THE EFFECT OF GROUP INVESTIGATION METHOD ON STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT.
THE EFFECT OF GROUP INVESTIGATION METHOD ON
STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING
DESCRIPTIVE TEXT
A THESIS
Submitted to English Department, Faculty of Language and Arts
State University of Medan, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the
Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan
By:
YUNI KHAIRINA
Registration Number: 2101121051
ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2014
DECLARATION
I have familiarized myself with the University’s Policy on Academic integrity.
Except where appropriately acknowledged, this thesis is my own work, has been
expressed in my own words, and has not been previously been submitted for
assessment.
I understand that this paper may be screened electronically or otherwise for
plagiarism.
Medan,
September 2014
Yuni Khairina
Reg. No. 2101121051
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Firstly, praise and great gratitude to the almighty God Allah SWT for the
blessing, mercy, opportunity and help given to the writer to complete this Thesis
entitled “The Effect of Group Investigation Method on Students’ Achievement in
Writing Descriptive Text” as one of requirements for the degree of Sarjana
Pendidikan (S1) at English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, State
University of Medan.
During the process of writing and conducting the research, the writer was
assisted and supported by many people. This thesis cannot be accomplished
without guidance, suggestion, and comment from them, for which the writer
would like to express her sincere appreciation which directed to:
Prof. Dr. Ibnu Hajar Damanik, M.Si., the Rector of State University of
Medan.
Dr. Isda Pramuniati, M.Hum., the Dean of Language and Arts Faculty,
Vice Dean I, II, III, and all the administrative staff.
Prof. Dr. Hj. Sumarsih, M.Pd., the Head of English and Literature
Department as well as her Reviewer,
Rika, S.Pd, M.Hum., the Secretary of English Department,
Dra. Masitowarni Siregar, M.Ed., the Head of English Education Study
Program as well as her Thesis Consultant.
Dra. Tjut Ernidawati, M.Pd., her Academic Consultant as well as her
Reviewer.
Dr. Zainuddin, DIP.TEFL., M.Hum., and Rafika Dewi Nasution,
M.Hum., her Reviewers.
Thanks are given to them, for their valuable inputs, comments, and
suggestions to enrich the quality of this Thesis.
All Lecturers of English Education and Literature Department, who
have taught and given her great study experiences.
ii
Mam Euis, Mam Enda, Pak Hendra and Pak Pantas, the all
administrative staff who have helped her in fulfilling the administrative
process.
Drs. K. Lumbantoruan, M.Pd., the Headmaster of SMA Negeri 11
Medan, and Dra. Ramewati Sibuea, the English teacher for giving her
permission to conduct the research in the school.
H. Fadli Abdul Salam, S.Ag and Dr. Rahmah, M.Hum., her beloved
parents , for their endless love, prayer, moral and financial support, in
completing her education. Mehdi Fikri, ST., her brother and all her
relatives for their support.
Rizki Apriliyani and Saidatul Hanim her most supportive friends who
always support and help her, and also all her closed friends,Afsyah, Lala,
Debbie, Freddy, Fandy, and for Regular B 2010 and for those whose
name cannot be mentioned yet, who had inspired, encouraged and gave
her support, helping, and laughs during her study years and the process of
writing this thesis.
Overall, the researcher hopes this thesis can give contribution to the English
Education students and further pedagogical research. And also it can be useful for
the readers.
Medan,
Agustus 2014
The Writer,
Yuni Khairina
NIM. 2101121051
iii
ABSTRACT
Khairina, Yuni. 2101121051. The Effect of Group Investigation Method on
Students’ Achievement in Writing Descriptive Text. A Thesis. English
Department. Faculty of Languages and Arts. State University of Medan.
2014.
This study is an attempt to discover the effect of applying Group Investigation
Method on students’ achievement in writing descriptive text. It was conducted by
using experimental research design. The Population of this research was the tenth
(X) grade students of SMAN 11 Medan which consists of nine parallel classes
with the total number of students is 286. The samples of this research were taken
by random sampling through lottery technique. The result was class X IPA 1
consisted of 33 students became the experimental group and class X IPA 3
consisted of 31 students became the control group. The experimental group was
taught by using Group Investigation Method while the control group was taught
by using Conventional Method. The instrument for collecting the data was writing
test. The data were analyzed by using t-test formula. The result shows that the
value of t-observed (3.733) is higher than the value of t-table (2.000) (α = 0.05)
with the degree of freedom (df) = 62. It means that there is a significant effect of
applying Group investigation Method on students’ achievement in writing
descriptive text. So, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted.
Keywords: Group Investigation Method, Writing Descriptive
i
TABLE OF CONTENT
Page
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................. ii
TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLE ........................................................................................... vi
LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................... vii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
A. The Background of The Study ............................................................. 1
B. The Problem of The Study ................................................................... 4
C. The Objective of The Study ................................................................. 5
D. The Scope of The Study ....................................................................... 5
E. The Significance of The Study............................................................. 5
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................. 6
A. Theoritical Framework ......................................................................... 6
1. Students’ Achievement ................................................................. 6
2. Writing ........................................................................................... 7
3. The Process of Writing................................................................... 8
4. Types of Genre ............................................................................... 10
5. Descriptive Text ............................................................................. 11
a. Types of Descriptive Writing ................................................... 13
b. Grammatical Features of Descriptive Text .............................. 14
c. The Example of Descriptive Text ............................................ 15
6. Approach, Method, Technique, Strategy ....................................... 16
7. Writing as Cooperative Learning ................................................... 17
a. Group Investigation Method .................................................... 18
iv
b. The Steps of Group Investigation Method ............................... 20
c. The Advantages and disadvantages of Group Investigation
Method ..................................................................................... 21
d. The Implementation of Group Investigation Method
in Teaching Descriptive Text ................................................... 22
B. Conceptual Framework ........................................................................ 23
C. Hypothesis ............................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD ..................................................... 26
A. Research Design ................................................................................... 26
B. Population and Sample......................................................................... 27
C. Instrument of Collecting Data .............................................................. 28
D. Procedure of The Research .................................................................. 28
E. The Scoring of Writing Test ................................................................ 30
F. Technique of Analyzing Data .............................................................. 31
CHAPTER IV: THE DATA AND RESEARCH FINDINGS .................... 33
A. The Data ............................................................................................... 33
B. Data Analysis ....................................................................................... 34
C. Testing Hypothesis ............................................................................... 36
D. Research Findings ................................................................................ 37
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ........................... 39
A. Conclusions .......................................................................................... 39
B. Suggestions .......................................................................................... 39
REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 41
APPENDICES ................................................................................................ 43
v
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A Pre-Test for Experimental and Control Group ........................ 43
APPENDIX B Post-Test for Experimental Group ........................................... 44
APPENDIX C Post Test for Control Group .................................................... 45
APPENDIX D The Scores of Pre-Test and Post Test ...................................... 46
APPENDIX E The Calculation of T-Test ........................................................ 48
APPENDIX F Percentage Points of the T-Distribution ................................... 53
APPENDIX G Lesson Plan.............................................................................. 54
vii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. The Background of Study
As one of the basic skills of learning English, writing is important
in language learning process. Writing is considered a highly productive
skill and arguably the most difficult of the four language skills. It is a
process of putting ideas or thoughts into words which is combined into the
form of paragprahs. In writing, ideas are arranged in series of sentences
that are related to each other so the information can be comprehended.
Through writing people can express their experiences, events and social
identities. It also can train them to think critically and creatively. Writing
helps us to remember, observe, think and communicate (Barras, 1995:9)
Harmer (2004:86) states “writing is a process that we write is often
influenced by constraints of genre, and then these elements have to be
present in their learning activity. Based on the English syllabus of
curriculum, one of the genre learned in senior high school is descriptive
text. Its purpose is to describe person, things, and places by using vivid
details. Descriptive text is concerned with giving a clear information of
what we experience based on the fact.
Eventhough students have learnt English for years, they still find it
difficult in writing. They think that writing is difficult or even they are not
interesting in doing it. Therefore, they did not give full attention and
1
2
enthusiasm in the process of learning writing. They had some ideas in their
mind but they didn‟t know how to put it into written form, moreover they
used to open their dictionary when they were going to write the text.
Based on the observation in SMAN 11 Medan, it was found that
students had problems when they were asked to write, especially in writing
descriptive paragraph. They were lack of motivation and ideas, lack of
mastering vocabulary, and grammar. Those facts indicate that most of
students are not able to write a simple writing.
Actually their lack of writing ability at school is influenced by the
ways of teaching. In the process of teaching, teacher usually gives tasks
from the textbooks, students answer the questions and submit them to the
teacher. From this fact, it can be concluded that the process of teaching
and learning has not been conducted successfully. It means that the teacher
didn‟t concern with students‟ writing ability and teaching it in an
interesting way. Therefore it needs to develop and apply the effective
methods to enhance the students‟ writing skills.
In order to solve the problems, many methods and technique can be
applied in teaching writing to make it effective and more interesting. One
of the methods is cooperative learning type. By applying cooperative
learning, students are more active because they will learn more through a
process of constructing and creating, working in group and sharing
knowledge. So they can enjoy the learning process and improve their
writing skill.
3
A cooperative learning method is believed as being able to give
chance for students to be involved in discussion, to encourage, to have
critical thinking and to take responsibility of his/her own learning.
Although it considers as an active role for students, it does not mean that
teacher is not participating in the classroom. In the learning process,
teacher should play some roles such as designer, facilitator, motivator and
guide in the learning process.
Cooperative learning can be a lot of fun, planning the text together
can
be
very
motivating.
Research
by Storch,
(http://elt-
resourceful.com/2013/01/14/collaborative-writing-activities/) found that texts
produced by pairs were shorter than those produced individually, but that
they were better „in terms of task fulfilment, grammatical accuracy and
complexity. It appeared that the process of working together meant that
learners were giving each other useful feedback as they went along, and
thereby producing more accurate and complex texts.
A cooperative learning method has several types, namely Group
Investigation, Students Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), TeamsGames-Tournament (TGT), Team Assisted Individualized (TAI) and
Jigsaw. One of the types chosen to be applied in this study is group
investigation.
Group investigation is an organizational approach that allows a
class to work actively and collaboratively in small groups and enables
students to take an active role in determining their own learning goals and
4
processes. Group investigation method requires the students to form small
interest groups, plan and implement their investigation, synthesize the
group members‟ findings, and make a presentation to the entire class.
Group Investigation is appropriate to be applied in solving the
students‟ problem because the students work on a task in group of two or
more, that they are encouraged and motivated to help one another to learn
(rather than being in competition with one another), that they are
dependent upon the efforts of one another to achieve success, and that they
are held accountable for that learning both as a group and as individuals
(Killen, 1998:82)
Hence, based on the explanation above, it is interesting to conduct
the research related to teaching writing descriptive text by Applying Group
Investigation. It concerns to assist the students to improve their writing by
actively investigating the phenomena and writing them down on a piece of
paper.
B. The Problem of the Study
In line with the background of study, the problem of this study is
formulated as follows: “Is there any significant effect of Group
Investigation Method on students‟ achievement in writing descriptive
text?”
5
C. The Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to find out whether there is an effect
of applying the Group Investigation Method on students‟ achievement in
writing descriptive text.
D. The Scope of the Study
This study is focused on students‟ achievement in writing
descriptive text particularly on describing place. The level of students
being studied is the first grade of Senior High School.
E. The Significance of The Study
The findings of the study are expected to be useful for:
1. The students to get more interested in writing class and to improve
their writing skill.
2. English teachers in their attempts to improve their teaching
strategies to motivate students learning.
3. Those who are interested in carrying out further research related to
this study providing them with some valuable information needed.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
After analyzing the data, it was found that the students’ score in
experimental group was higher than the students in control group. The
total score and the mean score in experimental group showed that there
was a significant improvement of the students’ score between the pre-test
and the post-test score.
Since the value of tobserve was 3.733 with df (62) at the level
significance (0.05) = 2.000, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted.
So, from the calculation of the data, it can be concluded that Group
Investigation Method significantly affect students’ achievement in writing
descriptive text.
B. Suggestions
The result of this study shows that the use of Group Investigation
Method is able to improve the students’ achievement in writing descriptive
text. So, the writer’s points out some suggestions as in the following:
1. Group Investigation Method can be used as one of techniques
in the learning process. It can be used to teach writing,
especially descriptive writing to help students improve their
writing achievement.
39
40
2. By learning in group and investigating the environment, the
students will be motivated and definitely enjoy the learning
process particularly writing in which they can discuss and share
their ideas with one another, and will get motivated in writing.
3. Other researcher can develop the related study to improve
learning technique.
41
REFERENCES
Arikunto, Suharsimi. 2010. Manajemen Penelitian. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.
Ary, D. et al. 2002. Introduction to Research in Education. United States:
Wadsworth Group.
Akḉay, N.O and Doymuᶊ, kemal. 2012. The Effects of Group Investigation and
Cooperative Learning Techniques Applied in Teaching Force and Motion
Subjects on Students’ Academic Achievements. Journal of Educational
Science Research. II (1) 113.
Barras, Robert. 1995. Students Must Write: A Guide to Better Writing in
Coursework and Examinatiion. London: New York: Longman
Dirgayasa, I.W. 2012. Maritime English. Medan: Unimed Press
Droga, Louise and Humphrey, Sally. 2005. Grammar and Meaning: An
Introduction for Primary Teachers. Australia: Southwood Press Pty
Limited.
Harmer, Jeremy. 2004. How to Teach Writing. Essex: Pearson Longman.
Harmer, Jeremy. 2007. The Practice of English Language Teaching (Fourth
Edition). Essex: Pearson Longman.
Hughey, J.B. et. al. 1983. Teaching ESL Composition Principles and Techniques.
Rowley: Newbury House Publisher.
Jolly, D. 1984. Writing Task. New York: Cambridge University.
Killen, Roy. 1998. Effective Teaching Strategies: Lesson from Research and
Practice. Katoomba: Social Science Press.
42
Knapp, Peter and Watkins, Megan. 2005. Genre, Text, and Grammar. Sidney:
University of New South Wales.
Lodico, M.G., et. al. 2010. Methods in Educational Research: From Theory to
Practice (Second Edition). San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mabruroh, Izzatul. 2011. The Use of Group Investigation Method to Improve
Reading Ability in Descriptive Text. Semarang: Walisongo State University
for Islamic Studies.
Margono, S. 2010. Metodologi Penelitian Pendidikan: Komponen MKDK.
Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.
Orr, J.K. 2006. Growing Up with English.Washington DC: Office of English
Language Programs.
Pardiyono. 2007. Pasti Bisa: Teaching Genre-Based Writing. Yogyakarta:Andi.
Slavin, R.E. 1995. Cooperative Learning Theory; Research and Practice. New
York: The Hopkins University.
http://elt-resourceful.com/2013/01/14/collaborative-writing-activities/
http://reporttext.blogspot.com/2009/06/differences-between-report-text-and.html
www.evconsult.nl/english/glossary
STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING
DESCRIPTIVE TEXT
A THESIS
Submitted to English Department, Faculty of Language and Arts
State University of Medan, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the
Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan
By:
YUNI KHAIRINA
Registration Number: 2101121051
ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
2014
DECLARATION
I have familiarized myself with the University’s Policy on Academic integrity.
Except where appropriately acknowledged, this thesis is my own work, has been
expressed in my own words, and has not been previously been submitted for
assessment.
I understand that this paper may be screened electronically or otherwise for
plagiarism.
Medan,
September 2014
Yuni Khairina
Reg. No. 2101121051
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Firstly, praise and great gratitude to the almighty God Allah SWT for the
blessing, mercy, opportunity and help given to the writer to complete this Thesis
entitled “The Effect of Group Investigation Method on Students’ Achievement in
Writing Descriptive Text” as one of requirements for the degree of Sarjana
Pendidikan (S1) at English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, State
University of Medan.
During the process of writing and conducting the research, the writer was
assisted and supported by many people. This thesis cannot be accomplished
without guidance, suggestion, and comment from them, for which the writer
would like to express her sincere appreciation which directed to:
Prof. Dr. Ibnu Hajar Damanik, M.Si., the Rector of State University of
Medan.
Dr. Isda Pramuniati, M.Hum., the Dean of Language and Arts Faculty,
Vice Dean I, II, III, and all the administrative staff.
Prof. Dr. Hj. Sumarsih, M.Pd., the Head of English and Literature
Department as well as her Reviewer,
Rika, S.Pd, M.Hum., the Secretary of English Department,
Dra. Masitowarni Siregar, M.Ed., the Head of English Education Study
Program as well as her Thesis Consultant.
Dra. Tjut Ernidawati, M.Pd., her Academic Consultant as well as her
Reviewer.
Dr. Zainuddin, DIP.TEFL., M.Hum., and Rafika Dewi Nasution,
M.Hum., her Reviewers.
Thanks are given to them, for their valuable inputs, comments, and
suggestions to enrich the quality of this Thesis.
All Lecturers of English Education and Literature Department, who
have taught and given her great study experiences.
ii
Mam Euis, Mam Enda, Pak Hendra and Pak Pantas, the all
administrative staff who have helped her in fulfilling the administrative
process.
Drs. K. Lumbantoruan, M.Pd., the Headmaster of SMA Negeri 11
Medan, and Dra. Ramewati Sibuea, the English teacher for giving her
permission to conduct the research in the school.
H. Fadli Abdul Salam, S.Ag and Dr. Rahmah, M.Hum., her beloved
parents , for their endless love, prayer, moral and financial support, in
completing her education. Mehdi Fikri, ST., her brother and all her
relatives for their support.
Rizki Apriliyani and Saidatul Hanim her most supportive friends who
always support and help her, and also all her closed friends,Afsyah, Lala,
Debbie, Freddy, Fandy, and for Regular B 2010 and for those whose
name cannot be mentioned yet, who had inspired, encouraged and gave
her support, helping, and laughs during her study years and the process of
writing this thesis.
Overall, the researcher hopes this thesis can give contribution to the English
Education students and further pedagogical research. And also it can be useful for
the readers.
Medan,
Agustus 2014
The Writer,
Yuni Khairina
NIM. 2101121051
iii
ABSTRACT
Khairina, Yuni. 2101121051. The Effect of Group Investigation Method on
Students’ Achievement in Writing Descriptive Text. A Thesis. English
Department. Faculty of Languages and Arts. State University of Medan.
2014.
This study is an attempt to discover the effect of applying Group Investigation
Method on students’ achievement in writing descriptive text. It was conducted by
using experimental research design. The Population of this research was the tenth
(X) grade students of SMAN 11 Medan which consists of nine parallel classes
with the total number of students is 286. The samples of this research were taken
by random sampling through lottery technique. The result was class X IPA 1
consisted of 33 students became the experimental group and class X IPA 3
consisted of 31 students became the control group. The experimental group was
taught by using Group Investigation Method while the control group was taught
by using Conventional Method. The instrument for collecting the data was writing
test. The data were analyzed by using t-test formula. The result shows that the
value of t-observed (3.733) is higher than the value of t-table (2.000) (α = 0.05)
with the degree of freedom (df) = 62. It means that there is a significant effect of
applying Group investigation Method on students’ achievement in writing
descriptive text. So, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted.
Keywords: Group Investigation Method, Writing Descriptive
i
TABLE OF CONTENT
Page
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................. ii
TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLE ........................................................................................... vi
LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................... vii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
A. The Background of The Study ............................................................. 1
B. The Problem of The Study ................................................................... 4
C. The Objective of The Study ................................................................. 5
D. The Scope of The Study ....................................................................... 5
E. The Significance of The Study............................................................. 5
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................. 6
A. Theoritical Framework ......................................................................... 6
1. Students’ Achievement ................................................................. 6
2. Writing ........................................................................................... 7
3. The Process of Writing................................................................... 8
4. Types of Genre ............................................................................... 10
5. Descriptive Text ............................................................................. 11
a. Types of Descriptive Writing ................................................... 13
b. Grammatical Features of Descriptive Text .............................. 14
c. The Example of Descriptive Text ............................................ 15
6. Approach, Method, Technique, Strategy ....................................... 16
7. Writing as Cooperative Learning ................................................... 17
a. Group Investigation Method .................................................... 18
iv
b. The Steps of Group Investigation Method ............................... 20
c. The Advantages and disadvantages of Group Investigation
Method ..................................................................................... 21
d. The Implementation of Group Investigation Method
in Teaching Descriptive Text ................................................... 22
B. Conceptual Framework ........................................................................ 23
C. Hypothesis ............................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD ..................................................... 26
A. Research Design ................................................................................... 26
B. Population and Sample......................................................................... 27
C. Instrument of Collecting Data .............................................................. 28
D. Procedure of The Research .................................................................. 28
E. The Scoring of Writing Test ................................................................ 30
F. Technique of Analyzing Data .............................................................. 31
CHAPTER IV: THE DATA AND RESEARCH FINDINGS .................... 33
A. The Data ............................................................................................... 33
B. Data Analysis ....................................................................................... 34
C. Testing Hypothesis ............................................................................... 36
D. Research Findings ................................................................................ 37
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ........................... 39
A. Conclusions .......................................................................................... 39
B. Suggestions .......................................................................................... 39
REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 41
APPENDICES ................................................................................................ 43
v
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A Pre-Test for Experimental and Control Group ........................ 43
APPENDIX B Post-Test for Experimental Group ........................................... 44
APPENDIX C Post Test for Control Group .................................................... 45
APPENDIX D The Scores of Pre-Test and Post Test ...................................... 46
APPENDIX E The Calculation of T-Test ........................................................ 48
APPENDIX F Percentage Points of the T-Distribution ................................... 53
APPENDIX G Lesson Plan.............................................................................. 54
vii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. The Background of Study
As one of the basic skills of learning English, writing is important
in language learning process. Writing is considered a highly productive
skill and arguably the most difficult of the four language skills. It is a
process of putting ideas or thoughts into words which is combined into the
form of paragprahs. In writing, ideas are arranged in series of sentences
that are related to each other so the information can be comprehended.
Through writing people can express their experiences, events and social
identities. It also can train them to think critically and creatively. Writing
helps us to remember, observe, think and communicate (Barras, 1995:9)
Harmer (2004:86) states “writing is a process that we write is often
influenced by constraints of genre, and then these elements have to be
present in their learning activity. Based on the English syllabus of
curriculum, one of the genre learned in senior high school is descriptive
text. Its purpose is to describe person, things, and places by using vivid
details. Descriptive text is concerned with giving a clear information of
what we experience based on the fact.
Eventhough students have learnt English for years, they still find it
difficult in writing. They think that writing is difficult or even they are not
interesting in doing it. Therefore, they did not give full attention and
1
2
enthusiasm in the process of learning writing. They had some ideas in their
mind but they didn‟t know how to put it into written form, moreover they
used to open their dictionary when they were going to write the text.
Based on the observation in SMAN 11 Medan, it was found that
students had problems when they were asked to write, especially in writing
descriptive paragraph. They were lack of motivation and ideas, lack of
mastering vocabulary, and grammar. Those facts indicate that most of
students are not able to write a simple writing.
Actually their lack of writing ability at school is influenced by the
ways of teaching. In the process of teaching, teacher usually gives tasks
from the textbooks, students answer the questions and submit them to the
teacher. From this fact, it can be concluded that the process of teaching
and learning has not been conducted successfully. It means that the teacher
didn‟t concern with students‟ writing ability and teaching it in an
interesting way. Therefore it needs to develop and apply the effective
methods to enhance the students‟ writing skills.
In order to solve the problems, many methods and technique can be
applied in teaching writing to make it effective and more interesting. One
of the methods is cooperative learning type. By applying cooperative
learning, students are more active because they will learn more through a
process of constructing and creating, working in group and sharing
knowledge. So they can enjoy the learning process and improve their
writing skill.
3
A cooperative learning method is believed as being able to give
chance for students to be involved in discussion, to encourage, to have
critical thinking and to take responsibility of his/her own learning.
Although it considers as an active role for students, it does not mean that
teacher is not participating in the classroom. In the learning process,
teacher should play some roles such as designer, facilitator, motivator and
guide in the learning process.
Cooperative learning can be a lot of fun, planning the text together
can
be
very
motivating.
Research
by Storch,
(http://elt-
resourceful.com/2013/01/14/collaborative-writing-activities/) found that texts
produced by pairs were shorter than those produced individually, but that
they were better „in terms of task fulfilment, grammatical accuracy and
complexity. It appeared that the process of working together meant that
learners were giving each other useful feedback as they went along, and
thereby producing more accurate and complex texts.
A cooperative learning method has several types, namely Group
Investigation, Students Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), TeamsGames-Tournament (TGT), Team Assisted Individualized (TAI) and
Jigsaw. One of the types chosen to be applied in this study is group
investigation.
Group investigation is an organizational approach that allows a
class to work actively and collaboratively in small groups and enables
students to take an active role in determining their own learning goals and
4
processes. Group investigation method requires the students to form small
interest groups, plan and implement their investigation, synthesize the
group members‟ findings, and make a presentation to the entire class.
Group Investigation is appropriate to be applied in solving the
students‟ problem because the students work on a task in group of two or
more, that they are encouraged and motivated to help one another to learn
(rather than being in competition with one another), that they are
dependent upon the efforts of one another to achieve success, and that they
are held accountable for that learning both as a group and as individuals
(Killen, 1998:82)
Hence, based on the explanation above, it is interesting to conduct
the research related to teaching writing descriptive text by Applying Group
Investigation. It concerns to assist the students to improve their writing by
actively investigating the phenomena and writing them down on a piece of
paper.
B. The Problem of the Study
In line with the background of study, the problem of this study is
formulated as follows: “Is there any significant effect of Group
Investigation Method on students‟ achievement in writing descriptive
text?”
5
C. The Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to find out whether there is an effect
of applying the Group Investigation Method on students‟ achievement in
writing descriptive text.
D. The Scope of the Study
This study is focused on students‟ achievement in writing
descriptive text particularly on describing place. The level of students
being studied is the first grade of Senior High School.
E. The Significance of The Study
The findings of the study are expected to be useful for:
1. The students to get more interested in writing class and to improve
their writing skill.
2. English teachers in their attempts to improve their teaching
strategies to motivate students learning.
3. Those who are interested in carrying out further research related to
this study providing them with some valuable information needed.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
After analyzing the data, it was found that the students’ score in
experimental group was higher than the students in control group. The
total score and the mean score in experimental group showed that there
was a significant improvement of the students’ score between the pre-test
and the post-test score.
Since the value of tobserve was 3.733 with df (62) at the level
significance (0.05) = 2.000, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted.
So, from the calculation of the data, it can be concluded that Group
Investigation Method significantly affect students’ achievement in writing
descriptive text.
B. Suggestions
The result of this study shows that the use of Group Investigation
Method is able to improve the students’ achievement in writing descriptive
text. So, the writer’s points out some suggestions as in the following:
1. Group Investigation Method can be used as one of techniques
in the learning process. It can be used to teach writing,
especially descriptive writing to help students improve their
writing achievement.
39
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2. By learning in group and investigating the environment, the
students will be motivated and definitely enjoy the learning
process particularly writing in which they can discuss and share
their ideas with one another, and will get motivated in writing.
3. Other researcher can develop the related study to improve
learning technique.
41
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