Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh rendahnya kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa pada mata pelajaran IPAS di kelas V SD Negeri 1 Ciawilor. Hal ini disebabkan karena kemampuan berpikir kritis yang siswa masih dalam taraf rendah. Tujuan dari penelitian ini yaitu untuk mengetahui apakah terdapat perbedaan serta peningkatan kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa pada mata pelajaran IPAS antara kelas yang
menerapkan metode pembelajaran Learning Start with a Question (LSQ) dengan kelas yang menerapkan metode Direct Instruction. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode quasi eksperimen dengan desain penelitian Nonequivalent Control Group Design. Subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas V SD Negeri 1 Ciawilor yang berjumlah 44 orang yang terdiri dari kelas VA sebanyak 21 siswa dan kelas
VB sebanyak 23 siswa. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan tes tulis berupa essay. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis menggunakan uji t dan uji N-Gain. Hasil perhitungan uji t diperoleh nilai thitung = 5,49 dan tabel = 2,01 (thitung > tabel). Maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa H₁ diterima dan Ho ditolak. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa terdapat perbedaan kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa pada kelas yang menerapkan metode Learning Start with a Question (LSQ) dengan kelas yang menerapkan metode Direct Instruction. Perhitungan N-Gain menunjukkan bahwa hasil di kelas eksperimen sebesar 0,7 dan kelas kontrol sebesar 0,4. Maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat perbedaan peningkatan berpikir kritis siswa pada kelas yang menerapkan metode Learning Start with a Question (LSQ) dengan kelas yang menerapkan metode Direct Instruction.
Kata kunci: Learning Start with a Question, Berpikir Kritis, IPAS.

This research was prompted by the low critical thinking ability of students in the IPAS (Science, Social Studies, and Environmental Education) subject in Class V at SD Negeri 1 Ciawilor. This is because students' critical thinking skills are still at a low level. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a difference and improvement in students' critical thinking ability in IPAS subject between a class that applies the Learning Start with a Question (LSQ) teaching method and a class that applies the Direct Instruction method. This study used a quasi-experimental method with a Nonequivalent Control Group Design. The subjects of this research were 44 fifth-grade students at SD Negeri 1 Ciawilor, consisting of 21
students in Class VA and 23 students in Class VB. Data collection techniques used written essay tests. The obtained data were then analyzed using the t-test and N-Gain test. The t-test results showed a calculated t-value (thitung) of 5.49 and a table t-value (ttabel) of 2.01 (thitung > ttabel). Therefore, it can be concluded that H₁ is
accepted and H₀ is rejected. This indicates that there is a difference in critical thinking ability among students in the class that applied the Learning Start with a Question (LSQ) method compared to the class that applied the Direct Instruction method. The N-Gain calculation showed that the results in the experimental class were 0.7 and the control class were 0.4. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a
difference in the improvement of students' critical thinking in the class that applied the Learning Start with a Question (LSQ) method compared to the class that applied the Direct Instruction method.
Keywords: Learning Start with a Question, Critical Thinking, IPAS.