<![CDATA[Penelitian ini menyelidiki hubungan antara pemahaman konsep kimia mahasiswa dan kinerja mereka dalam eksperimen laboratorium, dengan fokus pada keterampilan berpikir tingkat tinggi (HOTS) seperti analisis, evaluasi, dan kreasi. Penguasaan konsep diukur melalui lima soal esai dengan skala rubrik, dan validitas butir tes diperiksa menggunakan Corrected Item-Total Correlation, di mana semua butir dinyatakan valid. Analisis data menggunakan korelasi Pearson menunjukkan korelasi positif yang cukup kuat (r = 0,612, p = 0,005) antara pemahaman konsep dan kinerja laboratorium. Penelitian ini juga mengungkap bahwa pemahaman konsep meningkatkan keterampilan proses sains seperti pengamatan, interpretasi data, klasifikasi, komunikasi, dan perumusan hipotesis. Temuan ini menyarankan bahwa pembelajaran berbasis konsep dan interaktif dapat meningkatkan kinerja laboratorium mahasiswa, dengan implikasi pedagogis bagi pendidik untuk memprioritaskan integrasi teori dan praktik dalam pengajaran kimia. Â This study examines the relationship between students' understanding of chemical concepts and their performance in laboratory experiments, with a focus on higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), including analysis, evaluation, and creation. Concept mastery was assessed through five essay questions using a rubric scale, and the validity of the test items was examined using the Corrected Item-Total Correlation, with all items deemed valid. Data analysis using Pearson correlation revealed a moderately strong positive correlation (r = 0.612, p = 0.005) between concept understanding and laboratory performance. The study also found that concept mastery enhances students' integrated science process skills, such as observation, data interpretation, classification, communication, and hypothesis formulation. These findings suggest that concept-based and interactive learning can improve students' laboratory performance, with pedagogical implications for educators to prioritize the integration of theory and practice in chemistry instruction.]]>
