Improving Grade 4 Students’ Achievement in Mixed Arithmetic Operations through Problem-Based Learning and Wayground: A Classroom Action Research Study

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the optimization of learning outcomes in mixed arithmetic operations through the integration of the Problem-Based Learning model and Wayground as a learning medium for fourth-grade students at SD Al Irsyad Surakarta. This classroom action research employed the Kemmis and McTaggart spiral model and was conducted in two cycles consisting of planning, action, observation, and reflection stages. The research participants were 27 fourth-grade students. Data were collected through observation, tests, and documentation, and were subsequently analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The initial cognitive assessment showed a class average score of 51.9, with student scores ranging from 7 to 87. Following the implementation of the integrated PBL and Wayground approach, the class average increased to 59.7 in Cycle I, with a learning mastery rate of 44.4%, and then to 77.5 in Cycle II, with a learning mastery rate of 74.1%, representing an increase of 29.7 percentage points. Differentiated instruction based on the initial assessment results also supported improved achievement among lower-performing students. However, improvement was not yet evenly distributed in multi-step word problems and more complex combinations of operations; therefore, continuous practice with multistep problems is required. Thus, the integration of the PBL model and Wayground effectively optimized fourth-grade students' learning outcomes in mixed arithmetic operations.