Exploring the Types of Problems Task by Mathematics Teacher to Develop Students' HOTS

摘要

Higher-order thinking is an essential skill that should be developed in middle school students. One popular method in which mathematics teachers develop students' higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) is by giving mathematics problem assignments. This study aims to uncover the type of mathematics problem assignments used by novice and experienced teachers in junior high schools to develop students' HOTS. This descriptive qualitative study describes the type of mathematics problem assignment by two novice and experienced mathematics teachers at SMPN 3 Malang. Data were collected through observation and interviews. The results showed that (1) novice teachers chose assignments in the form of mathematics problems taken from books without regard to the familiarity of the context with the students. Moreover, the mathematics problem chosen is a closed-ended problem both in ways and solutions which was presented in core activities as an individual task to foster some HOTS skills namely, analysis and evaluation, (2) the experienced teacher chooses assignments in the form of mathematics problems designed by the teacher and paid attention to the familiarity of the context with students in the form of open-ended problem in ways and solutions which was presented in core activities where students were asked to work in groups to foster students' abilities in analysis, evaluation and create. For further research, it is necessary to reveal how the experienced teacher's thought process is in designing learning to teach HOTS so that it can be used as a reference by other mathematics teachers.