The effect of Double Loop Problem Solving (DLPS) on critical thinking skills and mathematical problem solving abilities

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the effect of DLPS model on students’ critical thinking skills and mathematical problem-solving abilities. The variables involved in this research were thinking skills and mathematical problem-solving abilities as independent variables, and DLPS model as a dependent variable. One of the best learning strategies to encourage active thinking and problem-solving is the Double Loop Problem Solving (DLPS) model. DPLS model is a learning model of mathematical problem-solving approach that emphasizes students to find the main cause of the existence of a problem. This is in line with students’ mathematical problem-solving abilities that require the student to understand problems, plan or design problem-solving strategies, carry out calculations and verify the truth of the outcome or solution. The population of this study was the students at seventh grade in Junior High School State 1 Rembang, Purbalingga Regency, even semester in the school year 2017/2018. There was selected seventh grade of class B as experimental with 34 students and seventh grade of class E as control class with 34 students. The summary of the hypothesis testing, with the help of the SPSS program, is presented. Using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality test and Levene’s test for equality of variances for homogeneity test, obtained significant value are 0.057; 0.145 and 0.168; 0.062 0.063; 0.681 and 0.244; 0.171 and 1.306; 2.359 more than alpha 0.05. It means that the students’ critical thinking skills and mathematical problem-solving abilities fulfilled assumption of normality test and homogeneity test. After conducting a series of normality and homogeneity tests, it was concluded that t-test for equality of means was used for hypothesis testing. The significant value is 0.019; 0.012 less than alpha 0.05. So that H0 is rejected, it means that students’ critical thinking skills and mathematical problem-solving ability taught by using DLPS model are better than students’ critical thinking skills and mathematical problem-solving ability taught by conventional learning. In other words, the DLPS model influences or effects on students’ critical thinking skills and mathematical problem-solving abilities.