The Analysis of Students’ Creative Thinking Skills through the Implementation of the Project Based Learning Model in Social Studies Learning

. This research is motivated by the lack of creative thinking skills of students in social studies learning. This is because learning is still dominated by teachers. This research aims at describing the Project Based Learning model to encourage creative thinking, the planning of Project Based Learning, the implementation strategies of Project Based Learning, and the solutions to obstacles in developing creative thinking. The approach employed in this research was a qualitative approach with descriptive methods. The data were collected through interviews and documentation studies. The subjects of this study were a social studies teacher and 25 students in class VII-E. Based on the research results, it could be seen that 1) the implementation of the Project Based Learning model had been able to develop students’ creative thinking skills, which could be seen from the results of the projects they had done; 2) the planning in implementing the Project Based Learning model had been well prepared and could develop students’ creative thinking; 3) the process of implementing the Project Based Learning was carried out in accordance with the syntax of the Project Based Learning model itself, starting from asking basic questions to evaluating experiences; 4) The obstacles faced were class management, planning learning time, students who were not able to fathom the aims and objectives to be conveyed, and students who needed to be given an overview of the example projects they were going to work on.


A. INTRODUCTION
Education has an important role in developing and realizing students' potential.The student learning process can be measured by the quality of the teachers.One of the problems in education nowadays is about the weakness of the learning process.Usually, the learning process does not develop students' thinking skills because it is dominated by teachers.It can shackle the students' mindset, thus reducing students' creativity.In addition, the learning model used is too conventional, making it difficult for teachers to develop students' thinking skills.The biggest challenge for teachers today is to help students develop their thinking skills.
According to Anderson's revised Bloom Taxonomy, there are two levels of thinking.The first one is lower-level thinking and the second one is higher-level thinking.In line with that, Ramli (2015, p. 6) states that Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) are skills that include a person's skill to think critically, logically, reflectively, metacognitively, and creatively.Higher-order thinking skills, especially the skill to think creatively, are skills that must be possessed to face the challenges of life in this 21st century.
Based on the results of pre-research observations and interviews conducted at the seventh graders of SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI, most students did not have the creative thinking skills in optimal and adequate manners.This was assessed using indicators of creative thinking skills according to Susanto (2014, pp. 111-113), which consists of thinking fluently, originally, flexibly, and elaborately.Thinking fluently is related to the number of works or ideas that are produced.Thinking originally indicates works or ideas that are different from the work of the people around them.Thinking flexibly is being able to see a problem from a different point of view.Meanwhile, the skill to elaborate is the skill to add or elaborate the details of an object, idea, or situation to make it more interesting.
One of the educational programs that can be used to develop these skills is the social studies subject.Through social studies learning, students can develop creative activities that involve their imagination, discovery, curiosity, and the skill to make predictions and guesses.Based on the aforementioned problem, a solution is needed to deal with problems regarding students' creative thinking skills.The social studies teacher of the VII grade of SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI tried to solve the problem of students' creative thinking skills by employing a varied learning model and prioritizing the development of thinking skills.Therefore, the Project-Based Learning model was chosen as an appropriate effort to improve students' creative thinking skills.By applying a project-based learning model in social studies learning, social studies learning is not only delivered theoretically but through direct practice in making work to completion.This activity will stimulate students to be creative in pouring their creative ideas into a unique work.

B. METHOD
In this research, a qualitative approach was employed.This qualitative approach was used to obtain an overview of students' creative thinking skills in social studies learning.According to Bogdan and Taylor (in Moleong, 2013, p. 4) qualitative research is a research procedure that produces descriptive data in the form of written or spoken words from people and observable behavior.The method employed in this research was the descriptive method.According to Setyosari ( 2010), descriptive research is research that aims at explaining or describing a situation, event, object, person, or everything that is related to variables that can be explained by either numbers or words.The descriptive method was chosen because students' creative thinking skills in social studies learning needed to be explored and described.The place used as the research site was the SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI, located on Jalan Senjayaguru, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung 40154.The research subjects in this study were the social studies teacher in class VII at the SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI and the students of class VII E of the SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI.The data collection techniques used were interviews and documentation studies.The data that had been collected were then analyzed using the Miles ' and Huberman's (in Sugiyono, 2014, pp. 337-345) version of the analysis method, which were data reduction, data presentation and conclusions, and verification.The validity of the data was tested using triangulation.Triangulation, according to Sugiyono (2012, p. 241), is a data collection technique that combines various data collection techniques and existing data sources.

C. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1. Project-Based Learning Model to foster students' creative thinking skills in social studies learning
In the current era, in the learning process, both social studies and other subjects, students are required to be able to develop their creative thinking skills.These skills are the assets that students must have in facing this 21st century.The National Education Association (in Redhana, 2019Redhana, , pp. 2239Redhana, -2253) ) has identified 21st-century skills as "The 4Cs" skills.The 4Cs include critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration.Therefore, in the learning process, teachers must be able to stimulate students' creative thinking skills through the learning model they employ.
The social studies teacher in class VII of the SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI thought that the development of creative thinking in the social studies learning process was necessary.Therefore, it was carried out through the teaching and learning process.Of course, it was necessary to choose a suitable and appropriate model to support the development of creative thinking.The learning model chosen to foster students' creative thinking skills was Project-Based Learning.In the selection of the model, factual conditions in the field, such as student conditions, class conditions, learning materials, learning objectives, and Basic Competencies (KD, Kompetensi Dasar) had to be considered, so that students' creative thinking skills could develop.By applying this project-based learning model, social studies learning was delivered not only theoretically but also through direct practices in making a work.This was expected to stimulate students to think creatively, work together in completing projects, and think critically.In addition, with this Project Based Learning model, students were required to be more active and given the freedom to express their ideas through the projects they produced.This is in line with the opinion of Ruseffendi (1998) (in Susanto, 2017, p. 25) who states that attracting creative people can be complemented by activities in the classroom, discussions, projects, and problem solving.
The results showed that by employing the Project-Based Learning model in social studies learning in class VII E of the SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI and by employing infographics and mind mapping as the selected projects, it was found that students were able to develop their creative thinking.There were four indicators of creative thinking skills put forward by Susanto (2014, p. 111), which are Fluency (thinking fluently), Flexibility (thinking flexibly), Originality (thinking originally), and Elaboration (detailing ability).

Planning a Project-Based Learning Model to develop students' creative thinking skills in social studies learning
Planning in teaching and learning is certainly one of the most important things that teachers do.If the planning is well prepared, the learning objectives will be achieved well.With the planning that has been made, the teacher in carrying out the teaching and learning activities refers to the steps that are adjusted to the learning plan that has been made.One of the components of the learning plan that becomes a reference in the learning process is the Lesson Plan (RPP, Rencana Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran), which is adjusted to the applicable the 2013 curriculum.
In developing students' creative thinking skills in social studies learning, teachers had to prepare a lesson plan with the intent and purpose of developing students' creative thinking skills.The initial plan in preparing the lesson plan was to determine the learning approach and model to be used.The model used was Project Based Learning and the approach was scientific.Then, the next plan was to determine the learning media to support students' creative thinking.The learning media used were quite diverse.In this case, the social studies teacher at the SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI, in social studies learning with the Project-Based Learning model, had used several learning media such as interactive learning videos, infographic summaries, and learning modules.It was intended to stimulate students to think creatively through social studies learning.

Project-Based Learning strategy to develop students' creative thinking skills in social studies learning
In implementing the Project-Based Learning model in social studies learning, a teacher must have a strategy and stages that are carried out in accordance with the steps or syntax of the model they use.Therefore, the expected goals can be achieved.
The results showed that social studies teachers in class VII of the SMP Laboratorium Percontohan UPI had prepared the strategies and stages in implementing this Project-Based Learning model.These stages include: 1) determining the learning material to be developed through creative thinking.By determining the material, the teacher was able to adjust the time effectiveness of the material to be taught; 2) determining the projects to stimulate students' creative thinking patterns; 3) determining the stages in making a project or determining a sample project to be done by students.This was done to get students stimulated and to give them a general picture of the project pattern to be worked on; 4) determination of evaluation.Determination of evaluation was done to determine the influence of the project on students' creative thinking abilities.In the planning stages in the Project-Based Learning model proposed by Ridwan (2014, p. 178), it is stated that the implementation of Project-Based Learning must start from adequate learning planning.It can be done by following these stages: determining project material, determining project objectives, identifying students' initial skills and knowledge needed to carry out the project, determining study groups, determining the project implementation schedule, evaluating resources, and determining the evaluation method to be used.

Solutions for obstacles in developing students' creative thinking skills through Project-Based Learning in social studies learning
The employment of the Project-Based Learning model to develop students' creative thinking skills did not always go well according to plan.There had to be obstacles to face.Based on the findings obtained through interviews, the obstacles faced came from both the teacher and the students.
The obstacles faced by teachers in developing creative thinking skills through the employment of the Project-Based Learning model included class management and timing in learning which were sometimes ineffective and not in accordance with the planning that had been designed in the lesson plans.There were two solutions to this problem.First, the teacher had to understand the conditions of the class they were teaching.For example, in dividing students into groups for project development, they should be divided equally and diversely.This group division had to be adjusted to the ability of each student himself.Therefore, there was no group whose all of the members were smart or were lazy.Second, the teacher had to be able to manage time to make the teaching not too slow or too fast.Thus, the time allocation planned before was in accordance with what happened in reality.
Next are the obstacles faced by the students.In developing creative thinking through Project-Based Learning, sometimes students could not understand the aims and objectives to be conveyed.In addition, students needed an overview of the project they were going to do.The solution to these obstacles was that the teacher had to provide a clear understanding of the technical details of the project.The next solution was to provide various examples of the project that was going to be carried out so that students could be stimulated to think creatively in working on the project.In this case, as mentioned in the Project-Based Learning steps, the teacher needed to set up the project.Setting the project means to discuss the project plan that students were going to work on.The steps that could be taken were presenting the project plan, introducing the project, and discussing it for clarification.

D. CONCLUSION
The Project-Based Learning model was one of the recommended models to be used in the 2013 curriculum.Thus, social studies learning could be developed by applying this model.By applying this project-based model, students were given more freedom to be more active and to express their ideas through the projects they made.By applying this project-based learning model, social studies learning was not only delivered theoretically but also through direct practice in making a work.Therefore, it could stimulate students to think creatively and critically, and to work together in completing their projects.There were many examples of projects that could stimulate students to foster creative thinking such as making mind mapping, historical stories, infographics, clippings, essays, and many more.
By employing the Project-Based Learning model in social studies learning in year seven, especially in class VII E of the UPI Pilot Laboratory Junior High School, and by employing infographics making and mind mapping making as the selected projects, it was found that students were able to develop their creative thinking through the work or project that they carried out.