Student's Geometric Thinking in Understanding Volume with Three-Dimensional Images of Cubes and Nets

Abstract

This study aimed at describing the thinking skills of junior high school students in solving problems about the volume of cube and cuboid presented in the form of images of nets and solid figure geometry. This research was a descriptive study with a qualitative approach. This research was conducted at eighth grade class in Islamic Junior High School (MTs) Nurul Huda, Sidoarjo, Indonesia. The research subjects were two students, male and female in the same class of seven classes. The instruments used in this study were geometry test and interview. Geometry test was designed to determine student's thinking in understanding volume with three-dimensional images of cubes and nets. Interview was used to make the researcher easier to explore how the students completed the given geometry test on the problem of the volume of cube and cuboid. Student's thinking ability was explained based on three abilities according to Sternberg. The results showed that the female student had analytic and creative abilities in understanding images for the volume of cube and cuboid, but the male student tended to be more thoughtful towards abstract concepts. For practical ability, the male student had practical ability better than the female student.