Kemampuan Pemecahan Masalah Matematika Siswa SMP dalam Menyelesaikan Soal HOTS Ditinjau dari Tahapan Polya

Abstract

Penelitian ini bertujuan mendeskripsikan profil pemecahan masalah matematika siswa SMP dalam menyelesaikan soal Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) berdasarkan tahapan Polya. Menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif, penelitian melibatkan 15 siswa kelas VII di Yogyakarta. Instrumen penelitian berupa tes pemecahan masalah materi aljabar yang divalidasi melalui expert judgment. Subjek dikategorikan menjadi kelompok tinggi, sedang, dan rendah, kemudian dipilih tiga siswa dari tiap kategori untuk dianalisis secara mendalam melalui triangulasi penyelidik. Hasil menunjukkan siswa kategori tinggi mampu melalui seluruh tahapan Polya dengan baik, termasuk melakukan pemeriksaan kembali secara implisit yang ditunjukkan melalui ketepatan prosedural dan akurasi hasil akhir. Siswa kategori sedang mampu memahami masalah namun mengalami kesalahan pada tahap pelaksanaan dan mengabaikan evaluasi hasil. Sementara itu, siswa kategori rendah mengalami hambatan kognitif sejak tahap pemahaman masalah serta tidak menunjukkan aktivitas metakognitif. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa kegagalan siswa dalam soal HOTS disebabkan oleh rendahnya kemampuan kontrol metakognitif dan penguasaan konsep aljabar. Implikasinya, pembelajaran perlu membiasakan strategi reflektif pada setiap tahapan pemecahan masalah.This study aims to describe the mathematical problem-solving profile of junior high school students when solving Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) problems based on Polya's stages. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, this research involved 15 seventh-grade students from a high-performing public junior high school in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta. The research instrument was an algebraic problem-solving test validated through expert judgment. The subjects were categorized into high, moderate, and low mathematical ability groups. Three students from each category were then selected for in-depth analysis using investigator triangulation. The results indicated that the high-category students successfully carried out all of Polya's stages, including implicit reviewing, as evidenced by procedural precision and accurate final answers. The moderate-category students were able to understand the problems but encountered errors during the execution stage and neglected to evaluate their results. Meanwhile, the low-category students experienced cognitive obstacles right from the problem-understanding stage and demonstrated no metacognitive activities. This study concludes that students' failure in solving HOTS problems is primarily caused by weak metacognitive control and an insufficient mastery of algebraic concepts. Consequently, mathematical instruction must habituate reflective strategies at every stage of the problem-solving process.