The Use of an Open-Ended Learning Approach on The Ability To Recognize The Concept of Numbers: Its Effectiveness for Children 4-5 Years Old

The formation of numerical concepts is a critical stage in early childhood development. Understanding numbers lays the groundwork for future mathematical abilities and academic success. This study aims to investigate the effect of an open-ended learning strategy on the capacity of 4-5-year-old children to recognize number concepts. To reach the research goal, a quantitative approach was used, along with experimental methodologies. The study participants were children aged 4-5 years old

Children enter a prime learning period between the ages of 4-5 (Mulyana, Nandiyanto, and Kurniawan 2022;Mulyati and Sisrazeni 2022;Priyanti and Warmansyah 2021).Cognitive development is one of the areas that has to be developed in early childhood education (Finch, Obradovic, and Yousafzai 2016;Sari, Warmansyah, and Husna 2022;Zhou, Chen, and Main 2012).Cognitive development describes a child's capacity for critical thought, learning, comprehension of their environment and its conditions, memory stimulation, and the solution of straightforward tasks (Kontribusi et al., n.d.;Komala et al. 2020) There are six areas of early childhood development, and each should advance depending on the child's age: moral and religious growth comes first, followed by cognitive development, socioemotional development, physical and motor development, language development, and creative development (Safitri et al. 2023;Warmansyah et al. 2022;Wulandani et al. 2022).This description makes it clear that cognitive development, which involves a child's capacity for problem-solving, the development of critical thinking abilities, the acquisition of spatial and temporal knowledge, and the enhancement of logical thinking, is one aspect of early childhood development (Astuti, Novianti, and Febrialismanto 2020;Warmansyah, Amalina, and Febriyani 2022).
Early childhood cognitive development may be observed in numerous phases, including thinking with realistic things, symbolic thinking, and systematic thinking.Symbols such as letters and numbers help children learn (Authar et al. 2021;Fidyaningrum, Dewayanti, and Authar 2021).This cognitive growth, known as the golden era of children (Karim and Wifroh 2014), may be fostered from an early age.Children may identify and employ these symbols in their daily life throughout this time (Of et al., 2021).Letters and numbers are used as symbols in cognitive development (Oktaviana, Warmansyah, and Trimelia Utami 2021;Warmansyah and Nirwana 2023).The idea of numbers is an example of a numerical symbol, as numbers represent symbols (Rohmalina, Aprianti, and Lestari 2020;Wahyuni, Bastian, and Nofrianti 2021).Teaching children about numbers in early childhood education is an important aspect of cognitive development.It aids children in their understanding of numbers (Mualim and Saputra 2021;Warmansyah, Zulhendri, and Amalina 2021).
The goal of early childhood cognitive development is to improve children's thinking skills in learning acquisition, give multiple problem-solving options, and build mathematical logic and awareness of space and time.Furthermore, youngsters are taught to classify, categorize, and think precisely (Amylia and Setyowati 2014;Laela et al. 2023).The notion of numbers is taught in kindergarten as part of mathematics education.Its goal is to help youngsters develop their arithmetic abilities, which are important in their everyday lives and serve as a basis for higher education (Safitri et al. 2023;Sumardi, Rahman, and Gustini 20177).
One of the triggers that may be produced while teaching youngsters the notion of numbers is through pleasurable play activities.These activities can pique children's attention and help them grow cognitively (Metafisika, Azizah, and Fitriyah 2022;Nisak, Munawaroh, and Abbas 2022;Rahman, Fuadatun, et al. 2017).The capacity to comprehend numerical ideas seeks to assist youngsters in understanding numbers and performing addition and subtraction, all of which are critical for their transition to primary school (Hayati and Fitri 2016;Khamidah and Sholichah 2022).Introducing Child Education Journal(2023), 5.2 61-119 youngsters to the notion of numbers is intended to help them grasp other mathematical concepts in higher-level learning (Jelita, Syarfina, and Fadhila 2022;Nur, Hafina, and Rusmana 2020).A crucial mathematical idea that prepares children for early numeracy abilities and future educational advancement is familiarizing them with number symbols (Devi 2020).
Common problems with children's understanding of the notion of numbers include a lack of knowledge of the concept itself as well as a lack of supportive learning tools to help youngsters grasp the concept of numbers (Khadijah 2016).Inadequately appropriate teaching approaches that support the process of number concept recognition, as well as a lack of adequate resources and facilities to assist children in understanding number concepts, contribute to the difficulties that teachers face when teaching number concepts due to a lack of training in introducing number concepts to children (Astuti, Novianti, and Febrialismanto 2020).
These findings are consistent with early observations obtained on August 3, 2022, at TK Pertiwi Kec, Lima Kaum, and Kab Tanah Datar, where there were significant concerns with Group A children's mastery of number concept recognition.A sample of eight children was chosen from a total population of eight, demonstrating that six children were unable to recognize number symbols, particularly digits 1-10.Six youngsters also revealed a lack of capacity to compare magnitudes of numbers, notably when discriminating between conceptions of length and shortness.
Preschools are not permitted to provide direct literacy instruction, according to the Minister of National Education's circular letter No. 1839/C.C2/Tu/2009; instead, learning should be planned within the framework of developing all aspects of a child's development through play-based approaches tailored to their developmental needs (Wulandari, Dantes, and Antara 2020).Given the aforementioned challenges, proper stimulation is required to enable successful learning for youngsters.Using a variety of techniques, instructional methods, and learning material helps pique children's interest in mathematics.The open-ended method is one technique that may be explored in mathematics education (Liwis et al. 2017).
The open-ended style of education entails giving mathematical problems to students in an openended way, pushing them to give alternative solution techniques (Faridah, Aeni, et al. 2016).Beyond providing many solution possibilities, the core of open-endedness is allowing students to solve issues in their own way while still arriving at accurate solutions (Rohmalina, Aprianti, and Lestari 2020).Open-ended methods to mathematics teaching can evoke a broader range of responses.Students engage in critical thinking and active engagement in the learning process when they participate in open-ended learning.Open-ended learning allows pupils to think creatively and rationally (Rudyanto 2016).
Open-ended methods provide issues with several valid answers, allowing children to investigate, recognize, and solve difficulties using a variety of strategies.This develops children's reasoning skills, allowing them to think clearly and critically (Habiddin et al. 2022;Zubaidah 2018).Previous research found that utilizing an open-ended strategy to introduce the notion of numbers to students in Madrasah helped students to examine and completely comprehend the provided challenges.This method allowed pupils to tackle issues in a creative and critical manner.Based on these findings, the researcher chose to use the open-ended method in early childhood education, especially teaching number symbol identification as part of young children's mathematics classes.
Because the open-ended method produces results that can stimulate children's mathematical abilities, researchers are attempting to use it to stimulate mathematical skills in early childhood, as one of the stimulated abilities is the ability to solve problems with correct and accurate answers.The open-ended method improves the capacity to comprehend the notion of numbers in early infancy by effectively and suitably stimulating the ability to answer problems correctly (Musdalifah, Antara, and Magta 2016).While previous research has generally supported the positive impact of an open-ended learning approach on creative and critical thinking, our study focuses on a particular and crucial aspect of young children's mathematical development.This distinction and the added value of our Child Education Journal(2023), 5.2 61-119 research will be further explained.We focus on learning number symbols, which are the foundation for numeracy abilities such as addition, subtraction, and more complex mathematical ideas.Unlike previous, more generalized studies into the advantages of open-ended learning, our research focuses on number symbols as a crucial part of early numeracy.
The study that is being presented here sets itself apart by examining the possibilities of an open-ended learning strategy to solve young children's difficulty recognizing number symbols.This study, in contrast to earlier research, focuses on the use of open-ended learning strategies to encourage critical and creative thinking in the context of teaching number symbol recognition in early mathematics education.By providing a fresh method to enhance young children's numeracy abilities, the suggested research aims to close the gap in present educational approaches.As a result, the purpose of this study is to assess the influence of the open-ended learning approach on the capacity to recognize numbers and symbols in the context of mathematics education, which should begin at a young age.

METHOD
The one-group pretest-posttest design was used in this study as a pre-experimental research method.The study was done at the TK Pertiwi facility in Tanah Datar Regency.A class was chosen at random using a lottery technique like the sampling strategy used in this study, which used simple random sampling.Eight children aged 4-5 from the chosen class made up the experimental group.The open-ended learning strategy was used in the study to see how it affected students' comprehension of number concepts.The phases of the research process were as follows: Selection of Participants: Using the Simple Random Sampling method, a class from TK Pertiwi was randomly selected as a participant.With eight youngsters between the ages of 4-5, the chosen class served as the experimental group.Pretest Assessment: An assessment of the children's initial capacity to recognize number concepts was conducted prior to the implementation of the open-ended learning technique.The objective of this examination was to create a baseline to contrast with the posttest results.Implementation of the Open-Ended Learning Approach: Open-ended learning was the method of instruction used with the experimental group.This method promoted active investigation, critical thinking, and issue-solving involving mathematical principles.The kids participated in a variety of activities and learned through the use of various tools, resources, and materials.
Posttest Assessment: To gauge the students' increased comprehension of numerical concepts following the adoption of the open-ended learning strategy, a posttest was administered.The goal of the posttest was to assess how the open-ended learning strategy affected their learning results.Data Collection: While the open-ended learning strategy was being used, observations were conducted to compile information on the students' participation, engagement, and advancement in understanding number concepts.To rigorously track and evaluate their performance, a checklist was used.Data Analysis: To ascertain the efficacy of the open-ended learning approach, data from the pretest, posttest, and observations were gathered.To gauge the pupils' knowledge of numerical concepts, statistical analysis, such as comparing pre-and post-test results, was carried out.The t-test is used to examine the test for measuring the ability to recognize the concepts of numbers.A normality and homogeneity test is done on the data group before the t-test.The study used these techniques in order to look at how the open-ended learning strategy affected the students' comprehension of numerical concepts.A thorough evaluation of the children's initial capacity to recognize number concepts and their involvement in the open-ended learning approach was possible thanks to the use of a pretest-and-posttest design and observers.

Result
Tests were used to get the research findings.The data collection included a total of six tests, with the first serving as a pretest to examine the participants' baseline level before to treatment.Following this, four treatments sessions were held to assess the children's progress in identifying number concepts.Finally, a posttest was administered to see whether the children's ability to recognize the concepts of numbers had improved since the original test and treatment sessions.
The data in this study is normally distributed.The normality test determines whether or not the data for each variable is regularly distributed.Shapiro-Wilk is the formula utilized.The capacity to understand the notion of children's numbers is projected to improve with the use of statistical data management computer software, SPSS version 22.The normalcy test results are displayed in the table below: The data utilized is normally distributed, based on the normality test findings from the pretest and posttest (Kolmogorov-Smirnov or Shapiro-Wilk).The pre-test results were 0.811, which means 0.056 > 0.05.Meanwhile, the posttest results yielded a value of 0.800, indicating that 0.522 > 0.05.As a result, the data is normally distributed.This study investigated assumptions and used normally distributed data in addition to homogeneity-distributed data.SPSS was used by the researchers to locate data with a homogenous distribution.This is seen in the table below about the homogeneity test.The results of the homogeneity test, which is based on the normality test, indicate that the data used follows a uniform distribution.The obtained significance level is 0.063, which is greater than the significance threshold of 0.05, demonstrating that the data is indeed homogenous.Furthermore, research was undertaken to assess the hypothesis.This hypothesis is considered provisional since the new responses are rooted in empirical data collected for the purpose of examination.Subsequent to obtaining the treatment outcomes, the next step involves evaluating the treatment data through statistical tests to determine whether the improvement in the ability to comprehend the concept of numbers in 4-5-year-old children, facilitated by an open-ended intervention, is statistically significant.
Hypothesis testing is carried out after the treatment outcomes.The subsequent phase is to analyze the data from the intervention using statistical tests to assess the extent of improvement in children's understanding of numerical concepts through an open-ended learning approach.In this context, the t-test analysis is performed as outlined in the table below: Child Education Journal(2023), 5.2 61-119 The next step involves interpreting the t-value, which begins by considering the degrees of freedom (df ) or dB, where df = N-1 = 8-1 = 7.By comparing the magnitude of the obtained t-value, which is t = 15.19, with the critical t-value at a significance level of 1%, denoted as tt 1% = 3.106, it becomes evident that the t-value is more significant than the critical value, i.e., 15.19 > 3.106.This leads to the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis, indicating that the open-ended learning approach has an impact on the ability of 4-5-year-old children to comprehend number concepts.Consequently, there appears to be a substantial difference within the sample group between the pre-test and post-test.

Discussion
The present study aligns with a number of previous research findings concerning the efficacy of the open-ended learning strategy in fostering children's understanding of numerical concepts.The advantages of the open-ended approach in encouraging students' critical and creative thinking have been repeatedly shown by earlier research (Rudyanto 2016).This is in line with the main goal of our research, which is to evaluate how early mathematics instruction affects children's capacity to recognize numbers and symbols through open-ended learning.
The use of the Open-Ended approach to learning can help youngsters comprehend numerical concepts.This is because children can solve issues in an open-ended way, as indicated by their capacity to respond to presented difficulties (Sumardi, Rahman, and Gustini 2017).The ability to understand number concepts in children can be developed and trained through an open-ended learning approach.In the upcoming learning activities, it is advisable to use an engaging and enjoyable approach that involves children directly in learning number concepts with the open-c approach (Nur, Hafina, and Rusmana 2020).The ability to understand number concepts can be defined as a child's ability to recognize numbers, count, order numbers, and connect numbers to objects (Astuti, Novianti, and Febrialismanto 2020).
The open-ended learning approach directs children to solve problems openly and find solutions to the given problems.This approach presents problems and encourages problem-solving through various methods with diverse solutions or alternatives (Faridah, Aeni, et al. 2016).The open-ended approach is a teaching method in which the teacher creates problem situations and conditions for students, and the solutions to these problems can be obtained through various methods.
Learning with the open-ended approach can stimulate students' mathematical abilities, and researchers have attempted to apply the open-ended approach to stimulate early childhood mathematical abilities, as one of the stimulated abilities is problem-solving (Delyana 2015).Through effective and appropriate problem-solving stimulation, the open-ended approach significantly influences early childhood's understanding of number concepts (Wulandari, Dantes, and Antara 2020).
In prior research observed that the utilization of an open-ended learning approach in students at Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Munawarah Kota Jambi contributed to a profound exploration of existing issues, leading to the development of critical and creative problem-solving skills.Rudyanto's study in (2016) also affirmed that this approach has the potential to boost the creative and critical thinking capabilities of children.Based on the results of this study, researchers attempted to apply the open-ended learning Child Education Journal(2023), 5.2 61-119 approach in early childhood education, particularly in the understanding of number symbols as part of mathematics lessons for young children.
Previous research found that open-ended method can stimulate children's mathematical abilities (Mulyana, Nandiyanto, and Kurniawan 2022),.Therefore, researchers have attempted to apply the open-ended approach to stimulate early childhood mathematical abilities, as one of the stimulated abilities is the ability to solve problems with correct and accurate answers (Rohmalina, Aprianti, and Lestari 2020).
In conclusion, our study supports other research by emphasizing the beneficial effects of an open-ended learning strategy on kids' cognitive development, especially in the areas of critical and creative thinking.Nevertheless, by focusing on the particular field of number symbol recognition and conducting the research in the distinctive setting of early childhood education in Indonesia, our study goes beyond these broad conclusions.By doing this, we hope to offer a more focused and contextually appropriate analysis that clarifies the suitability and efficacy of the open-ended approach in a particular educational setting.This, in turn, contributes to a more thorough understanding of early childhood education techniques by adding depth and specificity to the body of current knowledge.

LIMITATION
One limitation of this study is the extremely limited sample size, and this constraint could potentially hinder the applicability of the results to a broader population.Furthermore, the study was done in a specific educational setting, which may have altered the outcomes due to cultural and contextual variables.The reliance on a pretest-posttest methodology, as well as the lack of long-term follow-up evaluations, limit the capacity to analyze the long-term impact of the open-ended learning strategy.Furthermore, the study focused primarily on number concept recognition and did not include a control or comparison group.These limitations underscore the need for further research with bigger and more varied samples, consideration of multiple educational contexts, and a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of the open-ended learning strategy on many elements of learning.

IMPLICATION AND CONCLUSION
This work has implications for future research attempts since it lays the path for further examination of open-ended learning methodologies in several areas of early childhood education.Future research can continue to improve educational practices and contribute to the optimum development of children in their early years by improving our understanding of successful teaching approaches for young children.The study's findings have important significance for early childhood educators and curriculum makers.This study underscores the necessity of adopting such techniques in educational settings by demonstrating the favorable impacts of employing an open-ended learning strategy on the identification of number concepts in young children.The use of open-ended learning strategies promotes active inquiry, independent thinking, and problem solving while also improving cognitive growth in connection to numerical ideas.testimony or patent licensing arrangements) or non-financial interests (like personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge, or beliefs) in relation to the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Table 1 .
Research Design

Table 2 .
Shows the Results of Hypothesis Testing Data on Children's Number Recognition Ability.

Table 3 .
Data from the Homogeneity Test

Table 4 .
Testing the Truth of the Alternative Hypothesis (Hα)