EEA622.Educational.assessment.jan.2015 - Answer

ASSIGNMENT FILE

1

ASSIGNMENT

January 2015 SEMESTER

SUBJECT CODE

:EEA 622

SUBJECT TITLE

:EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT

LEVEL:MASTER OF EDUCATION

STUDENTS NAME

:VEKRAMAN A/L KRISHNAN

MATRIC NO.

:E60101150089

PROGRAMME

:E6010 MASTER OF EDUCATION

ACADEMIC FACILITATOR

:DR RAHIM

LEARNING CENTRE

:MICOST

Part A: (15%)

By Klenowskis (1995) definition of self-assessment as the evaluation or judgment of the worth of ones performance and the identification of ones strengths and weaknesses with a view to improving ones learning outcomes (p. 146). The above definition emphasizes the ameliorative potential of self-assessment and focuses attention on its consequential validity. According to some of the research conducted on self-assessment has consisted of students appraising their work with little interpretative guidance, The teacher and students negotiate self-assessment criteria, teacher-student dialogue focuses on evidence for judgments, and self-assessments contribute to a grade (by students alone or in collaboration with teachers).

We can define self-assessment has long been part of the repertoire of classroom teachers, assessment reform has increased its use. Key proponents of assessment reform (e.g.,Wiggins, 1993) recommend that students submit a self-assessment with every major assignment. Self-assessment is a valid instance of assessment reform (as defined by Aschbacher, 1991; Newman, 1997; Wiggins, 1993;1998) in that (i) students create something that requires higher level thinking (i.e., they interpret their performance using overt criteria); (ii) the task requires disciplined inquiry, (i.e., the criteria for appraisal are derived from a specific discipline); Other important features of assessment reform, e.g., the extent to which the task represents real world applications of school knowledge, characterize some but not all self-assessments.

According to some teachers findings it helpful to distinguish between self evaluation (judgments that are used for grading) and self assessments (informal judgments about attainment) as suggested by Gregory, Cameron, and Davies (2000).

Nobody can deny that, the term self-assessment is also used in the metacognition literature to refer to the judgments an individual makes on the basis of self-knowledge. (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999). My review will focus on self-assessments conducted in classroom settings and will touch only briefly upon findings from lab investigations. For an extensive review of self-assessment in the context of metacognition, see Sundstrom (2005).

B) When asked why they include self-assessment in their student assessment repertoires, teachers give a variety of responses. (1) Most frequently heard is the claim that involving students in the assessment of their work, especially giving them opportunities to contribute to the criteria on which that work will be judged, increases student engagement in assessment tasks. (2) Closely related is the argument that self-assessment contributes to variety in assessment methods, a key factor in maintaining student interest and attention

To define the examined is consistency between one time period and another. Blatchford (1997) found mixed evidence for long time periods. Blatchford reported that self-assessments were stable between ages 11 and 16 in mathematics, although not in English, a finding Blatchford attributed to feedback being less clear in English class than in mathematics. Sung, Chang, Chiou, and Hou (2005) had 14-15 year olds assess the quality of their web-designs on three occasions within a narrow time frame: after completing their designs, after viewing the designs of others in their own group and after viewing the best and worst designs in the class. Sung found no significant differences across occasions.

As a conclusion, the evidence in support of the reliability of self-assessment is positive in terms of consistency across tasks, across items, and over short time periods. According to the studies showing adequate consistency involved students who had been trained in how to evaluate their work.

Does self-assessment provide valid evidence about student performance?

Apart from that, the Validity in self-assessment typically means agreement with teacher judgments (considered to be the gold standard) or peer rankings (usually the mean of multiple judges which tend to be more accurate than the results from a single judge). Research on the self-assessments of university students produced mixed results. Boud and Falchikov (1989) reviewed 48 studies reporting self-teacher assessment agreement.

In most, self-assessments agreed with teachers' ratings but the reviewers expressed concern about the quality of many of the studies. There was extensive variation about what constituted agreement; the criteria used by teachers and students were frequently not defined; there were few replications involving comparable groups of students.

In this case, student self-assessments are generally higher than teacher ratings, although exceptions have been reported (e.g., Aitchison, 1995 for middle school music students). Over-estimates are more likely to be found if the self-assessments contribute to the students grade in a course (Boud & Falchikov, 1989). Young children may over-estimate because they lack the cognitive skills to integrate information about their abilities and are more vulnerable to wishful thinking.

Agreement of self-assessment with peer judgments is generally higher than self-teacher agreement (Bergee, 1997; McEnery & Blanchard, 1999). One explanation might be that students interpret assessment criteria differently than their teachers, for example, focusing on superficial features of the performance.

C) In this situation teachers who are concerned about the inaccuracy of self-assessment may be partially reassured by the research evidence about the psychometric properties of self-assessment. The concern is likely to remain. Improvement in the utility of self-assessment is most likely to come from attention to four dimensions in training students how to assess their work.

Apart from that, the process for defining the criteria that students use to assess their work will improve the reliability and validity of assessment if the rubric uses language intelligible to students, addresses competencies that are familiar to students, and includes performance features they perceive to be important. Rolheiser (1986) suggested several strategies for engaging students in the construction of simple rubrics. A key message in Rolheisers manual is that teachers should not surrender control of assessment criteria but enact a process in which students develop a deeper understanding of key expectations mandated by governing curriculum guidelines.

Besides, a process of progressive revelation of the rubric may be appropriate, if students lack sufficient experience in the domain to be able to identify dimensions of mastery.

Next, teaching students how to apply the criteria also contributes to the credibility of the assessment and student understanding of the rubric. Among the more powerful strategies are teacher explanations of each criterion, teacher modeling of criteria application, and student practice in applying the rubric to examples of student work (including their own). Within-lesson comments that link instructional episodes and student tasks to assessment criteria reinforce student understanding of the criteria.

Hence, giving students feedback on their self-assessments is a process of triangulating student self-assessments with teacher appraisals and peer assessments of the same work using the same criteria. Conferencing with individuals and groups to resolve discrepancies can heighten attention to evidence, the antidote to lying and self-delusion. A key issue is to help students move from holistic to analytic scoring of their work. For example, student self-assessments are frequently driven by their perception of the effort expended on the assignment, an important criterion but it should not swamp attention to other dimensions of performance.

Apart from that, students need help in using self-assessment data to improve performance. Student sophistication in processing data improves with age. For example, J. Ross et al. (2002-c) found that when discussing assessments with parents and peers, grade 6 students were more likely to focus on evidence of achievement and how to improve performance, whereas grade 2-4 students focused exclusively on the overall grade. In addition, older students were more likely than younger to compare current to past achievement on similar tasks. Teachers can provide simple recording forms for tracking performance over time to compensate for memory loss.

. In this case, Teachers can also address student beliefs that contribute to higher goal setting, such as attributions for success and failure and seeing ability as something that can improve rather than as a fixed entity.

As a conclusion teachers can further support self-assessment by creating a climate in which students can publicly self-assess. Strategies for creating trust in the classroom are readily available (e.g., Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1990). The usefulness of self-assessment is likely to be enhanced by strategies that shift students toward learning goals.

Part B: (15%) 5 pages

Write a short essay on the following:

The Malaysian Education System is Too Examination Oriented: Discuss

What is an education? According to Oxford dictionary, an education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction. Based on this statement, it sounds like the engagement is either by learning and teaching an instruction given by teachers. Would it be good enough for the students? How can this approach help the students to handle difficult situation in the future? The learning process in the classroom is never enough for the students anymore. It takes more than academia to survive in such a stressful working environment. In Malaysia, the education system is indeed facing problems in producing competent graduates to face this gruesome and depressing challenging working world. What are the possible problems that caused such a bad system? What can be done to create a better education system?

The problem of education system in Malaysia is that the students are too exam-oriented. Due to societal pressure, the result is the sole indicator of determining your performance in the school. For many innocent students in Malaysia, education means scoring the test papers, acquiring more knowledge for the exam, and of course, aiming for higher number of As! There is a misconception that higher number of As indicates the person is smarter. For example, parents and relatives like to compare their own children with the number of As in result slip or how much salary they can make per month. Why are they making us so stressful? I had heard numerous comparisons throughout my schooling year (even now). My aunt did that by comparing my cousin and me in SPM. With an extra A in my cousins result slip, she is assumed to be better. It is not because I am jealous or what (maybe I am?), this should not be the way to gauge the students ability. This is because the quality of As would be affected. I still remembered that she is still struggling with Chemistry questions during her foundation year. So, is this the right way to compare? Would you compare a student with a very strong foundation in Physics gets mediocre result in other subjects, while another student who is just barely good at every subject gets straight As? Would you expect Albert Einstein to be good in every subject while his expertise is Physics? I believe his research ability would have suffered if he did that. This is the problem with the parents. They do not utilize the talents of the children. The children might be good in drawing, handcrafting, or sports. Instead, they put too much emphasis to create Jack-of-all-trades students in term of academic examination. When students are too exam-oriented, they are unable to utilize their talents by being productive in their fields. Because after all, they just want more As in exam slips.

Another problem I see within most students in Malaysia is they lack of leadership element. It may sound clich, but it is crucial to possess this a must element in every student. This element cannot be acquired through class unless the leadership role is taken by the student. This is why the roles of class monitor, secretary and treasurer exist even in primary school. However, how many students are able to take these roles? Not so many. Based on my experience, most of the student leaders you see in your school or networking events are comprised a very small number. Perhaps, they may be 1 out of 100 students? What I find it funny is that the student leaders in the various events are actually the same group of people! These high motivated enthusiastic groups go for every kind of event to get exposure. This is why the representatives from Ministry of Education always think that most students are like the leaders, engaging most of the time. In fact, they are engaging the same students most of the time. Take for another example, today you might see a student ambassador from AIESEC in a GRADUAN career fair. After that, I can bet my 1 cent that you would most probably see him in other career fair/networking event/startup event/random event etc. This is a good sign, but what about the rest? We are now talking out of the average students, not the top 5 %. Most of them would shun away from this kind of event, stay at home/hostel most of the time. The lazy type (eg. my friends) would most probably demotivate you by giving excuses like Why do you go for so many kind of events?, Stay at home chillax first! Not easy to get holiday on weekends-leh!, I didnt meet my family for nearly whole semester. I miss them so I have to go back!, After graduated you still can go-mah! and the list goes on. What happened after that? They feel scared when lecturers point them to answer question. Especially those forum and networking events where there will be a Q & A at the end of the session, not only the students, even the working adults would tilt their heads down. This shows they are shy and not taking initiative to take up a leadership role in asking questions. Who knows the answers from the questions would be an inspiring quote in the future? That is how the legacy was born by the leaders.

Anyway, I have found a random quote from the internet.The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. William Arthur WardSpeaking about teachers, teachers are noble and respectable. However, back to the quote, did teachers ever inspire most of the students nowadays? Yeah, maybe a handful. Most of them, are like the result of education system in Malaysia, teach according to the syllabus. They lack of empathy to care more about the students. The good ones would be focused, while the bad ones would be sidelined. Some would say Why getting yourself into troubles when your pay is the same before and after? After all, teachers are now only known for rushing the exam syllabus. Where is the personal connection between the students and the teachers? Why can it never be like the relationship between the mentors and disciples? Let me ask you some questions:1. When was the last time you had given a wishing card to them on Teachers Day?2. Or for worse case, when was the last time you had visited your teachers after your graduation?Those days where teachers inspire were gone. Students are never appreciative with what the inspiring teachers have done for them. They take everything for granted. Most would complain about the teachers on they did not come to the class and finish the syllabus. Again, syllabus!? I believe that every student should have an equal opportunity. It is the dedication of the teachers who can make a difference. Frankly speaking, I had a hard time tutoring a student with bad results. It really tested my patience to really get him understood. He did well after that (Thank God!) Besides, teachers are also responsible for some kind of programs in school, for example development programs (such as extra-curricular activities). These programs are usually deemed as wasting time by the students. Same goes to my second point, unless they are forced, only the 1 % highly motivated student leaders would volunteer to join these programs. Because students are only taught that results are everything. The result slip is the only pathway to go through your next level of education. Truth to be told, they would only realize the result slip is just an entrance to any level of education, in secondary and tertiary education. After that, everything would start from 0. Why dont I tell you everything would start from 0 after you land your first employment? Imagine your 15 16 years of education becomes negligible after your first job. Reality is hitting us hard, isnt it? Therefore, inspiring teachers can really mold the leaders that we can see at the top of corporate leaders.

Have you ever heard of teacher-centered learning? It is where the teachers would talk and the students would listen. This kind of approach has made students who can read and write well, but could not communicate with people around them. This problem usually happens to the people learning second language (eg. English). The education system usually taught students to read and write first before they start to talk. This approach is actually very bad. Have you ever wondered why you can speak your native language (Malay, Tamil, or Mandarin) so well? This is because you use the language in most conversation. In my experience, I could not read or write most Chinese words, but I could converse well with my Chinese friends. Many people find it weird because I can listen/speak but I couldnt read/write. Yes, these components are actually different from each other. It must be improved part by part in order to improve your overall proficiency. However, the approach of teaching students to read and write English before they get to speak is way wrong. Before you get to speak, you must listen to how others speak. Before you write a passage, you must read how others write. Perhaps, I would suggest the government to start listening and oral tests in primary school as part of the curriculum. Anyway, English is a lingua franca, but many students are still reluctant to learn it. I am not good in English is a merely excuse. I find it funny because it has become an opening for many conversations. For me, there is no good English, there is only understandable English. Even if you throw bombastic words to me in a conversation, while I dont understand it, I would not think your English is good. So this is how KISS rule applies (Google it!). Take your time by using common phrases in English. Master them and I am sure you would be talking like a native speaker in the future. For your information, I am taking German now. If I were to compare English and German, I would say that German is much harder than English. Their verbs are weird (the word haben have in German is different conjugation for every pronoun such as habe, hast, hat, haben) The articles of the have different forms (das, die, der) Even plurals are not as straightforward (can you imagine the plural of Buch book is Bcher books).

Although it seems hard for me, Germans are so used these. It is the same as our native languages. We are so used to it, yet the foreigners are having tough time learning it. Do not wait for education system to teach you how to speak English. It would never work! Take the initiative and learn English on your own! Do not forget that where theresa will, theres WILL ALWAYS BE a way.

In a nutshell, education system in Malaysia certainly doesnt prepare the students to face the corporate life. The budget allocated for education sector is increasing annually, with the highest last year at RM 54.6 billion (Woah, how many Ferraris can I buy?). Somehow, was it utilized effectively? It is not a matter of allocation anymore, the biggest role here is the execution. Teachers must be able to inspire the students to think out of the box. The students must not be left out for leadership role. They must be given the freedom to utilize their real talents to contribute to the society. Number of As shall not be the sole comparison to the quality of the students. By changing the mindset of the young in the early stage, they would know their purpose to work on what they want to contribute in the future. If the country is to take about education excellence, it has to start with reformation in education first.

Part C: (30%)

The purpose of Part C of the Assignment is assess your ability to build a test and conduct item analysis on the items to determine its appropriateness.

Construct 10 multiple-choice questions (MCQ) in any subject area of your choice The test could be for learners in a primary or secondary school, learners in a college or university or participants in a training programme.

The test should be an Achievement Test for a particular subject such as Science, Mathematics, Statistics, History, Management, Language and so forth.

The questions should be constructed by you (i.e. original) and not taken from available sources.

Each stem for an item or question should have 4 alternatives (A, B, C & D) with three distracters and one answer.

Administer the test to a group of at 15 students or more.Conduct an item analysis of the items.(refer to Chapter 8: Item Analysis): Compute the Difficulty index for each item Compute the Discrimination index for each item Evaluate the Effectiveness of each option or alternative

Write a report on your findings.

Attach a copy of the test.

Your report will evaluated on the following:

The Multiple-Choice Test 10 Item analysis for each of the items 10 Discussion of findings and conclusion 10

TOTAL 30 marks

Appendix 1

Questionnaire 1This set if questionnaire is distributed in order to obtain information regarding students' background. Please write all the information required in the blank spaces and circle your choices in the options provided.Subject's ProfileName:Form:Gender:Race:Age:Semester One English Result:English Examination Result:Father's occupation:Mother's occupation:

1.Do you like to read English comprehension?A.YesB.No

2.Do you like to read English comprehension at home?A.YesB.No

3.Where do you read English comprehension the most?A.At homeB.At schoolC.In your English class

THANK YOU

Appendix 2

Questionnaire 2This set of questionnaire is distributed in order to obtain information regarding your responses toward the using picture in reading comprehension. Your full cooperation is needed in answering all the questions designed. Please circle your choices in the options provided.

1.Have you been introduced to using picture in reading comprehension before?YesNo

2.What do you think of using reading picture in comprehension?InterestingUsefulFunBoring

3.Do pictures helpful for you to understand the reading comprehension better?YesNoNot sure

Appendix 3

Answer the questions below according to the picture given.Pre Test Pre-reading questions

1.What can you see in the first picture? 2.Can you describe a bus? 3.Look closely at the bus. How many passengers can fit into a bus? 4.Where can you catch a bus? 5.How do you board a bus or get down? 6.How many doors do you usually find in a bus? What is the function of the door at 7.the back of the bus? 8.How do you stop a bus when you are traveling in a bus? 9.Look at the second picture. Can you describe a train?10.Is it the same size as a bus?11.In what way does a train differ from a bus?12.If you choose to travel at night on train. Where do you sleep?13.Where can you take a train?14.What do trains carry?15.Why do you think trains have extra large lamps in front|?

Appendix 4

A class project: The students of Form 1Arif had to get information about trains and buses for their English homework. Team A described a bus. Team B found out about trains. Here are their reports. Read them.

Team As report: The Bus

The bus is a common and cheap means of transportation. Some buses carry about twenty-four passengers. Bigger ones can carry up to forty-four passengers.To catch a bus you can wait at the bus-stop or go to a bus-station. Look at the number in front of the bus .It will show you where the bus is going. Get your ticket from the fare machine beside the drivers.There are many rows of seats on a bus and there is a passageway in the center. On both sides there are windows.At the back of the bus, there is a door which is usually closed. It is the emergency exit.To stop the bus, you press a bell. You can see it just above your seat.

Team Bs report: The Train

The train is like a bus in many ways, but very much longer. It carries passengers too. It has rows of seats on both sides and a passageway down the middle. The train has many coaches. Some coaches have compartments which are like small rooms separated by a corridor.You must go to railway-station to board train. This is because trains run on rails. At the railway-station, you buy tickets according to executive or economy class.Trains not only carry passengers but goods as well, such as palm oil, containers and mail. Many trains travel throughout the night. That is why trains have extra large lamps in front.

Appendix 5

Answer the questions below according to the picture given.Pre Test

Pre-reading questions.

1.What can you see in the first picture?

2.Where are the people?

3.What is happening to them?

4.What do the people bring with them?

5.Are the people helping each other? How do you know?

6.Where are the people going? What can you see on top of the hill?

7.Look at the second picture... Where do you think the event took place?

8.What do you think has happened to the old woman?

9.What are the people doing to the old woman?

APPENDIX 5 (i)

The Lonely Old Lady

Kampung Korok is a small village. The villagers are happy and friendly. They always work together and help one another.

Old Mak Lila lives near river the river that runs through the village. She is not a friendly person and does not talk to anybody. She does not like children and the children are afraid of her.

There was one exception. Esah tried to be friends with old Mak Lila. Esah remembered what her teacher had said, Always be kind and friendly to others. Kindness and friendly are gifts from God.

One day it rain heavily for hours. The water level in Sungai Korok rose higher and higher. The villagers quickly got ready to move to the school at the top of the hill.

Esah, hurry up! We must go before the water level rises further, said Esahs mother. The villagers were all rushing to the school. Esah and her mother packed a few belongings and rushed out as well.

Suddenly, Esah stopped. Mother, what about Mak Lila? We must get her out as well.

Mak Lila can take care of herself. Just leave her alone.

Esah, weve no time. The water is already up to our knees.

Please, mother, pleasesaid Esah.

Alright, but, we must be quick, replied Esahs mother.

Esah and her mother rushed to Mak Lilas house. Esah knocked on the door and called out loudly. Mak Lila! Mak Lila! Come out! The place is flooding.

There was no answer. Esahs mother sighed. Its no use. She is proud old lady and wont accept help from us.

As they were walking away, they heard the sound of a loud crash coming from the house. Esah and her mother forced the door open. There, on the floor, was old Mak Lila! She had slipped while walking to the door! Together, Esah and her mother helped Mak Lila to the school.

All the other villagers were surprised to see Mak Lila with Esah and her mother. However, they were happy that she had agreed to come to the school.

Welcome, Mak Lila , called out one of the villagers.

Quick! Give her a hot drink and a blanket, said Esahs mother. All the villagers fussed over old Mak Lila. Mak Lila was touched by the warm welcome and attention of the villagers.

With tears flowing down her cheeks, she said, Thank you for your kindness. I did not think I would receive so much care and help. Mak Lilas heart was filled with gratitude.

All the villagers were happy to see the chance in Mak Lila. Esahs simple act had taught Mak Lila the value of friendship and kindness.

(Taken from Sally Quah and Julie Mak.1989.English Form I KBSM.Kuala Lumpur. Penerbitan Tunas Ilmu. 118-119)

Appendix 6

Questionnaire for teachers

Kindly tick (/) in the appropriate box.

1.Age:25 years and below()26 30 years()31 35 years()36 40 years()41 years and above()

2.Teaching experienceLess than 5 years()5 10 years()11 15 years()16 tears and above()

3.Do you practice pictures for reading comprehension in your class?

Yes()No()Sometimes()

Section BPlease circle your choiceSAStrongly agreeAAgreeUUndecidedDDisagreeSDStrongly disagree

1. Using pictures in reading comprehensions are helpful for students to comprehend reading materials.SAAUDSD

2.Pictures help to motivate students in learning reading comprehension.SAAUDSD

3.Pictures inculcate students interest and build students confidence in learning the language.SAAUDSD

4.Using pictures in reading comprehensions allow students to use language freely without feeling inhibited and threatened.SAAUDSD

Appendix 7

Questions for the students interview session.Please circle your answer.

1.Can you understand the story without the picture?AYesBNo

2.It is much easier to understand the story with the help of pictures.AYesBNo

3.A question and answer session (based on the picture). Can tell what is in the passage?AYesBNo

4.You can associate / match the pictures with certain wordsAYesBNo

5.Pictures can help to recall relevant things in relation to the text. (For example, birthday cake, game and party are always associated with birthday party).AYesBNo

6.Passage(s) is / are easiest to comprehend by using the suitable pictures.AYesBNo

Appendix 8

Answer the questions below according to the picture given.Post Test Post-reading questions.

1.What can you tell from the picture?

2.What do you think has caused the fire?

3.What are the people doing? How are they passing the water?

4.How do the villagers put out the fire?

5.Do the people work together to pass pails of water to their friends or neighbours?

6.Can you see the man on the bridge?

7.What is he doing? Who do you think he is?

8.What about the man on the left? What is he trying to do? Who do you think he is?

Appendix 8 (i)Post-Test QuestionsRead the passage and answer the comprehension question.

The Fire in Kampung Bidu

The people of Kampung Tiram were very sad. Their padi was not growing well because there was very little rain. The only river running through their village had been blocked off by the people of neighbouring Kampung Bidu. All they had left was a well in the middle of the kampong. Everyone shared the water in the well.Pak Kassim, the headman of Kampung Tiram, was a very kind man. He wanted to be friendly with his neighbours, but Pak Yusof, the headman of Kampung Bidu, was unfriendly.This time, the dry season lasted longer than usual. The river was drying up. The water in the wells in both the villages was getting less and less.One evening, as the people of Kampung Tiram were resting after a tiring day, they heard loud shouts coming from Kampung Bidu.Help! Help! Fire!Kampung Bidu was on fire. Everyone in Kampung Tiram stopped to watch the fire. People of Kampung Tiram, Im ashamed of you. Our neighbours are in danger and all you do is stand and watch! Come on, lets us use the water in our well to put out the fire.

No! No! the villagers shouted. They didnt care that we had no water. Why should we care about them now?Pak Kassim was silent. A few minutes passed. Then, the villagers said, You are right, Pak Kassim. We must help. Lets form a human chain and help to put out the fire.So, they did. They worked together. They were all tired and hungary but they were not even thinking of themselves. Finally, with the co-operation of all the villagers, they to put out the fire.So, they did. Thy worked together. They were all tired and hungry but they were not even thinking of themselves. Finally, with the co-operation of all the villagers, they managed to put out the fire.Pak Yusof said. Thank you for your kindness. Weve been selfish. We forgot the importance of friendship and selflessness. You had so little water left and yet you were willing to use it to save us.Pak Kassim was proud of his people. Thank my people, not me. If they did not co-operate with one another, we wouldnt have been able to do much.The people of the two villages became good friends, giving and receiving help the way friends do. Everyone was happy again.What do you think happened two days later?

(Taken from Sally Qua and Julie Mak. 1989. English Form I KBSM. Kuala Lumpr. Penerbitan Tunas Ilmu. 230)

5.0 Introduction

The result obtained in Chapter 4 point out those pictures or any visual aids have a very important role in education. Pictures have educational value in the sense that they can be exploited to facilitate the process of learning. Thus, this particular research is mainly concerned with the effectiveness of using pictures in language classroom. In this case, the researcher tries to investigate whether pictures can be an effective aid in enhancing the students reading comprehension. The findings for this study might provide valuable insight for further research as well as for classroom implication.

5.1 Summaries of the findings

From the research, it is discovered that pictures can to some extent facilitate the reading process; thus, contribute to the success of reading comprehension. It is clearly indicated during the classroom observation sessions that pictures can help the students to get a general idea of the reading passages as well as help them to generate ideas, words, phrases and expressions which are important to prepare them for successful reading comprehension. However, pictures can be an effective aid under certain circumstances only. It requires a lot of effort from the teacher in providing maximum benefit of using pictures. According to Wright (1999), pictures can to some extent provide non-verbal information and help students to predict the content of a text and to respond to the language clearly. When the students are able to predict what the text might be about, they can recognize meaning more quickly. The students need a lot of guidance from the teacher to anticipate the reading passages. It is discovered that; pictures can benefit the students in terms of recognition and association. Pictures, in this case, often suggest certain ideas and concepts which are vital in anticipating the reading passages. Difficult words are easily identified through picture clues and students recognition of certain concepts is increased through the presence of visual representation.

2.Teachers have a very important role in determining the success of using pictures in the reading classroom. The teacher has to ensure that the students interpret the pictures correctly to allow them to anticipate the reading passages. It is very important to direct the students focus to the content and which are in the reading passages.

3.It is more effective to use pictures with descriptive passages since they provide more explicit clues which can direct the students attention to important ideas and language items.

The interview session revealed that students found pictures helpful and they can benefit a lot from the pictures. According to the students, they can rely on pictures to get the gist of the text as well as familiarize themselves with the lexical items. Language structures and the organizational pattern of the text. However, pictures are found to be more on pictorial clues to recognize and associate difficult words and concepts with their existing vocabularies. These students found that pictures are very important in helping them to anticipate what they were about to read. Thomas in (Cooper,1990:99), Samuels (1995) and Schallert (1999) verify the fact that pictures help the students to improve their reading comprehension.

The teachers evaluation of the effectiveness of pictures is similar with the researchers findings. It is discovered that pictures provide the students with necessary information to comprehend the reading passages. With the presence of pictures, students are able to generate ideas and necessary language features to anticipate what they are about to encounter in the text. Grellet (1990) asserts that pictures can help the students to draw out only what is essential and to see the development of the text more clearly. She also mentions that pictures can be specific help in learning to read effectively.

However, teachers have significant role in determining the effectiveness of using pictures are subjected to various interpretations. Therefore, the teachers have to ensure that the questions for probing sessions are explicit enough to direct the students attention to certain language items and content which are in the reading passages. If not, the students might interpret the picture according to their personal experiences which are irrelevant to the content of the reading passages. In ensuring the success or failure of using pictures to aid the students reading comprehension, teachers have to take into consideration the importance of manipulating the pictures in such a way to meet their teaching objectives.

5.2 Limitation of the study

One of the limitations in this research is time constraint. The researcher had only managed to observe three reading lessons per teacher. The result would be more reliable if the researcher can spend more time to observe more reading lessons. This will also enable the researcher to examine the effectiveness of pictures on various reading passages (narrative, situational, descriptive, est.).

Not only that, the number of participants for this particular research is quite small. It only involved three English teachers. The researcher might have a better understanding of the problem under investigation if more teachers are involved for they are able to share and exchange opinions of whether pictures can be an effective aid in enhancing the students reading comprehension.

As for the interview session, only 45 students out of 138 students were interviewed. Thus, the researcher does not have an overall evaluation of the effectiveness of using pictures.

In addition, there is no control group for this particular research because not many teachers volunteered to take part in this study. Those teachers cannot afford to conduct other reading lessons without pictures due to administration and personal problems.

This situation does not permit the researcher to make a clear comparison of reading lessons with and without pictures.

Finally, the pictures which accompany the reading passages are in the textbook itself. Even though the teachers had warned the students not to refer to the passage during the question probing sessions, some students simply disobeyed their teachers instruction. They referred to the text to find answers to the questions posed by the teacher. This will surely affect the accuracy of the result interpreted by the researcher.

5.3Implications of the Study

Results of this study might have implications for the design and classroom use of pictures in the teaching of reading. The research finding can show the importance of pictures in improving reading comprehension. For example, the teacher can manipulate pictures during the pre-reading stage to help the students predict the content of the passage. There should not be any doubt of pictures being the tool for improving the students reading comprehension because it has been proven that pictures can be adapted to meet certain teaching objectivities.

As far as reading comprehension is concerned, pictures should be seen as a useful aid to focus the students attention to the text and ensure that they read passages or texts with certain expectations. Thus, resulting in a better comprehension of the text.

5.4Recommendations For Further Research

It is recommended for future researcher to carry out the research for a longer period. This will allow them to observe how reading lessons were conducted throughout the semester (with and without pictures) and their impact on the students reading comprehension.

It is also advisable to have more participants for this kind of research to get more feedback regarding the problem being investigated. The researcher can use questionnaire as an alternative to involve more participants in their research.

It is highly recommended for further research to have a control group so that clear comparison can be made between the groups with pictures and without pictures. The results would be more valid and reliable if there is a control group.

Not only that, future researcher should ensure that the pictures for the reading passages are given on a separate piece of paper. This is to avoid the students from referring to the reading passages to find the answers during the question probing session.

5.5Conclusion

Result of this study suggests that pictures can to some extent students in comprehending texts by increasing their ability to recognize and associate certain concepts and vocabularies to these pictures. In this case, pictures may be helpful in enhancing comprehension among poor to average students.

In addition, teachers have a significant role in determining whether pictures can be an affective aid in enhancing the students reading comprehension.

However, further research is needed to determine whether it will produce the same results as found in this study.

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