PENGARUH PENGGUNAAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN PROBLEM BASED LEARNING DALAM MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN BERPIKIR KRITIS SISWA PADA PELAJARAN IPAS SEKOLAH DASAR KELAS

Abstract

This study was motivated by the low critical thinking skills of fifth-grade students at SD Negeri 105 Pekanbaru, particularly in Science and Social Studies (IPAS). This condition is caused by teacher-centered learning, making students passive in problem-solving. This study aimed to determine the effect of the Problem Based Learning (PBL) model on increasing students' critical thinking skills. This research involved 52 students divided into two groups: class VB as the experimental class (26 students) and class VD as the control class (26 students). The instrument used was a 20-item multiple-choice test focusing on three indicators: analyzing, evaluating, and concluding. The results showed a significant increase in the experimental class's average score from 49.42 (pretest) to 76.35 (posttest), while the control class only increased from 48.27 to 69.42. The Paired Sample t-test results showed a significance value (Sig. 2-tailed) of 0.000 < 0.05, meaning that the null hypothesis (Ho) was rejected. This is also supported by an N-Gain score of 0.508 (medium category) for the experimental class. Thus, it can be concluded that the PBL model has a significant influence on the critical thinking skills of fifth-grade students at SD Negeri 105 Pekanbaru.