From Books to Works: Building Students' Critical-Creative Thinking Culture at MTsN 1 Cilegon City

Abstract

The low culture of literacy and critical as well as creative thinking skills among junior high school students remains a significant challenge in Indonesian education. The Student Community Service (KKM) Thematic Literacy Group 44 of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (UNTIRTA) aims to build and strengthen literacy culture through a sustainable project-based learning approach at MTs Negeri 1 Cilegon City. The community service methodology encompasses four interactive steps: (1) Socialization and education on book reviewing (resensi), (2) Guidance on book-based story writing, (3) Mentoring in creating literacy projects, and (4) Exhibition of works and participatory evaluation. The results demonstrated a significant enhancement in students' understanding of reading structures, critical idea articulation, and confidence in presenting their creative works publicly. Integrating reading, reviewing, story writing, and work exhibition effectively transformed students' perception that reading is not merely decoding words, but an active process of generating creative and valuable works.