Profile of student problem-solving ability based on ethnomathematics of Ngawi culture on geometry topics

Abstract

The low ability of students to solve problems is still an obstacle in mathematics education to date. Mathematical problems given to learning should be related to the context of everyday life, including culture known as ethnomathematics. This type of research is descriptive qualitative because it aims to describe the problem-solving abilities of students based on the ethnomathematics of Ngawi culture on the topic of Geometry. This research is a case study with one male and one female subject selected from 23 junior high school students in Ngawi, East Java, Indonesia. Data analysis was performed by reducing, presenting, and drawing conclusions and checking the validity of the data by using triangulation methods. The results showed that there were differences between the abilities of male and female students in solving problems based on the ethnomathematics of Ngawi culture on the topic of Geometry. Male students are better at understanding problems based on Ngawi's ethnomathematics than female students. When planning and solving problems based on the ethnomathematics of Ngawi culture, male students also appear to be more detailed in explaining each step of the solution. Male students can check completion well than female students. From the results of this study, it can be suggested that junior high school mathematics teachers can design ethnomathematics-based problems that are more varied according to the culture of the students' environment.