<![CDATA[This study was motivated by the low levels of students' conceptual understanding and learning independence. Consequently, there is a need for instructional innovation through the implementation of learning media capable of fostering a more active and meaningful learning process. This study aimed to examine changes in fifth-grade students' conceptual understanding of IPAS and learning independence following the implementation of Matching Puzzle learning media. A quantitative approach was employed using a pre-experimental method with a One-Group Pretest-Posttest design. The study involved 26 fifth-grade students from UPTD SDN Batangan 1. Data were collected through a conceptual-understanding test and a learning-independence questionnaire, both of which had undergone validity and reliability testing. The data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk normality test on the pretest-posttest difference scores. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for conceptual understanding because the difference scores were not normally distributed, while the paired-samples t-test was used for learning independence because the difference scores were normally distributed. The results showed a significant difference in students' conceptual understanding based on the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p = .001). The mean conceptual-understanding score increased from 34.61 in the pretest to 92.30 in the posttest. The paired-samples t-test also showed a significant difference in learning independence (p = .001), with the mean score increasing from 17.30 to 30.11. These findings indicate changes in students' conceptual understanding and learning independence following the implementation of Matching Puzzle learning media in Grade V IPAS learning.]]>
