Ethnoscience-PjBL for Water Pollution Treatment: Enhancing Chemistry Environmental Understanding and Mathematical Reasoning through Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17977/um065.v6.i5.2026.10Keywords:
ABR, Environmental, EthnoscienceAbstract
Water pollution from heavy metals, organics, and pathogens severely threatens ecosystems and public health, yet chemistry education often remains theoretical, limiting students' grasp of wastewater treatment and quantitative reasoning skills. This study aims to enhance undergraduate students' environmental chemistry understanding covering pollutant characteristics, treatment mechanisms, and Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) functions and mathematical reasoning through data interpretation, calculations, and modeling via Ethnoscience-Project Based Learning (Ethnoscience-PjBL) integrated with ABR, compared to conventional PjBL. Employing a quasi-experimental design with 74 East Java undergraduates (experimental n=38, control n=36), pre/post-tests, N-Gain analysis, normality (Shapiro-Wilk), homogeneity (Levene's), and ANCOVA (pretest covariate) were used. Results showed the experimental group significantly outperformed controls in chemistry understanding (adjusted mean 85.2 vs. 68.8; difference 16.4, Cohen's d=1.48, large effect; F=4.088, p=0.009), achieving 78.9% COD reduction, pH stabilization from 5.2 to 6.8, and robust reasoning. In conclusion, Ethnoscience-PjBL-ABR bridges local wisdom with engineering, fostering integrated cognitive skills for sustainable pollution solutions and warranting adoption in chemistry curricula worldwide.References
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