Patricius Ari, Parno, Khusaini, Muhammad Abd Hadi Bunyamin
Critical thinking is a skill that is considered important in the 21st century. This study aims to investigate the level of critical thinking skills of high school students in static fluid material. This study uses a quantitative approach with a survey design with a critical thinking ability test instrument with a Cronbach's Alpha reliability reaching 0.765. The subjects of this study were 110 high school students in Malang, Indonesia in the 2023/2024 academic year who had taken static fluid material. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics followed by level classification based on static fluid subtopics and critical thinking ability indicators. The survey results showed that students still had critical thinking skills of 46% in the moderate category on static fluid material. Based on the subtopics, from the highest to the lowest, respectively, for hydrostatic pressure, Archimedes' law, and Pascal's law were 48%, 46%, and 44% in the moderate category. Based on the sub-indicators, in order from the highest to the lowest, students have critical thinking skills of basic support, strategies and tactics, elementary clarification, advance clarification and inference are 54%, 52%, 45%,43, 42% with the medium category. Meanwhile, from the variety of answers it was found that students still have difficulty in terms of pressure in fluids increasing with a certain depth, analyzing the relationship between force and cross-sectional area in a hydraulic system, and determining the lifting force of an object in a fluid with different densities. To maximize this research, further researchers need to design learning solutions that involve making miniature technology as a means to increase the level of students' critical thinking skills. This recommendation can be implemented through the use of the 7E learning cycle model which is integrated with the STEAM approach. © 2025 Author(s).
Physic Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; University Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
