Improving Teachers’ Knowledge of Designing Deep Learning Through an Ethnopedagogy-Based E-LKPD and Zep Quiz Program in Junior High School

Abstract

Competency in designing deep learning is essential for implementing the Merdeka Curriculum, yet teachers in 3T (frontier, outermost, underdeveloped) regions have limited access to sustained professional development. Preliminary interviews showed 16 of 20 teachers (80%) could not integrate local wisdom into lesson design. This study examined improvement in teachers' knowledge of designing deep learning after a programme using ethnopedagogy-based E-LKPD integrated with Zep Quiz. A pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design was applied to 20 teachers at SMP Negeri 2 Tiakur, Maluku Barat Daya, through total sampling. The programme comprised eight sessions in three stages totalling 420 minutes. Data from a 20-item knowledge test, observation sheet, response questionnaire, and Zep Quiz were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (primary), paired t-test, effect sizes, and N-Gain. Mean knowledge scores rose from 7.00 to 14.45 (Z = −3.94, p < 0.001, r = 0.88) with large effects (dz = 3.61, dav = 2.93) and a moderate mean N-Gain of 0.59. Engagement reached 94.25% (high) and teacher responses 92.50% (very practical). The programme is associated with knowledge improvement within the group, but causal effectiveness cannot be established without a control group. Implications: this low-cost seven-hour programme offers a professional development alternative for 3T schools, pending tests with comparison designs.