Understanding the Problem Solving Strategy Based on Cognitive Style as a Tool to Investigate Reflective Thinking Process of Prospective Teacher

The development of reflective thinking has been a highlight and important in the education of prospective mathematics teachers. It provides them with the opportunities to take a conscious and logical decision on the complex problems they faced. The quality of the problem solving and reflective thinking will differ between one student and another due to their characteristics. This study presents a description of reflective thinking skills of prospective teachers in solving mathematical problems based on the difference in cognitive style. The instruments used in this study consist of (1) GEFT cognitive-style test, (2) a mathematical problem solving task which is a non-routine and open-ended (3) the interview guidelines based on the reflective thinking component. By choosing analysis of qualitative approaches, the data of interviews that are in the form of interview's transcript based on mathematical problem solving results are gathered from two students of prospective mathematics teachers as research participants. One prospective teacher use cognitive field independent style (PTFI) and field dependent style (PTFD). Research findings show that PTFD tends to use the experience to be implemented in mathematical problem solving but PTFD cannot utilize the new information contained, so that PTFD has a reflective-dynamic characteristic. While PTFI tends to use the experience to utilize the new information contained in the problem in order to construct the problem solving strategy so that PTFI has reflective-generative characteristic. It is indicated that there are differences in the characteristics of reflective thinking process among prospective teachers based on difference of cognitive style.