Abstract
The development of reflective thinking has been a highlight and important in the education of prospective mathematics teachers. It provides them with the opportunities to take a conscious and logical decision on the complex problems they faced. The quality of the problem solving and reflective thinking will differ between one student and another due to their characteristics. This study presents a description of reflective thinking skills of prospective teachers in solving mathematical problems based on the difference in cognitive style. The instruments used in this study consist of (1) GEFT cognitive-style test, (2) a mathematical problem solving task which is a non-routine and open-ended (3) the interview guidelines based on the reflective thinking component. By choosing analysis of qualitative approaches, the data of interviews that are in the form of interview's transcript based on mathematical problem solving results are gathered from two students of prospective mathematics teachers as research participants. One prospective teacher use cognitive field independent style (PTFI) and field dependent style (PTFD). Research findings show that PTFD tends to use the experience to be implemented in mathematical problem solving but PTFD cannot utilize the new information contained, so that PTFD has a reflective-dynamic characteristic. While PTFI tends to use the experience to utilize the new information contained in the problem in order to construct the problem solving strategy so that PTFI has reflective-generative characteristic. It is indicated that there are differences in the characteristics of reflective thinking process among prospective teachers based on difference of cognitive style.
Highlights
One of the objectives that must be achieved in mathematics learning for the prospective teachers’ students is possessing problem solving skills and able to apply logical, critical, systematic and innovative thinking in the context of development or implementation of science and/or technology in accordance with the field of expertise
This reflective thinking skill provides students with the opportunity to take a conscious and logical decision on the complex problems they faced [6]. It helps someone in forming concepts and abstractions and developing new concepts that result the solution of the problem given [7]. This indicates that reflective thinking can be identified through the process of problem solving of prospective teachers in using mathematical concepts and knowledge to find a solution of the problems
Based on the research question as a starting point outlined in the introduction, a descriptive study with a qualitative approach analysis is chosen in order to answer the question [14,15] with the design type as a case study [16,17]. This is in line with the purpose of research that intends to deeply describe the meaning of phenomenon and object characteristics of the case studied are limited [16] which are two students of prospective mathematics teachers at Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia, who were selected as the subjects in this study
Summary
One of the objectives that must be achieved in mathematics learning for the prospective teachers’ students is possessing problem solving skills and able to apply logical, critical, systematic and innovative thinking in the context of development or implementation of science and/or technology in accordance with the field of expertise. This reflective thinking skill provides students with the opportunity to take a conscious and logical decision on the complex problems they faced [6] It helps someone in forming concepts and abstractions and developing new concepts that result the solution of the problem given [7]. This was emphasized by Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(6): 2614-2620, 2020
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