Introduction

Since Independence, the Mathematics Education curriculum has undergone major reforms. A
review of the education system in Malaysia had been planned to meet the demands and challenges
of globalisation and the keconomy. A product approach was proposed in the teaching and learning
process in all classrooms. A total review in the mathematics curriculum emphasises on several
important aspects in mathematics education which includes communication and problem solving in
mathematics (Sharifah, 2003).

In Malaysian schools, high performance in the examinations especially in the public examinations
means everything. As this is the priority of parents and schools alike, teachers are very concerned
with finishing the syllabus and drilling students the exam answers and questions. They are reluctant
therefore to involve other approaches to the teaching and learning of mathematics as it would take
up too much time and are irrelevant to passing examinations. The chalk and talk method are
dominant in explaining rules, definitions and solving problems (T. Subahan, 2007).

This study was conducted to explore the effects of Problem Based Learning (PBL) as an alternative
instructional strategy which could be introduced to Malaysian classrooms in the teaching and
learning of mathematics. Students taught in traditional mathematics education environments are
preoccupied by exercises, rules, and equations that need to be learned, but are of limited use in
unfamiliar situations such as solving real-life mathematics projects. In contrast to conventional
mathematics classroom environments, a PBL environment provides students with opportunities to
develop their abilities to adapt and change methods to fit new situations. Further, students
participating in PBL environments have greater opportunity to learn mathematical processes
associated with communication, representation, modeling, and reasoning (Smith, 1998; Erickson,
1999; Lubienski, 1999 ).

The specific objectives of this study were:

1. To compare the overall mathematics performance between the PBL group and the CT group.
2. To compare instructional efficiency based on a Paas Mental Effort Rating Scale between the PBL
group
and the CT group.
3. To investigate perception of group work, interest in mathematics and the mathematics learning
experience
between the PBL group and the CT group.
4. To investigate effective use of Polya’s problem solving heuristics, mathematical communication
and
teamwork between the PBL group and the CT group.

Terjemahan

Sejak Kemerdekaan, kurikulum Pendidikan Matematika telah mengalami reformasi besar.

Ulasan dari sistem pendidikan di Malaysia telah direncanakan untuk memenuhi tuntutan dan
tantangan globalisasi dan keconomi. Pendekatan produk diusulkan dalam proses belajar mengajar di
semua ruang kelas. Tinjauan total dalam kurikulum matematika menekankan pada beberapa aspek
penting dalam pendidikan matematika yang mencakup komunikasi dan pemecahan masalah dalam
matematika (Sharifah, 2003).
Di sekolah-sekolah Malaysia, prestasi tinggi dalam ujian terutama dalam ujian publik
berarti segala sesuatu. Karena ini adalah prioritas orang tua dan sekolah, para guru sangat peduli
untuk menyelesaikannya silabus dan melatih siswa jawaban ujian dan pertanyaan. Karena itu
mereka enggan melibatkan yang lain pendekatan pengajaran dan pembelajaran matematika karena
akan memakan terlalu banyak waktu dan tidak relevan untuk lulus ujian. Metode kapur dan bicara
dominan dalam menjelaskan aturan, definisi dan menyelesaikan masalah
(T. Subahan, 2007).
Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengeksplorasi efek Problem Based Learning (PBL)
sebagai strategi pembelajaran alternatif yang dapat diperkenalkan ke ruang kelas Malaysia dalam
pengajaran dan pembelajaran matematika. Siswa yang diajarkan di lingkungan pendidikan
matematika tradisional disibukkan oleh latihan, aturan, dan persamaan yang perlu dipelajari, tetapi
penggunaannya terbatas dalam situasi yang tidak dikenal seperti menyelesaikan proyek matematika
kehidupan nyata. Berbeda dengan lingkungan kelas matematika konvensional, lingkungan PBL
memberikan siswa dengan kesempatan untuk mengembangkan kemampuan mereka untuk
beradaptasi dan mengubah metode agar sesuai dengan situasi baru. Selanjutnya, siswa yang
berpartisipasi dalam lingkungan PBL memiliki kesempatan lebih besar untuk mempelajari proses
matematika yang terkait dengan komunikasi, representasi, pemodelan, dan penalaran (Smith, 1998;
Erickson, 1999; Lubienski, 1999).
Tujuan spesifik dari penelitian ini adalah:
1. Untuk membandingkan kinerja matematika secara keseluruhan antara kelompok PBL dan
kelompok CT.
2. Untuk membandingkan efisiensi pengajaran berdasarkan Skala Penilaian Upaya Mental Paas
antara kelompok PBL dan kelompok CT.
3. Untuk menyelidiki persepsi kerja kelompok, minat dalam matematika dan pengalaman belajar
matematika antara kelompok PBL dan kelompok CT.
4. Untuk menyelidiki penggunaan heuristik, komunikasi matematis dan komunikasi Polya yang
efektif kerja tim antara kelompok PBL dan kelompok CT.

Sinonim

Since Independence, the Mathematics Education curriculum has improved major reforms.
The review of the education system in Malaysia has been approved for approval and tested by
globalization and economics. Product suggestions are suggested in the teaching and learning
process in all classrooms. The total review in the mathematics curriculum emphasizes several
important aspects in mathematics education which include communication and problem solving in
mathematics (Sharifah, 2003).
In Malaysian schools, high performance in examinations especially in public examinations
means everything. Because this is the priority of parents and schools, teachers care deeply about
completing syllabi and training students in exam answers and questions. Therefore they are
reluctant to involve other approaches to teaching and learning mathematics because it will take too
much time and is not relevant to pass the exam. Chalk and speech methods are dominant in
explaining rules, definitions and problem solving
(T. Subah, 2007).
This study was conducted to explore the effects of Problem Based Learning (PBL) as an
alternative learning strategy that can be introduced to Malaysian classrooms in teaching and
learning mathematics. Students taught in traditional mathematics education environments are
preoccupied with exercises, rules, and equations that need to be learned, but their use is limited in
unknown situations such as completing real-life mathematical projects. Unlike the conventional
mathematics classroom environment, the PBL environment provides students with the opportunity
to develop their ability to adapt and change methods to suit new situations. Furthermore, students
who participate in the PBL environment have greater opportunities to learn mathematical processes
related to communication, representation, modeling, and reasoning (Smith, 1998; Erickson, 1999;
Lubienski, 1999).
The specific objectives of this study are:
1. To compare overall mathematical performance between the PBL group and the CT group.
2. To compare teaching efficiency based on the Paas Mental Effort Assessment Scale between the
PBL group and the CT group.
3. To investigate perceptions of group work, interest in mathematics and mathematics learning
experiences between the PBL group and the CT group.
4. To investigate the use of heuristics, mathematical communication and effective Polya
communication teamwork between the PBL group and the CT group.