Ibrahim, Nurwahidah, Ni Made Yeni Suranti, Nurkhaerat Alimuddin, Bahtiar, Maimun, Rangga Alif Faresta, Ismit Hi Karim, Trisno Setiawan
This study addresses the "pedagogical digital gap" by proposing a shift from using technology for content delivery ("scanning") to cognitive support ("scaffolding"). It investigates the effectiveness of a QR-Code Integrated Inquiry model on pre-service primary teachers' critical thinking skills. Employing a quasi-experimental design with 60 participants, data were analyzed using ANCOVA. Findings revealed a highly significant difference (F(1.57) = 847.61, p < .01) between groups. The experimental group achieved a notably higher adjusted mean (57.43) compared to the control group (34.88), with a massive effect size (np2 = .94). The intervention successfully reduced extraneous cognitive load, facilitating deep reasoning consistently across genders and science topics. The study concludes that re-engineering simple technology as scaffolding creates a robust, inclusive learning ecosystem for teacher education. © 2025 The Authors.
Elementary School Teacher Education, University of Mataram, Indonesia; Physics Education, Universitas Islam Negeri Mataram, Mataram, Indonesia; Elementary Madrasah Teacher Education, Universitas Islam Negeri Mataram, Mataram, Indonesia; Department of Digital Learning, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Teaching and Curriculum, Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States; Physics Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
