Analisis Hambatan Ontogenik Siswa SMP dalam Menyelesaikan Soal Operasi Bentuk Aljabar

Abstract

Research on ontogenic obstacles in algebraic operations at the junior high school level remains limited, even though these obstacles are related to students' readiness to learn. This study aims to describe the ontogenic obstacles experienced by junior high school students in solving algebraic operations problems. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach with 32 eighth-grade students from Class VIII-A at SMP Negeri 5 Jember as participants. All students were given a learning interest questionnaire and an algebraic expression test. The data were then reduced using purposive sampling to select three subjects representing psychological, conceptual, and instrumental obstacles. Data were collected through questionnaires, tests, and interviews, then analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, drawing conclusions, and methodological triangulation. The results of the study show that 3.13% of students experienced psychological barriers, 56.25% experienced conceptual barriers, and 43.75% experienced instrumental barriers. Psychological obstacles were indicated by low interest in learning; conceptual obstacles were indicated by difficulty understanding basic algebraic concepts and applying operational rules; and instrumental obstacles were indicated by difficulty systematically organizing solution steps and a lack of precision in calculations. Conceptual obstacles were the most prevalent. This study concludes that students experience three types of ontogenic obstacles, with conceptual obstacles being the most commonly found. The results of this study are expected to serve as a basis for further research in developing learning strategies to overcome ontogenic obstacles.