Assessing Critical Thinking Abilities in Solving Mathematics Number Pattern Problems Among Junior High School Students

Shafira Meiria Rahmasari; Zaenuri Zaenuri; Iwan Junaedi; Adi Nur Cahyono

doi:10.31980/mosharafa.v14i2.3116

Authors

Shafira Meiria Rahmasari Universitas Negeri Semarang
Zaenuri Zaenuri Universitas Negeri Semarang
Iwan Junaedi Universitas Negeri Semarang
Adi Nur Cahyono Universitas Negeri Semarang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31980/mosharafa.v14i2.3116

Keywords:

Critical thinking abilities, Mathematics problems, Students of Junior High School, Deskriptif Kualitatif, Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis, Pola Bilangan, Siswa SMP

Abstract

Abstrak

Kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa dalam matematika masih rendah. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengeksplorasi kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa dalam matematika, dengan fokus pada masalah pola bilangan, menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif. Subjek penelitian yaitu tiga belas siswa pada salah satu SMP di Kabupaten Cirebon. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah tes kemampuan berpikir kritis tentang pola bilangan yang terdiri dari dua soal utama dengan empat sub pertanyaan dan pedoman wawancara. Data dikumpulkan melalui tes tertulis dan wawancara kemudian dianalisis melalui reduksi data, penyajian data, dan penarikan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa dalam menyelesaikan masalah matematika hanya mencapai tahap rata-rata hingga di bawah rata-rata pada seluruh indikator kemampuan berpikir kritis dalam matematika yaitu interpretasi, analisis, evaluasi, dan inferensi. Penelitian ini berkontribusi memberikan gambaran mengenai kemampuan berpikir kritis siswa dalam menyelesaikan masalah matematika pada materi pola bilangan yang dapat menjadi dasar dalam merancang strategi pembelajaran yang lebih efektif serta pengembangan instrumen asesmen berbasis indikator berpikir kritis.

Abstract

Students’ critical thinking abilities in mathematics remain low. This study aims to explore students’ critical thinking abilities in mathematics, focusing on number pattern problems, using a qualitative descriptive approach. The participants were thirteen students from one Junior High School in Cirebon Regency. The instruments used included a critical thinking test on number patterns containing two main items with four sub-questions, and interview guidelines. Data were collected through written tests and interviews, and analyzed through data reduction, data display, and concluson drawing. The results show that most students achieved only average to below-average performance across indicators of critical thinking abilities in mathematics namely interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference. This study contributes to provide a detailed description of Junior High School students’ critical thinking profiles in solving number pattern problems, which can development of more effective instructional strategies and critical thinking based assessment.

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