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C. Research instruments
The instruments of this research were field notes, test, and interview.
1. Field Notes
Field notes enable the researcher to record and reflect systematically upon classroom interactions and events. According to Burns 1999, field notes as a
description and account of events in the research context in a written form. The field notes were used to know
the students’ behavior and teacher’s performance in the teaching and learning process. Besides, the field notes showed some notes
taken in each action of the teacher and the students. By employing field notes, the researcher would be helped in reporting the information objectively. It is because
the field notes provided the best way of describing every event which was happening in the class. The research provided ten questions as a field note guide
consisted of the teacher’s performance, students’ behavior, and students’
responses toward learning process. In this research, the field notes were used to record the responses and
participation of the eighth grade students of SMP N 3 Klaten toward the action which happened in the classroom before and during using the flash cards. The
researcher would observe the learning process twice before implementing the flash cards and during implementing the flash cards.
2. Test
The action research was carried out into the preliminary study and two cycles. The tests
aimed to measure the students’ progress and result in understanding the past forms of irregular verbs in the teaching and learning
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process. In this research, the researcher used the test which was only about filling in the blanks in some sentences related to the use of the past forms of irregular
verbs. The researcher took the test score in the preliminary study, cycle 1, and cycle 2. Test score was helpful
as a research tool to compare the students’ achievement in learning irregular verbs before and after implementing the flash
cards. The test had been done three times by the students in the preliminary
study, first cycle and second cycle. In the preliminary study, there were 10 sentences. Meanwhile, in cycle 1 and cycle 2, there were 20 sentences. In the
preliminary study, the researcher used the verbs which had been taught by the teacher in the observation time. In the cycle one and cycle two, the researcher
used more verbs was compared than the previous meeting. However, the researcher applied those verbs in the flash cards, so the students could know easier
the past forms of verbs before doing a test. Finally, the researcher used a table to make it
easier in analyzing the result of the students’ test score in each cycle. The example of table in analyzing the stu
dents’ test score is presented below.
Table 3.1 The Result of Students’ Test Score
No Name of the students
Total Score Score X 10
1 2
3
3. Interview
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