Improving Students’ Skills in Writing through Think-Pair-Share (TPS) Technique at Grade VIII B of MTs YAPI Pakem in the Academic Year of 2016/ 2017

Abstract

This research is aimed at improving the writing skills of grade VIII B students of MTs YAPI Pakem in the academic year of 2016/ 2017 with the use of Think – Pair – Share (TPS) technique.The research was carried out through action research that consisted of two cycles. Each cycle consisted three meetings. The researcher worked collaboratively with the English teacher. The data consisted of qualitative data and quantitative data. The qualitative data were obtained from observations, students’ writing performances and interviews, while the quantitative data were gained from tests. The qualitative data were analyzed by condensing data, displaying data, and drawing conclussion. The mean scores of the tests were gained as the result of the quantitative data analysis. The validity of this research was gained by applying democratic, outcome, process, catalytic, and dialogic validity. The researcher used a triangulation technique to get the trustwhortiness. The results of the research show that the use of Think – Pair – Share technique was able to improve the students’ writing skills. Based on the qualitative data sources, the students got improvements in the aspect of language features, organization of the text, mechanism, and vovabulary.