Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills of Elementary School Students Using the PBL Model

Abstract

This research aims to enhance the critical thinking skills of elementary school students in science learning through the implementation of the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model. The type of research conducted is classroom action research, which consists of planning, action, observation, and reflection. Data collection techniques used were essay tests and observations. The data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative descriptive data analysis techniques. The subjects of this study were ten fifth-grade students from an elementary school. Data were collected using essay tests and observation sheets. The data analysis techniques employed were descriptive quantitative and qualitative analysis. The research findings indicate that: (1) the percentage of students answering questions that require explanations increased by 1%, from 79% in cycle I to 80% in cycle II; (2) the percentage of students observing and considering observation results increased by 14%, from 67% in cycle I to 81% in cycle II; (3) the percentage of students inducing/deducing and considering induction/deduction results increased by 5%, from 75% in cycle I to 80% in cycle II; and (4) the percentage of students determining a course of action increased by 4%, from 74% in cycle I to 78% in cycle II. Moreover, 80% of the students demonstrated critical thinking skills in the good category. The success indicators were met, with critical thinking ability reaching a minimum percentage of 75%, and 75% of the students possessing good critical thinking skills. Therefore, it can be concluded that the problem-based learning model can enhance the critical thinking skills of elementary school students as it has fulfilled the success indicators.

Kata kunci: kemampuan berpikir kritis, model PBL, sekolah dasar