APPLICATION OF CONTEXTUAL LEARNING TO IMPROVE CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY OF STUDENTS IN BIOLOGY TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES CLASS

This study is aimed to improve students' critical thinking skills through the application of contextual learning in Biology Teaching and Learning Strategies Course. Classroom Action Research was conducted in Biology Education Study Program of State University of Medan. The subjects were 60 Biology Education students, which were determined by purpossive sampling. Critical thinking skills data was obtained through the analysis of student questions during students’ journal presentation. The data were also collected through observation and documentation of student journals which then analyzed based on its percentage. The results showed that there was a 18.5% increase in the critical thinking skills from the first to the second cycle after applying contextual learning in Biology Teaching and Learning Strategies course.