Innovative Science Learning through the “Time Machine” Project: Fostering Causality Concepts and Ethical Actions in Elementary Education

Abstract

This study aims to describe of implementing the "Time Machine" project in improving fourth-grade elementary school students' ability to analyze chain causality and ethical actions in science learning. This study employed a descriptive qualitative method conducted over one learning cycle at one of public elementary school, involving a fourth-grade homeroom teachers, students, and the school principal as research subjects. Data were collected through interviews and structured observations using an observation sheet as the primary instrument, supported by interview guidelines directed at the classroom teacher and principal. Data analysis followed the interactive model, encompassing three stages: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The results indicate that prior to the project implementation, students were only able to identify direct cause-and-effect relationships and limited their ethical judgments to simple right-or-wrong assessments. Following the implementation of the "Time Machine" project, students demonstrated a significant transition in causal reasoning, progressing from identifying immediate causes to constructing systemic causality by predicting chain consequences of actions on the present ecosystem. Furthermore, students' ethical discussions shifted from simple normative responses to in-depth consequentialist analysis, evidenced by their ability to evaluate the moral value of actions based on projected universal impacts. It is concluded that the "Time Machine" project is an effective and authentic learning framework that simultaneously supports the achievement of the critical reasoning and noble moral dimensions of the Pancasila student profile, in alignment with the demands of Indonesia's independent curriculum.