Development of the written communication skills in plant physiology course in the application of problem-based learning (PBL)

Digital communication technology is widely used to build relationships between fellow human beings in all parts of the world. Relationships are built through messages in the form of electronic mail that can be sent anytime and anywhere instantly. One of the skills needed to convey messages via electronic mail is written communication skills. There are three aspects of written communication skills that can be assessed, namely organisational patterns, selection of appropriate content, clarity of language and conciseness of writing. The purpose of this study was to train the student’s written communication skills through the application of problem-based learning (PBL) in the Plant Physiology course. The number of samples used were 30 students from the 2020 odd semester at the Department of Biology, State University of Malang. The results of data analysis showed that the average score of the student’s written communication skills increased from the initial test to the final test in the aspects of the use of writing organisational patterns as much as 15.22%, providing appropriate content as much as 14.89%, and clarity and conciseness as much as 13.56%. Students improve their written communication skills from the initial test in the low category to the final test in the medium category, with details of 19 students on the aspect of using the pattern of writing organisation, 19 students on the aspect of providing appropriate content and 18 students on the aspect of clarity and conciseness of writing. The ability of students to write based on appropriate content is strongly supported by an understanding of the concept.