Exploring the Critical Thinking Process of Prospective Teachers with High Mathematics Ability in Solving Ill-Structured Problems

Abstract

This study explored the features of critical thinking process skills of prospective teachers with high mathematics abilities in the process of solving ill-structured problems in mathematics classes of private universities in Makassar, Indonesia. Participants solved ill-structured problems by following the analyze, browse, create, decision-making, and evaluate stages. Thirty teacher candidates were selected to complete a math proficiency test. Prospective teachers were grouped based on high mathematical ability. Then they were interviewed based on the results of the Ill-Structured problem-solving. Based on the analysis and discussion, the results showed that the subjects could carry out critical thinking processes in solving ill-structured problems through five (5) stages/phases as follows. Analyze; Subjects could understand the problem by identifying the information needed and defining the problem given. Browse Subjects had the ability to mention or write by grouping relevant information to solve the given problem. Create; Subjects were able to formulate and create alternative problem-solving in written form accompanied by reasoning. Decision-making; The subjects were able to solve the problem by connecting the information obtained to find a common thread of a problem so that the end can be described from a tangled condition. Evaluate; The subjects were able to evaluate the steps to solving the problem and obtain the results or answers in accordance with the target they wanted to achieve. This study's findings suggest that this process can be used to help detect the thought process features of teacher candidates for solving Ill-Structured problems in mathematics education and for future research.