Students’ Critical Thinking Ability in Solving Controversial Mathematical Problems Seen from Computational Thinking

Abstract

The mathematical critical thinking ability and computational thinking skills are crucial to be developed in order to enhance students' problem-solving skills, especially for students at the Center of Excellence Vocational High School who are expected to possess advanced skills for entering the professional world. This research aims to describe the mathematical critical thinking ability of 10th grade students at the Vocational High School Center of Excellence in solving controversial problems from the perspective of their computational thinking skills. The research method used is qualitative research with a descriptive approach. The findings of this research are as follows: (1) The mathematical critical thinking ability of students with high computational thinking skills in solving controversial problems falls into the high category, fulfilling three indicators of critical thinking, namely interpretation, analysis, and evaluation; (2) The mathematical critical thinking ability of students with moderate computational thinking skills in solving controversial problems falls into the moderate category, fulfilling two indicators of critical thinking, namely interpretation and evaluation; (3) The mathematical critical thinking ability of students with low computational thinking skills in solving controversial problems falls into the low category, as they fail to meet the interpretation indicator, thus other indicators remain unfulfilled. It can be concluded that there are differences in mathematical critical thinking ability among students with low, moderate, and high computational thinking skills.