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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 17, Issue 2, Article 11 (Dec., 2016) |
In this 21st century, education is confronted with the knowledge era requires a range of skills that needs to be owned by the students. The 21st century skills became the driving issues of the improvement at all pathways and levels of education sectors to prepare the students. Many 21st century skills are needed to be mastered by students, including abilities to gather, regulate, use, evaluate quality and relevance of information, and to produce accurate information supported by references (PRRC, 2010). The 21st century also required a new paradigm in the learning process (Tan, 2003) including the biology lesson. Sidi (2001) stated that the paradigm must change from teaching to learning or from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. Therefore, learning should be designed in the form of active learning environment, collaborative, self-regulated and self-directed learning (Tan, 2003). Tan (2004) explained that in the learning process, students should have the self-regulation as a key to improve the thinking ability. Students who previously passive in the classroom is expected to be more active to collect diverse of information. The implementation of learning using critical thinking skills in the classroom is one of the effective ways because it can develop some skills of students, such as increasing the concentration, having a deep analysis capabilities, and improving students’ learning (NEA, 2012).
Duch, Allen and White (1999) explained that some of the competencies required for success include the ability to (1) think critically, analyze, and solve the real world problems, (2) find, to evaluate, and to use appropriate learning resources, (3) cooperate in teams and small groups, (4) oral and written communication skills effectively, and (5) use of content knowledge and intellectual skills to be a continuous learner. Similarly Trilling and Hood (1999) stated that some of the skills that must be possessed in the era of knowledge includes: (1) critical thinking skills and hard work, (2) creativity, (3) collaboration, (4) cross-cultural understanding, (5) communication, (6) computing, and (7) career and independence.
One of the skills that have not been improved yet in biology learning at all levels of education in Indonesia including senior school was critical thinking skill. As stated by Sanjaya (2008) students seem less encouraged to develop thinking skills, but more guided to memorize information, and forced to recall the information without understand the information and connected with daily life. Trilling and Fadel (2009) defines critical thinking is the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate, summarize, and gather information. Through critical thinking students are expected to have the ability to make effective reasons, use a thinking system, create and make decisions, and be able to solve the problems.
Critical thinking skills are the cognitive skills associated with the mind (Cotrell, 2005). Cognitive skills are the cores of critical thinking skills include interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation (Facione, 2010). According to Kauchak and Eggen (2007), metacognition, critical thinking, and content knowledge or understanding of the topics were the elements that related to each other in learning processes. Corebima (2006) stated that there was a relationship between critical thinking skills with higher thinking and metacognitive skills. It means that metacognitive skills supports higher thinking and critical thinking skills. Science is a great manner to learn using critical thinking skills because it can train the scientific way of thinking (Schafersman, 1991). The scientific methods usually used in science to compose questions, gather informations, develop reasons, resolve the tests, analyze data, and communicate results. There are several ways to assess the students’ critical thinking skills in the classroom such as a pretest and posttest, case studies, story-telling, giving questions, role playing, and debate (Brookfield, 1997; Scott, 2009).
Student-Centered Learning to Improve Critical Thinking Skill
The improvement of students’critical thinking skills is very important for students to look at and face the various problems that will present in their life, and were able to apply in different situations. Critical thinking as filter in separating the relevant from the irrelevant.Teachers should help to improve students' critical thinking skills through the application of student-centered learning model on a various subjects including biology. There are so many studies showed that cooperative learning influences development and improvement of students’ critical thinking. For instance, Gokhal (1995), demonstrated that cooperative learning not only plays a key role for students to gain practical knowledge, but is also utilized as a suitable way to reinforce critical thinking. The results of previous studies reported that the critical thinking skills were affected by learning strategies or models (Arnyana, 2004; Andayani, 2008; Warouw, 2009; Muhfahroyin, 2009; & Maasawet, 2009).
The Low Students’ Reading Interest
The failure of the implementation of student-centered learning in biology classroom in Indonesia was generally caused by a lack of prior knowledge of the students regarding to the learning materials. Yamin (2008) suggested that students should have the prior knowledge that would be the basic for building further knowledge. The lack of prior knowledge of students due to the low of students’ reading interest on the subject matter before learning in the classroom. Corebima (2009) reported that almost all students did not read the course materials and it was affected the strategy or learning model designed difficult to apply and the students’ comprehension become low.
The observations results conducted by researchers in Malang, Indonesia, showed that the students' reading interest still low because only two of 27 students who visited the library frequently to read and generally students were reading the fiction books rather than textbooks. The research related to reading were also done by researchers as described below. Prasmala (2014) found in the science Xth grade students in SMA Surya Buana Malang that were given the task to answer the questions using cognitive levels C1 and C2, but the students rarely read and understand the biology subject to find the answers on worksheets. Ratnawati (2015) declared that the science Xth grade students in SMAN 2 Malang was known more prefer playing gadgets and watching television rather than reading.
The low of reading interest of Indonesian students could have an impact on students' thinking skills, including critical thinking skills, because reading activity is one of the ways to develop thinking skills. Thyer (2013) stated that students can perform activities such as reading and writing to develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills are be help ful in reading activities for students because it can change passive to active students. By reading, students would also acquire the knowledge related to scholastic success and as a source of pleasure (Wanjari & Mahakulkar, 2011).
Remap NHT to Improve Students’ Critical Thinking Skill and Reading Interest
The learning that considered to be overcome those problems is a learning model that combines students activities of reading the lesson materials and constructing a concept map about the lesson materials they read before learning in the classroom, and teacher should applying of cooperative learning models in the classroom. It was given the name of those learning stages with Remap Coople, i.e. the abbreviation from reading, concept mapping, and cooperative learning (Zubaidah, 2014; Pangestuti, Mistianah, Corebima & Zubaidah, 2015). Through those activities, students are expected to read the course materials before lesson processes in the class. There are five elements of cooperative learning model that were applied to achieve maximum results, including positive interdependence, individual responsibility, face to face, communication, and the group evaluation process (Lie, 2002). At the end of the learning process, students are requested to complete the concept map that was created before. Patrick (2011) stated that the concept maps help students improve and summarize the course materials.
Numbered Heads Together (NHT) is one type of cooperative learning that could be chosen for Remap Coople, so the name of learning models is Remap NHT. The learning steps of NHT were numbering, questioning, thinking together, and answering (Arends, 2009). In NHT learning model, teacher check students' understanding from reading activity of students by using questions. NHT emphasize the contribution of each student to answer a teacher's question. Each students should be responsible to present their knowledge. Unfortunately, not all students have the opportunity to present their knowledge in every lesson due to time constraints. Therefore, NHT combined with the concept maps, in order to every student has the opportunity to express their knowledge in written.
Concept maps are often used in education as a tool for representing knowledge in learning. Concept map is an excellent method to help the visual or spatial learner understand difficult concepts and their interrelationships, and allows a student to develop the ability to organize and group information in a meaningful way (Senita, 2008). Teachers can verify and analyze the results of students' concept maps. Wei and Yue (2016) argued that by analyzing the students' concept maps, teacher can assess students learning and thinking processes including critical thinking. The basis for concept mapping is incorporated to assimilation theory (Ausubel, Novak, and Hanesian, 1978). The part of this concept includes meaningful theory as a method of identifying a process of incorporating new knowledge with existing knowledge and reordering of this knowledge until it becomes meaningful and useful for the learner.
Maasawet (2009) stated that NHT has several advantages that each student be ready for learn, can conduct discussions in earnest, and students with higher academic level could teach the students with the lower academic level as a peer. Winarni (2011) found that the implementation of NHT could improve cognitive learning outcomes of science. NHT learning models can indirectly involve students to share information, be a good listener, and able to speak with full consideration. When teacher choice any students to answer questions, the students did not know who would be selected so that there will be a sense of responsibility to each student. Good students will not dominate the group and expected that all students become more tolerant (Kagan, 2007; Munawaroh, 2015).
Previous researchers that had studied about Remap Coople models with some kinds of cooperative learning proved that those models improving students’ metacognitive skills, critical thinking skills, and cognitive learning outcomes of students as described further. Setiawan (2015) stated that application of Remap TPS could increase students’ reading interest and metacognitive skills. Antika (2015) also stated that application of biology learning with Remap STAD (Students Team Achievement Division) can enhance students’ metacognitive skills and learning outcomes. Pangestuti (2014) showed that the application of biology-based learning Remap Teams Games Tournament (TGT) model increased students’ reading interest, critical thinking skills, metacognitive, and cognitive learning outcomes biology. Hasan (2014) showed that the implementation of Remap STAD could increase students’ reading interest, critical thinking skills, metacognitive, and cognitive biology achievement.
There are many topics in Biologi learning materials in secondary schools including the living creatures and the basic concepts related to the life processes. Students are expected to understand the concepts of biology and its application in everyday life. Observing these characteristics, the student is required to master the concepts and think comprehensively by analyze, interpret, evaluate, conclude, and collect information related to the phenomena of life. These skills related to the critical thinking skills (Trilling and Fadel, 2009). Through the critical thinking students are expected to have the ability to make-effective reasons, use a thinking system, create and the make decisions, and be able to solve the problems. These critical thinking skills were expected to be improved by the application of the Remap NHT learning model.
The results of this study are expected to provide the information for teachers and policy makers related to another learning model that can improve students' critical thinking skills. By giving task to read the lesson materials and to construct a concept map for students, and then implementing cooperative learning type NHT in the classroom, it should be expected that students will have prior knowledge related to learning subjects, and show better critical thinking skills. It is also expected that the learning model will have an impact on improving the quality of learning overall.
