Research design RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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4. Reflection

In this phase, the researcher reflected, evaluated, and described the effects of the action with the assistance from the collaborator. This step facilitated the researcher to comprehend the situation of what had happened and discovered during the cycle. There are two cycles in action research according to Burns 1999 reciting the model of action research by Kemmis and McTaggart 1988. The model of action research suggested by Kemmise and McTaggart can be seen on the picture below. Figure 1: Cyclical AR model based on Kemmis and McTaggart 31 Cycle I, as mentioned by the researcher in the previous, is consisted of four phase: planning, action, observation, and reflection. Hence, Cycle II is used to revise the first cycle. It is important because the second cycle can make the first cycle better. Regarding the fact and explanation above, this research was conducted using two cycles. Each cycle was delivered in three meetings. These cycles were applied in order to find the better ways to improve the students’ writing skill.

B. Research setting

This study was conducted in SMP N 1 Mlati with the participants from the 31 students of VII D. The facilities available for the students in the classrooms are LCD, portable speaker, and white board which were expected to help the process of learning in order to be run well. This research was conducted in about one month, May 2013. This time allocation included the observation, pre-test, treatments, and the post-test. 32

C. Instruments

This research utilized several instruments in collecting the data. Test pre and post-test, questionnaire, and interview with the students and the English teacher, were the instruments used to collecting the data from the participants. 1 Pre-test and post-test The pre-test was used by the researcher to find out any problems, weaknesses, etc. regarding the students’ writing ability. From the pre-test, the researcher with the collaborator decided the material and technique that would be employed at the first cycle. Furthermore, post-test was used to measure the participants’ improvement in their writing ability. The post-test was expected to show the improvement of the students of class VII D after being treated with technique by the researcher. 2 Questionnaire Meanwhile, the questionnaires played the role as the source for the researcher to find out the data related to their opinion on English. Moreover, the students were asked about 33 their motivation toward the English lesson at their school. This also helped the researcher to find an interesting method for the teaching and learning process. 3 Interview with the students Interviewing students was also used as the source of the research data. Several students were interviewed. The interview was run after the pre-test, after and after each cycle in order to know what the students felt about the teaching and learning process, as well as their improvement on writing.

D. Data collection technique

The instruments were employed in order to collect the data. The instruments used in this research were observation checklist, questionnaire, interview guide lines, and test pre-test and post-test. In the reconnaissance step, the researcher assisted by collaborator had observed the teaching and learning process. In observing the teaching learning process, the researcher and the collaborator collected the data in the form of field notes. Then, they gave questionnaire to the students to find out their interest on the subject English, their obstacles, and their motivation toward the subject especially their writing ability.