Brillo Journal

Students' Problem-Solving Skills through the Modified Triangle Method with Contextual Teaching and Learning

Dina Amsari — 2025-06-30

This research was motivated by the low level of students' problem-solving ability in mathematics learning, especially based on real-world problems. The main cause is that students still have problems in understanding the meaning and finding the core of the given problem. The objectives of this study to determine the modified Triangle Method (TM) with Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) to improv students' ability in problem-solving and also its interaction with prior knowledge. This type of research is experimental design with a sample of 69 students grade VIII in West Sumatera, Indonesia. The data were obtained by giving the test, which was evaluated by t-test and two-way ANOVA. Based on the result test, obtained a t-value of 4.488 with the Sig.=0.000<0.05= α. It can be concluded that the modified of TM and CTL can improve students' problem-solving ability. Meanwhile, the interaction test obtained Sig.0.467>0.05=α. In other words, there is no interaction between CTL and students' prior knowledge of problem-solving skills. It means that TM and CTL can be used for students with high and low prior knowledge to improve students' problem-solving skills.

An Analysis of Grade VIII Students' Difficulties in Solving Circle Story Problems: A Study Based on Polya's Problem-Solving Theory

Septianingsi Manekat — 2025-06-30

This study aims to explore the difficulties experienced by students of grade VIII of junior high school in solving circle story problems based on Polya's Theory. The research approach used is a qualitative approach. This type of research is qualitative descriptive research. This research was conducted in one of the junior high schools in North Central Timor Regency. The subjects of this study were grade VIII consisting of 20 students. The instruments used were 4 circle material test questions and interviews to determine the factors that cause students to have difficulty working on the questions. Data analysis techniques through the stages of test data analysis, data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing. The results of this study indicate that the difficulties faced by students are 1) difficulty understanding the problem, namely students have difficulty in positioning the function of the symbol on the known and asked parts of the question, 2) difficulty making a solution plan, namely students have difficulty connecting the known and asked elements so that students do not fully understand the strategy that will be used to plan the solution, 3) difficulty completing the solution plan, namely students have difficulty writing a complete formula to be used in solving the problem so that they do not find the results requested by the question, 4) difficulty re-checking, namely students do not know how to make conclusions from the results of their work.

Comparative Analysis of Mathematics Anxiety and Academic Achievement among Science Education Students

Iheanacho Chukwudi Ike — 2025-06-30

This study examines the comparative analysis of mathematics anxiety and academic achievement among second-year Science Education students at Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri. Three research questions and hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 significance level. Using a correlation and comparative research design, all 85 students were included via census sampling. Data were collected using the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS), adapted from Al Mutawah (2015), and the Basic Mathematics for Science Education Achievement Test (BMSEDAT). MARS had 20 items with a Cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.70, while BMSEDAT consisted of 6 essay questions, with a reliability coefficient of 0.71. Pearson’s correlation and independent samples t-test were used for data analysis. Findings revealed a significant relationship between mathematics anxiety and achievement, specifically among Biology students, but not in Chemistry and Physics. It was recommended that teachers should adopt positive, supportive teaching methods that encourage students to develop a healthy attitude toward mathematics.