Indonesian Journal of Elementary and Childhood Education
Vol. 6 No. 4 (2025): Edisi Desember 2025

Implementation of Discovery Learning to Enhance Early Childhood Cognitive Development in Science Education

Ulul Audia Azmi (Department of Early Childhood Teacher Education, University of Mataram)
Gunawan Gunawan (Department of Physics Education, University of Mataram)
Nurhasanah Nurhasanah (Department of Early Childhood Teacher Education, University of Mataram)
Filsa Era Sativa (Department of Early Childhood Teacher Education, University of Mataram)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Dec 2025

Abstract

The issue of low cognitive ability in understanding science concepts is frequently encountered in early childhood education institutions, where instruction often tends to be passive. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of implementing the Discovery Learning method in science instruction to enhance the cognitive abilities of children aged 5–6 years at TK Dewi Seruni, Ampenan, Mataram City. This research employed a quasi-experimental method with a one-group pretest-posttest design. The sample consisted of 20 children from Group B. Data were collected through observation using standard cognitive development instruments, treatment implementation, and documentation. Data analysis included normality tests, homogeneity tests, and hypothesis testing using the Paired Sample T-test. The prerequisite test results indicated that the data were normally distributed and homogeneous. Hypothesis testing revealed a Sig. (2-tailed) value of 0.000 < 0.05 with a t-count of -17.706, indicating a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores. Additionally, an N-gain score of 0.30 was obtained, falling into the medium category. It was concluded that the Discovery Learning method has a significant and effective influence on improving early childhood cognitive development in science instruction, as it facilitates children's active involvement in concept discovery.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijece

Publisher

Subject

Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences Other

Description

Indonesian Journal of Elementary and Childhood Education (IJECE) merupakan jurnal ilmiah peer-reviewed yang didedikasikan sebagai platform diseminasi hasil pemikiran dan penelitian bagi mahasiswa, guru, dosen, praktisi, serta peneliti. Jurnal ini berfokus pada pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan di bidang ...