Implementing the Group Investigation Cooperative Learning Strategy to Improve Junior High School Students Critical Thinking Skills in Islamic Religious Education

Abstract

Background: Developing twenty first century critical thinking skills in Islamic Religious Education within rural inclusive schools encounters persistent challenges related to passive student participation. Objective: This study aims to describe the improvement of students critical thinking skills and academic achievement through the implementation of the Group Investigation cooperative learning strategy. Method: A Classroom Action Research design following the Kemmis and McTaggart spiral model was conducted across two cycles involving thirty seventh grade students at SMPN 36 PKLK Kaur. Data collection employed Higher Order Thinking Skills based tests, systematic observation sheets, and interviews, analyzed through combined quantitative and qualitative approaches. Results: The findings demonstrated a significant increase in the critical thinking mean score from 60 at baseline to 70 in Cycle I, reaching 85 in Cycle II, with classical mastery percentage surging from 30 percent to 90 percent. Conclusion: The Group Investigation strategy effectively boosts student analytical, evaluative, and interpretive competencies within heterogeneous classrooms. Originality/Value: This study pioneers an empirical advancement in the field of Islamic Religious Education Learning Methodology and Inclusive Education by revealing significant cognitive enhancements across analytical, evaluative, and interpretive reasoning through peer tutoring mechanisms within heterogeneous classrooms in a rural inclusive school facing educational resource constraints, an institutional setting that remains scarcely investigated. These findings enrich empirical evidence and serve as a strategic reference for designing adaptive instructional frameworks and formulating inclusive pedagogical policies in resource limited schools.