The enhancement of student's mathematical understanding ability through the Aptitude Treatment Interaction (ATI) learning model

Abstract

Some teachers pay little attention to the difference in students' abilities in conducting the learning. Fast-learners feel bored when learning because there is a tendency to repeat the lesson, while slow learners will feel left out because learning tends to be dominated by intelligent students. Therefore, the teachers must accommodate students with different abilities, using a learning model that treats students according to their abilities. The Aptitude Treatment Interaction (ATI) learning model is a solution to assist teachers in helping students master the material taught according to the student's ability level. This study aims to determine the differences in the increase in the mathematical comprehension of students who take learning using the ATI model and those who take conventional learning. This study involved 51 Year 7 students from one private Islamic Junior High School in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, namely: 25 students in the experimental class and 26 students in the control class. The instrument used was a test of the students' mathematical understanding ability. Students' mathematical understanding ability was analyzed using an independent sample t-test. The results showed that students' mathematical understanding ability who took learning using the ATI model was better than those who took conventional learning.