Development of a Digital Storytelling-Based Physics Comic to Improve Seventh-Grade Students' Scientific Literacy

Scientific literacy remains a persistent challenge in Indonesian science education, reflected in students' limited ability to interpret scientific phenomena and apply scientific reasoning in physics learning. This study aimed to develop a digital storytelling-based physics comic, examine students' and teachers' responses toward the medium, and evaluate its effectiveness in improving seventh-grade students' scientific literacy at a junior high school in Makassar. A Research and Development approach was employed using the four-dimensional (4-D) model, comprising the define, design, develop, and disseminate stages, with effectiveness evaluated through a one-group pretest-posttest design. Participants were 24 seventh-grade students and four science teachers. Data were collected through a scientific literacy test, a media validation instrument, and teacher and student response questionnaires, all validated by experts, then analyzed using Aiken's validity index and the normalized gain (N-gain) score. The developed comic obtained an overall Aiken's validity index of 0.965, indicating high validity across graphic design, accessibility, storyline, language, and content aspects. Students' responses reached 83%, while teachers' perceptions scored 93.38%, both reflecting strongly positive acceptance. The effectiveness test yielded an average N-gain score of 0.72, classified as high, with most students showing substantial improvement in scientific literacy. These findings indicate that the digital storytelling-based physics comic is a valid, practical, and effective medium for enhancing junior high school students' scientific literacy through contextual narrative and visual representation.