ANALISIS KEMAMPUAN KOMUNIKASI MATEMATIS SISWA DALAM MENYELESAIKAN SOAL CERITA DITINJAU DARI PENGETAHUAN AWAL

The purpose of this study was to describe students' mathematical communication skills in solving story problems in terms of prior knowledge. This research uses a mixed method that combines qualitative and quantitative approaches. The data were analyzed using a descriptive approach, then the data were categorized using a quantitative approach. The subjects of this study were 2 students each with low, medium, and high prior knowledge. The results stated that students' mathematical communication skills in solving story problems, both written and oral, were strongly influenced by their level of prior knowledge. Students with low prior knowledge had very low mathematical communication skills, especially in the oral mathematical communication aspect. Students with moderate prior knowledge showed varied mathematical communication skills, from low to high categories, with oral communication skills tending to be better than written communication. Meanwhile, students with high prior knowledge showed high to very high mathematical communication skills in both aspects, both oral and written. Based on this research, students with low prior knowledge need more structured learning, focusing on strengthening understanding of basic concepts as well as explicit practice in written and oral communication. Second, students with moderate prior knowledge need learning that is oriented towards the application of concepts to solve more complex problems. Third, students with high prior knowledge can be given additional challenges to further develop their metacognition skills.