THE USE OF THINK PAIR SHARE TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING IN READING SKILL

The goal of this study is to know the improvement of students’ critical thinking in answering high order thinking (HOT) questions in reading skill taught Think Pair Share (TPS) Technique. The subject of this study was the eleventh grade students at SMAN 07 Banda Aceh. A qualitative study was used as a method to obtain the data. The data were collected by using observation, document collection and interview. To analyse the data, the researcher observed the students’ activity through teaching learning process in answering high order thinking (HOT) questions in reading class and interviewed the teacher as an informant. Those questions consisted of ten questions adapted from the English textbook for first meeting and the ten questions were arranged by the teacher and researcher. To validate the data and assure realibility, the researcher used triangulation. From the result of data analysis it revealed that the students’ critical thinking improved after the teacher applied Think Pair Share technique. In addition, TPS technique enabled students to be more active and required them to activate their background knowledge through discussion in term of shaping their critical thinking skill in learning process. Keywords: Think Pair Share Technique, Reading Skill, High Order Thinking (HOT) Questions, Critical Thinking