<![CDATA[Analytical thinking skills are essential for students to dissect complex mathematical structures, yet teacher-centered learning often fails to foster these higher-order cognitive processes. This study examined the effect of the Guided Discovery Learning (GDL) model on eighth-grade students’ analytical thinking skills in Relations and Functions. Using a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control-group design, two intact eighth-grade classes at SMP Negeri 19 Bandar Lampung were selected through cluster random sampling: class VIII.E (n1 = 32) as the experimental group receiving GDL instruction and class VIII.F (n2 = 32) as the control group receiving direct instruction. Data were collected using a pretest and posttest consisting of four validated essay prompts aligned with Anderson and Krathwohl’s revised Bloom’s taxonomy indicators. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an independent-samples t-test on N-gain scores. The results revealed that students instructed with GDL achieved a significantly higher mean posttest score (M = 68.44, SD = 8.12) and a higher mean N-gain (MN-gain = 0.37, SD = 0.12, medium category) than students in the control group (M = 61.25, SD = 7.45; MN-gain = 0.26, SD = 0.11, low category). The independent-samples t-test confirmed a significant difference in N-gain between the two groups (t(62) = 3.824, p < 0.001, two-tailed). Furthermore, the intervention yielded a large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.96). Analysis of specific indicators showed that the greatest improvement occurred in the differentiating indicator, followed by organizing and attributing. These findings suggest that GDL effectively enhances students’ analytical thinking skills by providing structured scaffolding during mathematical exploration.]]>
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