Abstract
This study examines the development of history teaching materials in the form of e-modules based on the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) approach to improve students’ understanding of history. This study was motivated by the need for innovations in history education that are more interactive, contextual, and capable of encouraging student engagement in a deeper understanding of historical events. The research employed the Research and Development (R&D) method using the ADDIE model, which encompasses the stages of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The study was conducted at State Senior High School 3 Ambon and State Senior High School 2 Central Maluku, involving 2 teachers and 132 students. Data collection was conducted through observation, interviews, questionnaires, and tests, while data analysis used qualitative and quantitative approaches. Effectiveness tests were performed using the Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U, and N-Gain tests with the assistance of IBM SPSS Statistics 31. The research results indicate that the STEAM-based history e-module has a very high level of feasibility based on validation by subject matter experts (4.77) and media experts (4.80). In terms of practicality, teachers gave an average rating of 4.66 and students gave an average rating of 4.58, both falling into the “very practical” category. The findings also indicate that the use of STEAM-based e-modules is effective in enhancing students’ historical understanding, as evidenced by the results of the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests, which showed a significance level of 0.000 (<0.05). Furthermore, the N-Gain test results showed a higher increase in the experimental class (0.7152; high category) compared to the control class (0.3021; moderate category). This study contributes to the development of digital-based history learning innovations through the integration of the STEAM approach to strengthen students’ historical understanding.