Profil Berpikir Aljabar Siswa SMP dalam Memecahkan Masalah Matematika Kontekstual Ditinjau dari Kemampuan Matematika

Abstract

Algebra is one of the important concepts in mathematics and began to be taught in class VII of junior high school. One way to find out students' thinking and reasoning abilities algebraically is to algebraic thinking. Algebraic thinking is a mental activity consisting of generalization, abstraction, dynamic thinking, modeling, analytic thinking, and organization. The means that can be used to explore students' algebraic thinking is problem solving. The problem used in this research is contextual mathematical problems. Algebraic thinking in each student in solving contextual mathematical problems varies based on the level of mathematical abilities. The purpose of this research is to describe the algebraic thinking’s profile of junior high school students in solving contextual mathematical problems based on mathematical abilities. This research uses a qualitative approach with methods of collecting data through tests and interviews. The subjects of this research were one student with high mathematical abilities, one student with medium mathematical abilities, and one student with low mathematical abilities. The results of this research indicate algebraic thinking of student with high mathematical abilities, consists of generalization, abstraction, dynamic thinking, modeling, analytic thinking, and organization. Algebraic thinking of student with medium mathematical abilities, consists of generalization, abstraction, dynamic thinking, modeling, analytic thinking, and organization. Algebraic thinking of student with low mathematical abilities, consists of generalization, dynamic thinking, and organization.

Keywords: algebraic thinking, problem solving, contextual mathematical problems, mathematical abilities