Abstract
Abstract The 21 st century learning paradigm emphasizes the ability of students to think at a higher level. Critical thinking skills are one part of these higher order thinking abilities. One of the learning models that can be used to answer these challenges is the PDC model. The PDC model involves students directly in the process of finding facts or information material being taught. This study aims to propoting students’ critical thinking skills using the PDC learning model. The subjects in this study were 68 students of eleventh grade at senior high school at Mataram city, Indonesia. This research is quasi-experimental with research instruments consisting of 5 open ended questions of critical thinking skills. Five indicators considered critical are studied: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference and explanation. The results showed that learning with the PDC model able to improve students’ critical thinking skills, especially in the interpretation indicator with N-gain 0.71 in the high category, evaluation with N-gain 0.68 in the medium category, and analysis with N-gain 0.64 in the medium category.