THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE STAGE TOWARD STUDENTS MATHEMATICAL CREATIVE THINKING AND HABITS OF MIND

Abstract

The purpose of this survey is to examine the role of  cognitive stage toward his or her attaiment of  mathematical creative thinking (MCT) and habits of mind (HoM) grounded on student’s cognitive stage. The survey concerned  with 36 eleventh grade students of 16.25 years old, test of logical thinking (TOLT), an essay MCT test, and a MSC scale. Data analysis covered: calculation of item scoring of HoM scale; percentage enumeration, Mann-Whitney testing for mean difference,  of association between two variables, and other rational analysis relevant to the findings. By using TOLT, the survey found that 44% students’ were still  at concrete operational stage, few students 19% at transition operational stage, and 36% students had reached at formal operational stage; in entirely,  students’ MCT was at low grade level and students’ HoM was at fairly good grade level. Even if, according to cognitive stage, formal students, transition students, and concrete students  survey detected  successively at medium, low and very low grade level.  In line with that findings,  formal students realized few difficulties, transition students experienced some more difficulties and concrete students realized difficulties in all items of MCT tasks.  In the contrary, either in entirely or according to cognitive stage there were no different grade of MSC among them, and those grades were at fairly good level. The other findings there was high associtaion between cognitive stage and MCT, but no association between cognitive stage and MSC and between MSC and HoM.