Designing Problem-Oriented Teaching Materials to Strengthen Higher-Order Thinking and Critical Thinking Skills in Industrial Economics Learning

Abstract

Industrial Economics learning requires instructional materials that encourage students not only to understand economic concepts but also to critically analyze economic problems. This study focuses on designing and developing instructional materials that integrate the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach with an emphasis on Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) to strengthen the critical thinking abilities of students at the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri Medan. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the ADDIE model, consisting of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation stages. The quality of the developed materials was assessed through expert validation and responses from lecturers and students, while changes in students’ critical thinking abilities were examined based on pretest and posttest results. The findings indicate that the developed instructional materials met the required feasibility criteria and received positive responses from both lecturers and students. The Paired Sample t-Test yielded a significance value of 0.000 (p<0.05), indicating a statistically significant difference in students’ critical thinking abilities before and after the implementation of the instructional materials. These findings suggest that incorporating contextual problems, problem-solving activities, and higher-order cognitive demands into instructional materials can serve as a pedagogical alternative for strengthening critical thinking in Industrial Economics learning. The developed materials therefore offer potential as a learning resource for fostering more analytical and problem-oriented learning.