Pengembangan Buku Ajar Aqidah Akhlak Berbasis HOTS untuk Meningkatkan Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Peserta Didik Kelas V MI Ma’arif Ketegan Sidoarjo

Abstract

This study aims to develop a Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)-based Aqidah Akhlak textbook and examine its validity, feasibility, and effectiveness in improving the critical thinking skills of fifth-grade students at MI Ma’arif Ketegan, Sidoarjo. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the ADDIE model, consisting of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The development was theoretically grounded in Cognitivist Theory, the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, Islamic Religious Education Learning Theory, and Robert Ennis’s Critical Thinking Theory. Data were collected through observation, interviews, questionnaires, and documentation. Product validity was assessed by media/design and subject-matter experts, feasibility was evaluated based on user responses, and effectiveness was examined using pre-test and post-test scores, an independent-samples t-test, and N-Gain analysis. The results indicate that the developed textbook was highly valid and feasible for use, with validation scores of 95% from the media/design expert and 98% from the subject-matter expert, while user responses reached 90.47%. The students’ mean scores increased from 64.83 on the pre-test to 88.17 on the post-test. The t-test yielded a significance value of 0.001 (<0.05), indicating a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores, while the N-Gain score of 67.21% indicated a moderate level of improvement. Therefore, the HOTS-based Aqidah Akhlak textbook is considered valid, feasible, and effective in supporting the development of fifth-grade students’ critical thinking skills.