ABSTRACT

This study aims to identify the critical thinking process of junior high school students in solving mathematical problems based on differences in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles. Identification of critical thinking processes is based on Facione's steps which consist of interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self regulation. While mathematical problems solving used Polya’s steps. This research is descriptive research which uses qualitative approach. The research subjects consisted of 3 female students who had equivalent mathematical abilities and each of them had a visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning style. The research instruments are researcher, mathematical ability test, problem solving tasks, learning style test, and interview guidelines. Data collection techniques used tests and interviews. Therefore, the triangulation used was time triangulation. Data analysis was done by classifying data, reducing data, presenting data, interpreting data and making conclusions. In the interpretation category, the three studets could understand the question well. In the analysis category, students who had visual and auditory learning styles could mention their ideas that would be used in all questions well, but student who had kinesthetic learning style could mention some of correct idea. In the evaluation category, visual and auditory students stated that they were sure that they were correct with their arguments related to the problems in all the questions, but the kinesthetic student was sure in few questions. In the Inference category, all of the students could determine information that supported in choosing a strategy. In the explanation category, all of them explained the steps to get answers of problem. In the self-regulation category, visual and auditory students checked their answers before they submitted, but kinesthetic students only checked few parts of the questions.