Research Objectives Research Benefits

7 around them as the result of experiencing something. Huffman, Vernoy, M., and Vernoy, J. in their book Psychology in Action explain when people receive some sensory data, they will always try to organize those data and then interpret it into something that is familiar with their mental pattern 2000: 107. Based on these experts’ explanations, in this study, the writer formulates the definition of perception as someone’s point of view and opinion that heshe obtains from interpreting something about what shehe ever experienced in hisher environtment. For example, in this study the researcher wants to conduct research on students’ perception toward the implementation of portfolio assessment in writing class. In other words, it can be said that the researcher wants to conduct research which investigate the opinion of the students about portfolio assessment that they have ever experienced in their writing class. 1.6.2 Assessment Rayment 2006: 2 describes assessment as a method and process. She explains assessment is a method used in learning to measure how far the teaching- learning process happen, also to gain and collect feedback on the teaching- learning process. She adds, assessment is also process of evaluating students’ within an educational context and the process of documenting students’ knowledge, skill, and attitude. However, the researcher has her own definition about assessment which is used in this study. According to the researcher, assessment is the process of evaluating students’ learning to measure their achievement and development in their learning. 8 1.6.3 Portfolio Campbell, Melenyzer, Nettles, and Wyman 2000, define portfolio as “an organized, goal driven documentation of students’ professional growth and achieved competence in the complex act called teaching.” According to Northwest Evaluation Association as cited in Weigle 2002: 198 portfolio is “a purposeful collection of students’ work that exhibits to the students andor others the student’s effort, progress, or achievement in a given area” 1991: 1, cited in Wolcott, 1998. Cited in Chen 2004: 1, McNamara and Deane explaine that portfolio is “one of the assessments which provides more complete picture of students’ ability, effort, and progress which also allows students to have greater voice in their language learning process” 1995: p.21. In this research, portfolio is defined as the collection of students’ works from the beginning of the course until the end of the course. Since this study focuses on the use of portfolio in assessing writing, portfolio here includes the draft of students’ work. 1.6.4 Self-assessment As cited in Wen-ming and Xiao-zhen 2008: 20, self-assessment can be defined as “information about the learners provided by the learners themselves, about their abilities, the progress they think they are making and what they think they can or cannot do yet with what they have learned in a course” Blanche and Merino, 1989. Boud 1991 and Brew 1999 as cited in Marhaeni 2005: 1 add, self-assessment is students’ involvement in assessing process where students identify the criteria and try to evaluate their own works by making judgments