<![CDATA[This study aimed to describe the improvement of students’ understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem through the implementation of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) assisted by Local Instructional Theory (LIT) among eighth-grade students at SMPN 10 Medan. The study employed a descriptive quantitative approach with a one-group pre-test and post-test design. The participants were 37 students of class VIII-A. Data were collected through pre-tests, post-tests, student worksheets (LKPD), and reflection activities. The data were analyzed descriptively using mean scores and N-Gain. The results showed that the students’ mean score increased from 61.89 on the pre-test to 66.89 on the post-test, indicating an increase of 5.00 points. The class-level N-Gain was 0.13, which was categorized as low. Based on individual N-Gain calculations, 4 students (11.11%) were in the high category, 4 students (11.11%) were in the medium category, and 28 students (77.78%) were in the low category, with an average individual N-Gain of 0.04. The LKPD results showed that students achieved the highest performance in conceptual understanding, with an average score of 3.59 or 89.86%, while mathematical reasoning and problem-solving obtained lower scores of 33.11% and 27.03%, respectively. These findings indicate that RME assisted by LIT was accompanied by an increase in students’ understanding, although the level of improvement remained low, particularly in mathematical reasoning and problem-solving.]]>
