May 2016. The schedule of the research followed the schedule of English teacher of 8 A. Here is the detail of the research schedule.
Table 2: Research Schedule No.
DayDate Time
Cycle
1. ThursdayApril 28
th
, 2016 11.30-12.10
Cycle 1 2.
SaturdayMay 14
th
, 2016 08.20-09.55
Cycle 1 3.
WednesdayMay 18
th
, 2016 07.00-8.20
Cycle 1 4.
ThursdayMay 19
th
, 2016 11.30-12.10
Cycle 2 5.
SaturdayMay 21
st
, 2016 08.20-09.55
Cycle 2
C. Participants of the Research
The participants of the research were the researcher, the collaborator, the English teacher and the students of 8 A of SMP N 4 Sleman. After having
discussion, the researcher and the English teacher decided to choose 8 A to be the place of the research. Most of the students were native of Javanese and
Bahasa Indonesia. Since the students learned English as a foreign language, most of them had less ability in English particularly on writing skills.
D. Research Procedure
The researcher applied the procedure proposed by Kemmis and Mc Taggart 1988 in Burns 2010: 7-8. The procedures were as follows.
1. Reconnaissance Before conducting the first cycle, the researcher did some activities
to find out the existing problems in English teaching and learning process in 8 A. In this step, the researcher did an observation in the classroom by
taking notes of any occurring problems. Then, the researcher had some interviews with the English teacher and the students related to English
teaching and learning process. Besides, the researcher also gave pre-test of writing skill to the students to obtain the preliminary quantitative data
of the research. 2. Planning
In this step, the researcher and collaborator developed a plan of action in order to bring improvements in the field. They tried to arrange
the strategies to solve the problems. The plan was to improve the students’ writing skills by using mind mapping technique and it was
supported with other supporting activities. 3. Action
The researcher modified the teaching technique and method given by the teacher by giving the mind mapping technique in the learning
process. In action step, the researcher gave some expalanations and practices about recount text and the use of mind mapping technique to
improve the students’ writing skill.
4. Observation This phase involved the collaborator in observing the effect of the
action. The collaborator documented what happened in the class using observation sheet, note, and photographs while the actions were applied.
This step was aimed to find out the whether the action process ran well or not.
5. Reflection At this point, the researcher, the collaborator and the English
teacher reflected and evaluated the class improvements. The researcher also interviewed the students related to the implementation of the actions.
This phase answered what aspects had to be fixed and improved so the next cycle would run better.
E. Research Instruments
