The Understanding of Achievement

7 At most grade levels, achievement test are the most commonly used procedure for gathering formal evidence about students learning. These tests may be developed by teacher, text book publisher, or standard test publisher. Every kind of learning activity would produce a special change, namely learning outcome. This is shown in an achievement given by the students, such as calling the score in alphabet consecutively. 3 In Wikipedia Encyclopedia, the definition of learning achievemen t is knowledge that you get from studyin g which has done successfully, especially using your own effort and skill. 4 In line with the quotation above, in Teachers, Schools, And Societies , Myra Pollack Sadker and David Miller Sadk er stated, “learning achievement is students’ actions that they have disciplined minds and adhere to traditional morals and behavior. It can be shown from their competency in academic subjects and traditional skill while they are demonstrating through tests and writings.” 5 From the statement above, the writer concluded t hat students’ competence in academic can be shown when they perform in several tests and have great value both mind and moral. Meanwhile, Sally Wehmeier et al in Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary define that learning achievement is a thing that somebody has done successfully, especially using their own effort and skill. 6 It can be inferred that a thing and somebody based on the statement above stressed in learning for a thing and students for somebody. Julian C Stanley in Measurement in Today’s School claimed that achievement in education means the result of the test designed to determine a students’ m astery of a given academic area. 7 We can determine students’ learning in their score which is indicated the achievement of academic ar ea in education scope. In line with the statement above, Oemar Hamalik in Metode Belajar dan Kesulitan Belajar stated that learning achievement is new behavior or skill caused by ________________ 3 Peter W Airasian and Michael K Russel, Classroom Assessment – Concepts and Applications , sixth edition, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2008, p.145. 4 http:www.wikipedia.com.free encyclopedia.htm 5 Myra Pollack S and David Miller S, Teachers, Schools, and Societies , New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2005, p.330. 6 Sally Wehmeier eds, Oxford Advance Learner’ s Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, 7 th edition, p. 12. 7 Julian C Stanley, Measurement in Today’s School , New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc , 1964, p.16. 8 the experience or the practice. 8 There is a change in students’ behave and thought through learning and acquiring the achievement in positive way and negative way. Based on the definition above, learning achievement is the advantage of students’ knowledge through teaching learning proce ss by studying and practicing, and the result can be shown through some assessment test. The successfulness in learning process can be visible from the reached achievement. If the achievement has fulfilled the targets, which have been determined previousl y, it can be told that the students are successful. Contrary to the fact, if the students have not fulfilled the target yet, it means that they have not yet success. Thus, students’ learning achievement can be categorized into three domains; cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Learning achievement obtained by students is the knowledge cognitive and skill psychomotor. Knowledge or cognitive, as defined here, involves the recall of specifics and universal, the r ecall of methods and processes. 9 Furthermore, Carl E Pitts divines this knowledge into three mains, as follows: 1. Knowledge of specifics; the emphasis is on symbols with concrete referents. a. Knowledge of terminology; knowledge of the referents for specifics symbols such as verbal and non verbal. b. Knowledge of facts; may include very precise and specific information and specific information such as dates, events, persons places, etc. 2. Knowledge of ways and means; the ways of organizing, studying, judging, and critizing. a. Knowledge of conventions ; characteristics ways of treating and presenting ideas and phenomena. b. Knowledge of trends and sequences; knowledge of the process, directions and movements of phenomena with respect to time. c. Knowledge of classification and categorizes; knowledge of classes, sets, and divisions and arrangements. d. Knowledge of criteria; criteria by which facts, principles, opi nions, and conduct are tested and judges. 3. Knowledge of the universal; knowledge of the major schemes and patterns in the large structure. ________________ 8 Oemar Hamalik, Metode Belajar dan Kesulitan Belajar , Bandung:Torsito,1983, p.21. 9 Peter W Airasian and Michael K Russel, Classroom Assessment – Concepts and Applications , sixth edition, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2008, p.67 9 a. Knowledge of principles and generalizations; summarize observation of phenomena such as explaining, describing, predicting or determining. b. Knowledge of theories and structure; knowledge of the body and generalizations together with their interrelations which present a clear, rounded and systematic view of phenomena. 10 The cognitive domain includes intellectual activities such as memorizing, interpreting, applying, problem solving, reasoning, analyzing, and thinking critically. Table 2.1 Taxonomy Level in Cognitive Domain 11 Taxonomy Level Related Verb General Description Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Remember, Recall, Identify, Recognize Translate, Rephrase, Restate, Interpret, Describe, Explain Apply, Execute, Solve, Implement Break Down, categorize, distinguish, Compare Intergrate, Organize, Relate, Combine, Construct, Design. Judge, Assesses, Value, Appraise Memorizing the fact Explaining in one’s own words Solving New Problem Breaking into Parts and Identifying Relationship Combining Elements into a Whole Judging Quality or Worth Skill or abilities refers to organized modes of operation and generalized techniques for dealing with materials and problems. 12 The Psychomotor domain includes physical and manipulate activities. Holding a pen cil, using a mouse, keeyboarding, building a bookcase, are examples of activities that involves psychomotor behaviours. 13 ________________ 10 Carl E Pitts, Introduction to Educational Psychology , New York: United States International University, 1834 p. 158. 11 Peter W Airasian and Michael K Russel, Classroom Assessment – Concepts and Applications , sixth edition, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2008, p. 68. 12 Carl E Pitts, Introduction to Educational Psychology, New York: United States International University, 1834 p. 161 13 Peter W Airasian and Michael K Russel, Classroom Assessment – Concepts and Applications , sixth edition, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2008, p.70 10 The affective domain involves feeling, attitude, interest, preferrences, and emotion. Altough affective behaviours are rarely assessed formally in schools and classrooms teachers especially when sizing up students. 14 Students’ knowledge and students’ skill can be measured based on their achievement of learning by doing the test. Therefore, in order to motivate and to guide the students to get good learning achievement especially in learning English they need to know how to learn as well as what to learn. In short word, They can be influenced by many factors and one of the factor i s the way students initially receive information during lesson in class, in this area the writer called it with learning styles. The score may be taken from the average of daily test score, mid -test score, and final-test score of students learning result. There is alternative format of students’ learning achievement of measurement after Teaching Learning Process; they are number scale of score from 0 to 100. Minimum Target of A chievement in English subject is 65 after considering the indicator of learning, base competence and standard competence, it means that students get their achievement more than half well. And the students’ learning achievement in this skripsi is final test result of Second Grade Students in the fourth semester at SMA Negeri 1 Sepatan. So, the achievement in this area is the score of final test of English that was obtained by the students who had followed in teaching learning process for several times in SMAN 1 Sepatan Tangerang.

B. The Understanding of Learning Style

Each of students has preferred ways of learning, approaches that work best for students. And their success is not just dependent on how well they learn, but on how they learn. In this case, Andrias Harefa in Menjadi Manusia Pembelajar stated that learning is how to think for acquiring the knowledge, learning to do for character building, and learning to be for become the real human being. ________________ 14 Peter W Airasian and Michael K Russel, Classroom Assessment – Concepts and Applications , sixth edition, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2008, p.69 11 Three major stated above are the most important thing for students to mastery the learning process in a particular time and obtained the ac hievement. But the main problem in this condition is each student has their own way to obtain the achievement based on three major in learning process. Susan Sheerin, in Self Access, stated that students clearly differ enormously in their personality, beliefs and attitudes. Moreover, they differ in their cognitive abilities and language learning aptitude; some people learn languages more quickly and easily than others. 15 Different types of individuals in learning, in this case, Joy M Reid stated as learning styles. Students learn in many different ways. For example, some students learn primarily with their eyes, visual learners, or with their ears, auditory learners, and some students prefer to learn by experience and by practice, kinesthetic learners. 16 Learning styles are various approaches or ways of learning. They involve educating methods, particular to an individual , in this case as a students , which are presumed to allow that students to learn best. It is commonly believed that most students favor some particular method of interacting with, taking in, and processing stimuli or information of the knowledge. The writer tries to cover of learning style into two widely discussed sets of learning styles. Following are two of the most widely discussed learning styles are visual learning style and audi tory learning style.

1. Visual Learning Style

In simple definition visual means connected with seeing or sight. Visual learners are those who learn things best through seeing them. Visual learning students like to keep an eye on the teacher by sitting in the front of the class and ________________ 15 Susan Shreen, Self Access, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, p.5. 16 Joy M. Reid, Understanding Learning Styles in the Second Language Classroom , New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1998, p.162.