The animal macroanatomy practicum’s evaluation based on science process skills, science literacy, critical thinking, and conceptual understanding

ABSTRACT

Systematic evaluation is essential to determine whether learning objectives are achieved and to assess the contribution of laboratory activities to the quality of biology education. However, empirical evidence regarding students’ scientific process skills, science literacy, critical thinking abilities, and conceptual understanding in animal macroanatomy practicums at the University of Timor remains limited. This study aimed to analyze students’ scientific process skills, science literacy, critical thinking abilities, and conceptual understanding as part of an evaluation of the implementation of an animal macroanatomy practicum in the Biology Education program at the University of Timor. This study employed a descriptive quantitative research design to examine these competencies through structured observation instruments and validated questionnaires. The research procedure consisted of five stages: data collection, data reduction, data presentation, triangulation, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicated that the animal macroanatomy practicum was generally effective in enhancing students’ scientific competencies. Mean scores showed that students achieved skilled to high levels across all assessed domains, including science process skills (67,40%), science literacy (65,54%), critical thinking skills (64,67%), and conceptual understanding (61,86%). Students demonstrated strong performance in experimental planning, observation, questioning, and interpretation, as well as in science literacy related to investigation, reasoning, and the science–technology–society context. Critical thinking was most prominent in basic explanation and foundational skills, while conceptual understanding was strongest in interpretation, exemplification, and classification. These results suggest that animal macroanatomy practicum activities contribute substantially to the development of fundamental scientific competencies and support the integration of theoretical knowledge with empirical observation.