PROFILE OF MENTAL COMPUTATION OF ELEMENTARY PRE-SERVICE TEACHER ACCORDING TO REFLECTIVE-IMPULSIVE COGNITIVE STYLE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe mental computation ability of elementary pre-service
teacher with reflective-impulsive cognitive style. Twentyeight juniors in Jember University
participated in this study. All of the juniors were tested on Matching Familiar Figure Test (MFFT).
Two juniors were chosen, based the test result, as subjects of the research. They were classified as a
junior with reflective cognitive style and a junior with impulsive cognitive style. The subjects were
tested in an oral mental computation test. The test contains 4 items for additions, subtractions,
multiplications, and divisions in whole numbers. Findings were analyzed with qualitative methods.
At the end of the research, a subject with impulsive cognitive style showed a better result than
reflective cognitive style. When computation strategies were analyzed, it was found that a subject
with reflective cognitive style used standard method that were heavily influenced by written
algorithm and only had one strategy to answer the problem, meanwhile impulsive subject used non
standard method without reformulation and gave alternate strategy to answer the problem. Despite
of that, the alternate strategy used by impulsive subject were influenced by written algorithm.
Keywords: mental computation, computation strategies, juniors, cognitive styles.