based science learning process in elementary schools,although the role of TWG has not been optimum yet (Akiba,Murata, Howard, &Wilkinson,2019). Attending scientific activities (e.g. seminars, conferences, writing books and otherforums)isstatedtobesufficientlyimportantforelementaryschoolteacherstoassistthemindeveloping theability tobeable tomeasure the inquiry-based learningprocessofscience inelementaryschools(Öberg&Campbell,2019). Thefactorsthatinhibitthereadinessofteacherstomeasuretheinquiry-basedsciencelearningprocessinelementaryschoolswerecollectedbyaskingquestions/statementswhichincluded:(1)Lackofunderstandingtotheimportanceoftheabilitytomeasurethemasteryofstudentconceptsbasedon inquiry-basedscience learningprocesses; (2)Thenumberofmaterialsorscienceconceptsthatstudentsmustmasterinonesemesterorinoneyear,sothatthetimetocarryoutthelearningprocessbasedoninquirycouldnotbecarriedoutproperly;(3)Limitedteaching aids or facilities and infrastructure to support the science learning process wasconsideredasanobstacletodelivertheinquiry-basedlearningprocessinelementaryschool;(4)Lackofadequatetrainingtomeasurethemasteryofinquiryscienceconceptsinelementaryschools; (5) There was a laziness or reluctance to develop questions based on the inquiry-basedlearningprocessinelementaryschools;and(6)Moretime,energy,andmaterialsupport



wereneeded if the teacherwanted tomeasure the ability of students basedon the inquiry-basedsciencelearningprocessinelementaryschool.Thedistributionofrespondents’answerstothesequestionscanbeseeninTable5.Ingeneral,elementaryteachers’responsestofactorsthat inhibit thereadinessof teacherstomeasure inquiry-basedscience learningprocesses inelementaryschoolscanbeseeninFigure3.

Figure3.

Teachers’ResponsestowardtheFactorswhichInhibittheReadinesstoMeasuretheProcessofInquiry-BasedScienceLearninginElementarySchool

Laziness or reluctance to develop questions based on the inquiry-based learningprocessinelementaryschoolswascategorizedtobeanobstacleintheirreadinesstomeasureinquiry-based learning processes in elementary schools. In addition,more time, energy, andmaterialsupportareneedediftheteacherswanttomeasuretheabilityofstudentsbasedonthe inquiry-based science learning process in elementary schools (Le Hebel, Tiberghien,Montpied, & Fontanieu, 2019). Similar obstacles are also found from the results of a study(Istianto, 2012) entitled “The Use of Inquiry Methods in Improving Mathematics LearningOutcomesinClassVofElementarySchools”whichstatedthattheobstaclesthatariseinclude:(1)thelearninghabitsofsomestudentswhoarestillteacher-centered(conventional),(2)thetimeusedinlearningisnoteffective,(3)thelearningresourcesofstudentsaremostlybook-oriented,andtherearestudentswhohavealearningdelay,sotheyhavenotbeenabletolearnontheirownintheactivitieswhicharecarriedoutbyinquiry-basedlearning.Inlinewiththeresults of the previous study, the weaknesses of the inquiry method include: (1) adequatefacilitiesneeded,(2)thedifficultyofchangingconventionaltoactivelearningmethod,(3)thefreedom given by teachers is sometimes not optimally utilized by students, so the learningprocesstakelongertimeandineffective(Vorholzer&vonAufschnaiter,2019). Theeffortsmadebyteacherstodevelopassessmenttoolstomeasurethemasteryofscienceconceptsthroughtheinquiry-basedlearningprocessinelementaryschoolswereobtainedbyaskingquestions/statementswhich include:(1)Usingquestionsthatwerefullydownloadedfrom the lesson plans available on the internet; (2) Adopting ormaking adjustments to thedownloaded questions from the lesson plans available on the internet; (3) Developingquestions by yourself tomeasure themastery of science concept through the inquiry-basedlearningprocessinelementaryschools;(4)WorkplansandtrainingplansintheTWGstronglysupportedyoutocarryouttheinquiry-basedlearningprocess;(5)TheTWGplayedaroleineffortstoimproveyourabilitytodeveloplessonplansorinquiry-basedlearningimprovementplans inelementaryschools; (6)TWGhadarole in increasingyourability toapply ideas forimplementing improved learningprocesses in theclassroom;and(7)TheTWGhadarole inimprovingyourability toplan test instrumentsandapply themtoyourstudents. Ingeneral,elementary school teachers’ responses to their efforts in developing assessment tools to



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measure the mastery of science concepts through inquiry-based learning processes inelementaryschoolscanbeseeninFigure4.

Figure4.

Teachers’EffortsinDevelopingAssessmentToolstoMeasuretheMasteryofScienceConceptsThroughInquiry-BasedLearningProcessesinElementarySchools

Figure4generallyshowedasatisfyingresponse.Mostteachersdevelopedtheirownquestionstomeasurethemasteryofscienceconceptthroughtheinquiry-basedlearningprocesstocarryout the inquiry-based learning process and to apply ideas to plan and implementimprovements to the learningprocess in class. Someof the effortswhichhadbeenmade todevelop the ability of teachers to develop assessment toolswere looking at assessment andteaching-learning activities in an integrated manner. The teacher can carry out variousassessment strategies within the teaching program to provide various types of informationabout student learning outcomes (Lee, Baker, & Haywood, 2018). The teachers need toconsider various special needs of students. In compiling the assessment instruments thefollowingitemsshouldbeconsidered,amongothers(1)Material,forexamplethesuitabilityofthe questions with basic competencies and indicators of achievement at the curriculum ofeducationunitlevel;(2)Construction,forexampletheformulationofquestionsoritemswhichmust be clear; (3) Language, for example the formulation of questions does not usewords/sentencesthatleadtodoubleinterpretation;(4)Writingrules,mustbeguidedbytherulesofwriting standard questions fromvarious forms of assessment questions (Vrieling, Stijnen,&Bastiaens,2018).Theroleofschoolprincipals/supervisors/assessors/peerstosupportteachers’readinessindeveloping assessment tools tomeasure the science conceptmastery through inquiry-basedlearningprocessesinelementaryschoolswasobtainedbyaskingquestions/statementswhichincluded: (1) Interactionbetweenteachersandpeers in thewasveryuseful todevelopyourskillssothatyoucouldcarryouttheinquiry-basedlearningprocesswellinelementaryschool;(2)Competencyofsupervisor/assessordirectlywhichwasrelatedto the implementationoflearning in elementary school influenced your readiness to be able to carry out learningprocesswellinelementaryschool;(3)Thedirectionandguidanceofthesupervisor/assessorsupportsmetomakeaplanforimprovinglearningprocessandassessmentwellinelementaryschool;and(4)ThefacilitiesandinfrastructureavailableattheTWGsupportedmetobeableto carry out learning well in elementary school. In general, elementary school teacher’responses to role of school principals/ supervisors/ assessors/ peers to support teachers’readiness in developing assessment tools to measure the science concept mastery throughinquiry-basedlearningprocessesinelementaryschoolscanbeseeninFigure5.



Figure5.

Teachers’ResponsestowardRoleofSchoolPrincipals,Supervisors,Assessors,PeerstoSupportTeachers’ReadinessinDevelopingAssessmentToolstoMeasuretheScienceConceptMastery

ThroughInquiry-BasedLearningProcessesinElementarySchools

Elementaryschoolteachersstatedthatschoolprincipals,supervisors,colleaguesfromboththesameelementary school andpeers fromdifferent elementary schoolshas a role for them toimprovetheirabilitieseventhoughit isnotoptimumyet(Ndibalema,2019).The interactionbetweenteachersandpeersintheTWGisveryusefultodeveloptheirabilitiessothattheycancarry out assessments to measure the mastery of the concept of inquiry-based science inelementary schools (Reddy, Glover, Kurz, & Elliott, 2019). The competency of schoolprincipals/ supervisors who are directly related to the implementation of learning inelementary school influences the readiness to be able to prepare the inquiry-based scienceproblemwell inelementaryschools.Guidance fromprincipals/supervisorssupport teachersto be able to produce assessment tools tomeasuremastery of the concept of science-basedinquiryproperlyinelementaryschools(Wong&Daud,2017).Thefacilitiesandinfrastructureavailable at the TWG can support teachers to be able to arrange inquiry-based sciencequestionswellinelementaryschools(Bolinger&Burch,2018).

CONCLUSIONThis research showed that sciencewas an interesting subjectmatter to teach in elementaryschool.However, some teachers stated that sciencematerialswerequitedifficult to teach inelementaryschool.Sciencerequiredthestudentstobeactiveinthelearningprocesstofindtheconcepts theywere learning.Teaching inquiry-basedsciencerequired teachers to takemoretimetopreparethelessonplan,toolsandlearningmaterials(scienceequipment).Thefactorsthat supported the readiness of teachers to measure the learning process of inquiry-basedscienceinelementaryschools,amongotherstheyhadsufficientabilitytodeveloplessonplanswhich were inquiry-oriented and peers who played an important role so that they couldmeasure the learning process. The teachers’ working groupwas also considered to play animportantroleinsupportingtheabilityofelementaryschoolteacherstomeasuretheinquiry-based science learning process in elementary schools. Some of the obstacles of teachers inassessingthelearningprocessandoutcomeswerethelackofunderstandingtotheimportanceoftheabilitytomeasurethemasteryofstudentconceptsbasedontheinquiry-basedsciencelearning process in elementary schools, the insufficient time allocation for inquiry-basedlearning processes, limited teaching aids or facilities and infrastructure. Some of the effortsthathavebeenmadebyteacherstodevelopassessmenttoolstomeasurestudents’masteryofscience concepts were to use questions whichwere fully downloaded from the lesson planavailable on the internet, develop their own questions to measure the mastery of scienceconcepts through inquiry-based learning process in elementary school, and utilize the TWG



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