Some Difficulties in Making Generalization Faced by Students: A Phenomenology Study on Mathematics Learning in Islamic Boarding Schools

Abstract

The ability to think that is important for Islamic scholars as revealed above includes reasoning ability because it is related to deduction, analogy, induction, and conclusion that is the type of argumentation used in Islamic law. One of the subjects believed to be able to develop reasoning skills is mathematics. Reasoning developed in mathematics learning is mathematical reasoning (mathematical reasoning). One of the goals of mathematics learning related to reasoning is to make generalizations based on patterns, facts, phenomena, or existing data. The ability to make generalizations is important for students in Islamic boarding schools because related to istiqra' is one type of Islamic law argumentation. Istiqra' is an activity of a process of analysis of particular things to be able to draw a general and universal conclusion. The analysis used in this study is a phenomenology approach. This research focuses on the ability of students in Islamic boarding schools of making mathematical generalizations and also how students interpret each step of mathematical generalization. Based on the results of the study and discussion, it can be concluded that Students face many difficulties at the stage of expression of generality and the stage of symbolic expression of generality, namely students have difficulty describing rules/ patterns, both numerically and verbally and formulating symbolically.