IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS IN DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS THROUGH QUANTUM LEARNING STRATEGY OF GRADE VIII A OF SMP N 5 SLEMAN

Abstract

This research aimed to improve the writing skills of Grade VIII A students of SMP N 5 Sleman using Quantum Learning Strategy. This research was an action research study. The research was conducted in SMP N 5 Sleman from the 22^nd of October to the 13^th of November 2014. The subjects of the research were 32 students of Grade VIII A. The data were collected qualitatively through observation and interviews and quantitatively through a pre-test and a post-test. The field notes and interview transcripts were analyzed qualitatively using Burns’ model (2010). Meanwhile, to build interpretations of the quantitative data, the pre-test and post-test results were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 16.0 to find the difference between the mean scores of the students in both tests. The results showed that the implementation of the Quantum Learning Strategy was effective to improve the students’ writing skills. By using the design and the principles of this strategy, the students showed improvement in all aspects of writing namely content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. This strategy also improved the teaching and learning of writing such as classroom interaction, the students’ participation and enthusiasm towards the learning. The findings were also supported by the quantitative data. The mean scores of the students’ writing tests showed the improvement from 64.5 to 75.05.