The Influence of Game-Based Activities Within the GASING Method on the Mathematical Critical Thinking of Junior High School Learners

Source abstract

Objective: This study examined whether instructional games embedded within the GASING method—an Indonesian acronym for “Easy, Fun, and Enjoyable”—influence junior high school learners’ mathematical critical thinking in integer multiplication. Method: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design paired a nonequivalent control-group quasi-experiment with subsequent qualitative interpretation. Participants (24 experimental, 25 control) were purposively selected from two state junior high schools in a 3T (Frontier, Outermost, and Underdeveloped) region of Lembata Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. A four-item essay test anchored in Facione’s critical thinking dimensions was expert-validated (mean rating 3.54/4.00; Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.907). Results: The Mann-Whitney U test showed no statistically significant between-group difference (Sig. = 0.420, r = −0.115, very small effect); normalized gain was comparable (experimental 0.40, control 0.41, both moderate). Qualitatively, achievement varied by indicator: interpretation 71.88% (high), analysis and inference 53.13% (moderate), and evaluation 43.75% (low). Novelty: This study offers early empirical grounding for a low-barrier, game-enriched GASING approach in resource-limited 3T settings, evaluates games fused into GASING as one integrated package, and surfaces a spoken-written critical thinking disparity that motivates multimodal assessment.