Improving Students’ Scientific Writing Skills through Discovery Learning in Science Learning: A Systematic Review
DOI:
10.29303/jppipa.v11i5.6789Published:
2025-05-31Issue:
Vol. 11 No. 5 (2025): MayKeywords:
Discovery learning model, Science learning, Scientific writing skillsReview
Downloads
How to Cite
Downloads
Metrics
Abstract
Scientific writing skills are essential for students to express ideas or thoughts in various media such as practicum reports. This skills can be trained through the implementation of learning models that can empower science process skills, namely discovery learning. This study aims to analyse various articles related to the implementation of discovery learning models in science learning to improve students' scientific writing skills. This research is a systematic review with the PRISMA method using the keywords "discovery learning" and "writing skills" during the last 10 years. There are 7 articles via Scopus reviewed from 2013 – 2023. The results of the systematic review analysis showed that the implementation of the discovery learning model in science learning can improve students' scientific writing skills that consist of various aspect and criteria. Students' learning activities in each syntax of discovery learning are suitable to empower each aspect of this skills. The systematic review of various articles on the implementation of the discovery learning model is expected to be a reference for science teachers, especially in learning biology to improve students' scientific writing skills.
References
Bäckryd, E., Ghafouri, B., Carlsson, A. K., Olausson, P., & Gerdle, B. 2015. Multivariate proteomic analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with peripheral neuropathic pain and healthy controls – A hypothesis-generating pilot study. Journal of Pain Research, 8: 321–333. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S82970
Balta, E. 2018. The Relationships Among Writing Skills, Writing Anxiety and Metacognitive Awareness. Journal of Education and Learning, 7(3): 233. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v7n3p233
Bopegedera, A. M. R. P. 2021. Student-Driven, Curriculum-Embedded Undergraduate Research Experiences (SD-CUREs) in the Senior Chemistry Curriculum and its Impact on Students. Journal of Chemical Education, 98(8): 2549–2558. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01140
Carr, J. M. 2013. Using a collaborative critiquing technique to develop chemistry students’ technical writing skills. Journal of Chemical Education, 90(6): 751–754. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed2007982
Cetin, P. S., & Eymur, G. 2017. Developing Students’ Scientific Writing and Presentation Skills through Argument Driven Inquiry: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(7): 837–843. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00915
Chen, W. 2018. Introduction to Research: A New Course for First-Year Undergraduate Students. Journal of Chemical Education, 95(9): 1526–1532. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00102
Chuang, S. 2021. The Applications of Constructivist Learning Theory and Social Learning Theory on Adult Continuous Development. Performance Improvement, 60(3): 6–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21963
Dale H. Schunk. 2012. Learning Theories An Educational Perspective. In Pearson (6 Edition). Pearson. www.pearsonhighered.com
Druckman, D., & Ebner, N. 2018. Discovery Learning in Management Education: Design and Case Analysis. Journal of Management Education, 42(3): 347–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562917720710
Fang, Z., & Wang, Z. 2011. Beyond rubrics : Using functional language analysis to evaluate student writing. 34(2): 147–165.
Fernando, S. Y., & Marikar, F. M. 2017. Constructivist Teaching/Learning Theory and Participatory Teaching Methods. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 6(1): 110. https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v6n1p110
Greenberg, K. P. 2015. Rubric Use in Formative Assessment: A Detailed Behavioral Rubric Helps Students Improve Their Scientific Writing Skills. Teaching of Psychology, 42(3): 211–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628315587618
Harvey, S., Pill, S., & Almond, L. 2018. Old wine in new bottles: a response to claims that teaching games for understanding was not developed as a theoretically based pedagogical framework. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 23(2): 166–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2017.1359526
Haryono, A., & Adam, C. 2021. The implementation of mini-research project to train undergraduate students’ scientific writing and communication skills. JPBI (Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi Indonesia), 7(2): 159–170. https://doi.org/10.22219/jpbi.v7i2.15838
Hutabarat, H., Elindra, R., & Harahap, M. S. 2022. Analisis Penerapan Kurikulum Merdeka Belajar Di Sma Negeri Sekota Padangsidimpuan. Jurnal MathEdu (Mathematic Education Journal), 5(3): 58–69. http://journal.ipts.ac.id/index.php/
Iftanti, E. 2016. Improving Students’ Writing Skills Through Writing Journal Articles. Lingua Acientia, 8(1).
Krishnamoorthy, R. 2023. Intra-action analysis of emergent science phenomena: examining meaning-making with the more than human in science classrooms. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 18(3): 853–877. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-023-10148-5
Lavi, R., Tal, M., & Dori, Y. J. 2021. Perceptions of STEM alumni and students on developing 21st century skills through methods of teaching and learning. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 70, 101002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101002
McLure, F. 2023. The Thinking Frames Approach: Improving High School Students’ Written Explanations of Phenomena in Science. Research in Science Education, 53(1): 173–191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-022-10052-y
Musdizal, & Hartono, R. 2020. The influence of discovery learning method and video on students‟ writing skill. International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research, 9(1): 1152–1155.
Njoo, M., & De Jong, T. 1993. Exploratory learning with a computer simulation for control theory: Learning processes and instructional support. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30(8): 821–844. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660300803
Oppenheimer, D., Zaromb, F., Pomerantz, J. R., Williams, J. C., & Park, Y. S. 2017. Improvement of writing skills during college: A multi-year cross-sectional and longitudinal study of undergraduate writing performance. Assessing Writing, 32: 12–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2016.11.001
Owen, G. R., Whalley, N., & Brenner, E. 2023. Lost in ‘translation’? A set of writing workshops improves Molecular Medicine Honours students’ perceptions of their scientific report writing skills. Journal of Biological Education, 57(3): 647–667. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2021.1941186
Pandey, D. S. 2020. Implementing Gagne’s Events of Instruction in MBA Classroom: Reflections and Reporting. International Journal of Management Research and Social Science, 7(3): 56–61. https://doi.org/10.30726/ijmrss/v7.i3.2020.73011
Peixoto, B., Pinto, R., Melo, M., Cabral, L., & Bessa, M. 2021. Immersive virtual reality for foreign language education: A PRISMA systematic review. IEEE Access, 9: 48952–48962. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3068858
Pisano, A., Crawford, A., Huffman, H., Graham, B., & Kelp, N. 2021. Development and Validation of a Universal Science Writing Rubric That is Applicable to Diverse Genres of Science Writing. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00189-21
Rauschenbach, I., Keddis, R., & Davis, D. 2018. Poster Development and Presentation to Improve Scientific Inquiry and Broaden Effective Scientific Communication Skills. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 19(1): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.1511
Sari, Y. I., Sumarmi, Utomo, D. H., & Astina, I. K. 2021. The Effect of Problem Based Learning on Problem Solving and Scientific Writing Skills. International Journal of Instruction, 14(2): 11–26. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2021.1422a
Scott, K. A., Marciniak, A., Benson, W. G., & Polt, R. 2020. Lessons in Stereochemistry: Resolution, Synthesis, and Characterization of Chiral Compounds. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(12): 4339–4344. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00434
Suardana, I. N., Redhana, I. W., Sudiatmika, A. A. I. A. R., & Selamat, I. N. 2018. Students’ critical thinking skills in chemistry learning using local culture-based 7E learning cycle model. International Journal of Instruction, 11(2): 399–412. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2018.11227a
Suprayogi, S., Pranoto, B. E., Budiman, A., Maulana, B., & Swastika, G. B. 2021. Pengembangan Keterampilan Menulis Siswa SMAN 1 Semaka Melalui Web Sekolah. Madaniya, 2(3): 283–294. https://doi.org/10.53696/27214834.92
Timmermana, B. E. C., Strickland, D. C., Johnson, R. L., & Paynec, J. R. 2011. Development of a “universal” rubric for assessing undergraduates’ scientific reasoning skills using scientific writing. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(5): 509–547. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930903540991
Turiman, P., Omar, J., Daud, A. M., & Osman, K. 2012. Fostering the 21st Century Skills through Scientific Literacy and Science Process Skills. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 59: 110–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.253
Valero Haro, A., Noroozi, O., Biemans, H. J. A., & Mulder, M. 2019. The effects of an online learning environment with worked examples and peer feedback on students’ argumentative essay writing and domain-specific knowledge acquisition in the field of biotechnology. Journal of Biological Education, 53(4): 390–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2018.1472132
Veermans, K. 2003. Intelligent support for discovery learning. Twente University Press.
Wan Husin, W. N. F., Mohamad Arsad, N., Othman, O., Halim, L., Rasul, M. S., Osman, K., & Iksan, Z. 2016. Fostering students’ 21st century skills through project oriented problem based learning (Popbl) in integrated stem education program. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 17(1).
Wang, J., Shimada, A., Oi, M., Ogata, H., & Tabata, Y. 2023. Development and evaluation of a visualization system to support meaningful e-book learning. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(2): 836–853. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1813178
Wartono, W., Hudha, M. N., & Batlolona, J. R. 2018. How are the physics critical thinking skills of the students taught by using inquiry-discovery through empirical and theorethical overview? Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(2): 691–697. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/80632
Wheeler, L. B., Clark, C. P., & Grisham, C. M. 2017. Transforming a Traditional Laboratory to an Inquiry-Based Course: Importance of Training TAs when Redesigning a Curriculum. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(8): 1019–1026. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00831
Woo, W. H. 2016. Using gagne’s instructional model in phlebotomy education. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 7: 511–516. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S110357
Author Biographies
Opik Prasetyo, Sebelas Maret University
Bowo Sugiharto, Universitas Sebelas Maret
Harlita, Universitas Sebelas Maret
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Opik Prasetyo, Bowo Sugiharto, Harlita
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY License). This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, web sites, blogs, and other platforms by providing an appropriate reference. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
