Enhancing Students’ Collaboration Skills Through Gallery Walk-Based Science Learning: A Classroom Action Research In Grade IX

Abstract

This classroom action research aimed to improve the collaboration skills of Grade IX students at SMP Negeri 3 Makassar in science learning on environmental issues, specifically the energy and food crisis sub-topics, through the Gallery Walk method integrated within a Problem-Based Learning sequence. The study was conducted in two cycles, each comprising planning, action, observation, and reflection stages, involving 36 Grade IX students. Collaboration skills were assessed through an observation rubric covering six indicators (effective communication, active participation, shared responsibility, respect for peers' opinions, cooperation in completing tasks, and conflict management), while a separate student-response questionnaire measured perceptions of the Gallery Walk method. The average collaboration skills score increased from 15.75 (65.6%, Skilled category) in Cycle I to 23.25 (96.9%, Very Skilled category) in Cycle II, following refinements that clarified role division, provided gallery-visit assessment guidelines, and reinforced student motivation. All students (100%) reported strong agreement across the response-questionnaire items, indicating positive perceptions of the method; this result reflects perception rather than a measure of collaboration-skill achievement and should not be treated as additional evidence of effectiveness. Given the single-group, two-cycle design without a comparison condition, the findings indicate a substantial increase in observed collaboration skills across cycles following the Gallery Walk-based intervention, rather than a definitively proven causal effect.