Differentiated learning is a fundamental aspect of the Independent Curriculum, officially adopted as Indonesia’s national curriculum in the 2024/2025 academic year. Although the curriculum promotes adaptive and inclusive learning tailored to individual student needs, its implementation in Social Studies (IPS) instruction in middle schools in Semarang City encounters significant challenges. This study evaluates the application of differentiated learning strategies, focusing on planning, implementation, and evaluation stages while identifying obstacles faced by teachers. A mixed-methods approach with an embedded concurrent design was employed, combining quantitative data from ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests with qualitative insights from interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. Data were collected from four representative schools, with Sekolah Mandiri Berbagi emerging as a model for effective implementation through innovative and adaptive instructional strategies. The findings indicate that schools with comprehensive planning and responsive implementation achieve better learning outcomes. However, challenges such as insufficient teacher training, limited resources, and time constraints hinder the overall effectiveness of differentiated learning. These results underscore the need for strengthening teacher competencies, improving educational infrastructure, and adopting more adaptive teaching approaches. This study offers actionable insights to enhance differentiated instruction under the Independent Curriculum, contributing to educational reform in Indonesia.

This study aims to develop an assessment instrument for critical thinking skills in elementary school science lessons on the topic of Earth's changes, in the form of essay questions that are tested for validity and reliability. The measurement of critical thinking skills uses indicators based on Ennis' framework, which includes providing simple explanations, building basic skills, concluding, providing further explanations, and setting strategies and tactics. The subjects of this study were 28 students from SDN 02 Pekiringanalit, Pekalongan Regency. Data analysis techniques involved content validity testing using Aiken's index. The validity of the assessment instrument was tested using the Rasch Model with the Ministep program to determine validity, calculate reliability, and obtain Cronbach's alpha values. This research is developmental research that applies the 4D development model, simplified into three steps: define, design, and development. The results showed that the critical thinking assessment instrument in the form of essay test questions received an Aiken's content and language validity index of 0.96, which falls into the very valid category. The validity per item obtained an Aiken's index of 0.89, placing it in the high validity category. The item analysis using the Rasch Model yielded a person reliability coefficient of 0.69 and 0.72, which is in the sufficient category. The item reliability was 0.86 and 0.87, which is considered good, and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.77, also considered good.
 

The socioeconomic circumstances of a community can be positively impacted by the presence of tourism. The primary goal of advancing the tourism sector in the Borobudur Sub District area is now the growth of Super Priority Temple Tourism. More research is still necessary to fully comprehend the development's socioeconomic effects on the neighborhood. Analyzing the social and economic effects of the Borobudur Temple's high-priority tourism growth on the Borobudur Subdistrict community is the aim of this study. Qualitative research methodologies are used in this study. The Borobudur Sub District is the site of the study. The community, the secretary of the Borobudur Sub-District Head, and the tourism manager of the Borobudur Temple serve as the research's informants. Techniques for gathering data include documentation, interviews, and observation. The Modernization theory of Walt Whitman Rostow was the theory employed in this study. The study's findings demonstrate the favorable social effects of Borobudur Temple's top priority tourism growth, specifically higher levels of education and established collaboration. The economic impact on the community, on the other hand, is a rise in income as a result of more job openings, a wider range of employment options, and the emergence of new business ideas from the community. It is suggested that the expansion of Borobudur Temple as a top tourist destination necessitates coordination with other nearby tourist attractions, such as designing tour packages that simultaneously benefit all of the communities in the Borobudur Sub District. Additionally, the community should make the most of its current opportunities.