USING REALISTIC MATHEMATICS EDUCATION APPROACH TO PROMOTE GRADE 6 STUDENTS’ ANALYTICAL THINKING

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the analytical thinking of sixth-grade students in mathematics classrooms using Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach. The participants consisted of 16 sixth-grade students from one classroom in an opportunity expansion school in Lamphun, selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments consisted of 1) Lesson plans based on the Realistic Mathematics Education approach 2) Three analytical thinking assessment forms and 3) Student analytical thinking interview forms. Data collection was conducted by implementing learning activities according to the developed plans, followed by two analytical thinking assessments administered during instruction and one post-instruction assessment. Subsequently, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine selected students. Data analysis employed means, standard deviations, and percentages from the analytical thinking assessments, along with descriptive analysis of the student interviews data. The research findings revealed that students' analytical thinking improved continuously across all dimensions. The mean score for analytical thinking in the first assessment was 1.88 at a fair level. The second assessment was 2.05 at a good level, and the post-assessment was 2.43 at a good level. When examined by individual dimensions, all dimensions showed improvement. The results of this study demonstrate that using a Realistic Mathematics Education approach, particularly through employing problem situations from students' real-life contexts, encouraging students to participate in practical activities and collaborative discussions, and providing teacher guidance, can promote students' analytical thinking.