Student's Thinking Process through Higher Order Thinking: The Concept of Interaction of Living Things and Their Environment

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the profile of students' thinking processes through higher thinking skills based on the concept of the interaction of living things with the environment. This research was conducted on junior high school (SMP) students living in Bengkulu Province, Indonesia. The research method is mixed method sequential explanatory design. The sample was determined based on the purposive sampling technique, meeting the research criteria, namely 175 eighth grade students with several inclusion requirements. Quantitative descriptive data analysis using LISREL 8.8 First-Order CFA confirmed the variables based on factor analysis with the results of the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) being 0.056 so that the student's thinking process profile was measured validly and reliably. The data of this research were collected from student tests through essay questions based on higher-order thinking skills and observations on how students think in science learning through several open-ended questions. It was found that as many as 154 respondents gave complete answers. Some students experience cognitive conflicts on the type of interaction between organisms, students have difficulty connecting concepts with natural events that occur around their environment. Observations stated that the thinking process was low on students' higher-order thinking skills, based on the drive to learn science was still low, students were less active, both in asking questions and ideas or ideas, students did not dare to solve problems or problems in their way and students' ways of thinking were an imitation of the method used. the teacher's thinking and the active role of students in working on the questions are still lacking. Based on the results of the study, a learning model is needed that empowers higher-order thinking skills in the classroom, namely inculcating the ability to think in solving problems and learning independently, and making the right decisions based on analysis.