Exploration of students’ conceptual understanding in static fluid through experiential learning integrated STEM with formative assessment

One of the main goals in learning physics is that students are able to understand concepts correctly. Students who understand the concepts correctly will be able to understand theoretically and apply the concept in solving various problems. However, students still have difficulties in understanding concepts, one of them is the static fluid. The aim of this study was to explore increasing students’ understanding of concepts through experiential learning integrated STEM with formative assessment. The employed was a mixed-method with an embedded experimental model. This study involved 36 students from class XI Natural Science and used the Conceptual Understanding Test with 12 multiple-choice questions with the reliability of 0.762. Analyze were performed quantitatively based on pre-test and post-test data using descriptive statistics, paired sample t-test, N-gain and effect size. At the same time, the qualitative data obtained in the form of students’ reasons, interviews, and observations were analyzed by data reduction, coding, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The results showed that there was a significant change in students’ conceptual understanding, with an N-gain score of 0.56 (moderate category), and effect size score of 3.46 (strong category). Moreover, it was also known that students had difficulty in determining the magnitude of hydrostatic pressure, using the pressure equation in applying Pascal’s law, and determining the magnitude of buoyancy force on objects immersed in the fluid. However, an increase in students’ understanding of the concept of static fluid indicates that experiential learning integrated STEM with formative assessment can be used in learning.