The Effect of Student Ability-Based Learning Approach on Fourth Grade Students’ Critical Thinking Skills
Abstract
The development of critical thinking skills in elementary science (IPAS) instruction is frequently hindered by rigid, uniform teaching methods that fail to accommodate diverse learner readiness, particularly within the highly heterogeneous classrooms of Madrasah Ibtidaiyah. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Ability-Based Learning (SABL) approach in enhancing the critical thinking skills of fourth-grade students. Using a pre-experimental method with a one-group pretest-posttest design, the study involved a total sampling of 33 fourth-grade students at MI Al-Hadi, Sukabumi Regency. Data were collected via validated reasoned complex multiple-choice tests, and analysed using the non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test alongside N-Gain and effect size calculations. The results revealed a significant improvement in students' critical thinking skills (p < 0.001), with the average score increasing from 55.97 on the pretest to 81.21 on the posttest. Furthermore, the analysis yielded a moderate N-Gain score of 0.57 and a large effect size of 0.87, indicating a powerful intervention impact. This study concludes that the SABL approach effectively fosters critical thinking skills by operationalizing a systematic, data-driven instructional cycle consisting of diagnostic assessment, flexible ability grouping, tiered worksheets, and adaptive scaffolding. This structured framework offers a targeted and highly practical pedagogical model to overcome student background disparities, cultivate higher-order cognitive capacities, and promote educational equity in Islamic primary classrooms.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21043/elementary.v14i1.37289
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