28 Classroom Action Research CAR to give solution to the problems faced by XB
students of SMA Santo Mikael in constructing simple sentences. The researcher used practical action research in conducting the current
research. Mills 2000, as cited by Fraenkel and Wallen 2008, states that practical action research is “intended to address a specific problem within a
classroom” p. 590. The researcher used it since she would seek solutions to the students’ problem occurred in the XB class SMA Santo Mikael Sleman.
Lewin 1946 describes that action research is in a spiral steps as cited in Kemmis and McTaggart, 1982, p. 6. There are four steps in conducting action
research which are planning, action, observation, and reflection. The next step was taken if there was additional and revising plan that would be implemented in the
next cycle.
1. Planning
The researcher found the problem that the students faced when she did PPL Teaching Practice held in July to October 20112012 at SMA Santo Mikael
Sleman. The problem appeared when the Mid-term test was held on September 12, 2011. It could be seen from the unsatisfactory results of mid-term test. It
showed that XB students lacked ability to construct simple sentences. However, the researcher ensured the problem by conducting preliminary study. In the
preliminary study, the researcher asked the students to construct sentences in news item text. Most of them did not write good simple sentences since some sentences
are missing a subject or a finite verb. It proved that the students had difficulties to construct sentences, even in simple sentences.
29 Having known the problem, the researcher started to design plan of action
that would be implemented in the class to improve XB students’ ability to construct simple sentences.
2. Action
In this step, the researcher implemented the jumbled words that would be used to solve the students’ problem in constructing simple sentences. In action
step, the researcher would apply the learning scenario within the classroom.
3. Observation
The observation was conducted at the same time when the action was implemented. The researcher asked two co-observers to help her observe the
classroom while the implementation. It was aimed to find out what was going on during the implementation, what interactions happened in the class, what the
students’ conditions were, and what the situation in the class was. Besides, the researcher could know the situations that the researcher could not see in the
classroom while she was teaching in the class.
4. Reflection
The last step was reflection. The researcher would analyze the results and relate them to the criteria of success. Therefore, the researcher could see whether
the improvement has occurred or not. If the study was successful, the researcher would reconfirm the research in the next cycle. However, if it was not successful,
the researcher would go to the next cycle to gain better results.
30
B. Research Setting
