The implementation of problem-based learning viewed from mathematical connection ability

Abstract

The mathematical connection ability is very important for students. The mathematical connection ability includes (1) connection between mathematical topics, (2) connection with other disciplines, (3) relationships in everyday life. The aims of this research was to describe the effect of problem-based learning on mathematical connection ability of the 8th grade students (age 13-14). This research was a quasi-experiment with one group pretest-posttest designed. The research samples consisted of one class taken randomly from 4 classes in the population. The data was collected from the mathematical connection ability test’ achievement or scores that had been declared valid by the expert team. The data analysis used one sample t-test. The criteria of being considered effective were: 1) the posttest score was higher than the pretest score and 2) the proportion of the students that passed the mathematical connection criteria was more than 75%. Based on the result of one sample t-test, the significance value was 0,000, it could be concluded that the problem-based learning approach was effective in terms of the students’ mathematical connection ability. The effectiveness of the mathematics learning with problem-based learning approach reached 87,55%.