Students' Difficulties in Processing Simple Data in Elementary School

Abstract

This study aims to identify and analyze elementary school students' difficulties in processing simple data, such as reading tables, making diagrams, and concluding information from data. Data processing is an important part of the mathematics curriculum because it trains critical and analytical thinking skills. However, in reality, many students experience obstacles in understanding the basic concepts and technical processes of data processing. This study uses a descriptive qualitative approach with observation techniques, interviews, and document analysis of grade IV and V students at a public elementary school in Tangerang City. The results of the study indicate that students' difficulties are divided into three main categories: (1) conceptual difficulties related to understanding the meaning of data and its types, (2) procedural difficulties in processing data into visual forms such as tables and bar charts, and (3) interpretive difficulties in concluding information from data. The causal factors include limited learning media, teachers' less contextual approaches, and students' low numeracy literacy. The implications of the results of this study are the need for more applicable and interactive learning strategies in data processing learning in elementary schools.