Auliya Nadhira, Syafrimen Syafril, Muhammad Muchsin Afriyadi
Critical thinking is an essential competency that primary school students must develop to address the challenges of learning and everyday life. The LAPS–Heuristic model (Logan Avenue Problem Solving–Heuristic) has considerable potential to support the development of this competency. This study aims to identify the indicators of primary school students’ critical thinking skills and to describe the implementation of the LAPS–Heuristic model in fostering such skills. The study employed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method following the PRISMA framework. The data were drawn from scholarly articles published between 2020 and 2026, selected according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review process comprised the stages of identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and inclusion. The indicators of critical thinking skills include identifying and understanding problems, analysing information, constructing logical arguments, evaluating alternative solutions, drawing evidence-based conclusions, and communicating findings clearly and systematically. The LAPS–Heuristic model is implemented through four stages: understanding the problem, planning the solution, implementing the solution, and evaluating the results. Each stage provides students with opportunities to engage in higher-order thinking activities, including interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and reflection. The findings indicate that the LAPS–Heuristic model is strongly associated with the development of critical thinking skills, as each stage encourages students to think systematically, logically, reflectively, and through a problem-solving orientation.