The effectiveness of the kit portable PLC on electrical motors course among vocational school students in Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

This research aims to test the effect of the kit Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) on the achievement of vocational school students' competencies in electrical motor control courses for form 3 students in Aceh, Indonesia. Constructivist theory and Bloom's Taxonomy are referenced in this study in relation to learning. While the ADDIE model is used in relation to product development. This study used a quasi -experimental design with pre- and post -tests. The population (N = 333) in this study was level 3 vocational students in Aceh, Indonesia. The number of samples was 98 people, consisting of the experimental group (n = 50) and the control group (n = 48) selected by cluster random technique. The instruments used in this study included pre- and post -test interview protocols. The values of the KR20 reliability coefficient of the question items on the knowledge aspect were 0.97 and 0.81 on the skills aspect. The results of the descriptive analysis found that the experimental group (mean = 64.08; SD = 4.548) showed better competency achievement than the control group (mean = 63.06; SD = 5.487). The result of hypothesis test using Mann Whitney test is [Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) = .000, p <0.05] which means that the teaching aids developed have successfully had a positive effect in improving the achievement of student competencies. The implications of this study have produced a teaching aid that can be used as a template by teachers to build teaching aids that are more affordable, easy and safe to use so that they can be motivated to innovate in learning and become a new career opportunity. Given that the Covid-19 epidemic has affected face-to-face learning, the proposal for further research is the need to integrate logic control programming (PLC) learning aids into a technology-based learning trend. Researchers, on the other hand, suggest a broader scope of study whether teachers and students in a wider area and other fields of knowledge related to the utilization of PLC programming.