The Essence of Students' Adaptive Reasoning Ability in Mathematics Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Adaptive reasoning is an essential ability in learning mathematics, which helps students face challenges in problem-solving. This study aims to identify the essence of adaptive reasoning skills through a systematic literature analysis using the content analysis method of a number of articles published in Scopus and Sinta-accredited journals during the period 2013-2024. The main focus of this study was to explore research contributions related to adaptive reasoning, including year of publication, research subject, research design, methods, and learning approaches used, characteristics, and influencing factors. From a total of 66 articles, 19 publications met the inclusion and exclusion criteria after the screening process. After further analysis, 17 articles were selected as the primary sources in this study. Reporting of the study refers to the modified PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines as the standard for conducting systematic literature reviews. The authors highlighted, evaluated, and discussed the importance of the SLR approach in this study. The findings show that most of the studies used experimental designs (29.41%) and qualitative description investigations (23.53%), with the main focus on junior high school students (35.29%). Learning methods such as STEM, CPS, and PBL proved effective in improving adaptive reasoning skills. The results provide important insights into adaptive reasoning in mathematics learning, as well as the importance of innovative learning strategies to support its development.