Improving Critical Thinking Skills through Problem-Based Learning Based Teaching Materials in Social Sciences in 5th Grade Elementary School

Abstract

This research is motivated by a lack of critical thinking skills possessed by fifth grade elementary school students, which is caused by the use of teaching materials that do not accommodate student participation in learning activities. Therefore researchers are encouraged to conduct classroom action research through teaching materials based on the Problem Based Learning model to improve critical thinking skills. The selection of the Problem Based Learning model in this teaching material is intended to facilitate student participation in learning activities through problems that exist around students, because this model requires students to discover concepts, principles and knowledge on their own. The purpose of this study was to determine the increase in students' critical thinking skills through the use of Problem Based Learning (PBL) teaching materials in social studies class V students. This study uses the Kemmis and Mc Taggart methods which consist of four stages, namely: planning, action, observation and reflection. The participants in this study were fifth grade students at a school in Bantul Regency. Data collection was carried out using observation and questionnaires, which used data analysis with qualitative techniques. The results of this study prove that teaching materials based on the Problem Based Learning model can improve students' critical thinking skills with a percentage in the pre-cycle of 55.3%, cycle I of 62.1% and in cycle 2 of 72.30%.