PEMBELAJARAN BERASASKAN MASALAH

Surf the Internet to find further material 6 13 4 2 0 25

Table 1 shows student responses to questions about how lectures help them to understand
literary concepts. Generally, though the majority of the students are in agreement with most aspects
of lectures, several findings are noteworthy. Nineteen (76%) students responded that lecture notes
are adequate to help them understand literary concepts. But a similar number (20/80%) also
reported that they require more information. All but one of the students responded that graphics (24
students/ 96%) and audio video aids (24 students/96%) would be helpful to facilitate their
understanding of the concepts. This opinion is corroborated by the responses to subsequent
questions whereby the students disagreed to the statement that graphics and audio video aids are not
necessary. Somewhat surprisingly, 15 students (60%) responded that the lecturer’s own
explanations are adequate for the understanding of the concepts. Again, this finding is corroborated
by the response to the next question when it was posed in the negative; almost an equal number of
the students disagreed that the lecturer’s own explanations are inadequate (14 students/56%). This
leads us to conclude that the students probably see being ‘adequate’ as being ‘useful’, for the
researchers expected those who desired the use of graphics and audio video aids to respond
negatively to this question. In spite of the students reporting that lecture notes are adequate, we can
assume that students do indeed desire the use of graphics and audio video aids during lectures to
help them comprehend literary concepts. The fact that a majority of the students report resorting to
reference books and the Internet to help them understand concepts, attests to this.

TABLE 2: Student response to understanding of literary concepts during Lectures in
Post-treatment Questionnaires (n=19)

Lecture SA A U D

SD Total

Lecture notes are adequate 4 12 2 1 0

19

I need more information than lecture notes 13 4 1 1 0

19

Graphics/ pictures/ illustrations are helpful 11 7 0 1 0

19

Audio and video aids are helpful 12 6 0 1 0

19

Not necessary to use graphics/ pictures/ illustrations 1 1 2 8 7

19

Not necessary to use audio and video aids 20098

19 66421
Lecturer’s own explanations are adequate 13474

19
Lecturer’s own explanations are inadequate

19

Have to read reference books 74620
19 11 5 2 1 0 19

Surf the Internet to find further material

Again, the majority of the students (16/84.25%) reported that lecture notes are adequate, but as
explained earlier, these students probably perceive adequate as being useful. A similar number of
students reported wanting more information. The percentage of students who strongly agreed that
graphics and audio video aids are necessary to enhance understanding of literary concepts showed a
slight increase in the post-treatment questionnaire survey. Out of the 18 students who agreed to
this, almost 60% indicated ‘strongly agreed’ (57.9% for graphics and 63.2% for audio video,
compared to 52% and 56% respectively in the pre-treatment questionnaire survey). Other findings
are identical to the findings from the pre-treatment survey.

1.2 Student response to tutorials

TABLE 3: Student response to understanding of literary concepts during Tutorials in Pre-
treatment Questionnaires (n=19)

Tutorial SA A U D
SD Total 6 14 2 3 0
5 14 5 1 0
Discussion of lecture notes in tutorials is adequate 5 14 4 2 0
25 10 13 2 0 0
10 13 1 1 0
Group discussions are adequate 5 11 7 2 0
25 14596

Presentations in tutorials are adequate
25

Discussion of Graphics is helpful
25

Discussion of Audio and video aids is helpful
25

Lecturer’s own explanations are adequate
25

Lecturer’s own explanations are inadequate
25

TABLE 4: Student response to understanding of literary concepts during Tutorials in
Post-treatment Questionnaires (n=19)

Tutorial SA A U D

SD Total

Discussion of lecture notes in tutorials is adequate 6 9 0 4 0

19

Group discussions are adequate 5 10 2 1 1
19

Presentations in tutorials are adequate 58411
19 89110
98110
Discussion of Graphics is helpful 75430
19

Discussion of Audio and video aids are helpful
19

Lecturer’s own explanations are adequate
19

Lecturer’s own explanations are inadequate 05572

19

The findings for Tutorial showed no significant differences between the pre-treatment survey
and the post-treatment survey. As shown in Tables 3 and 4, once again most students apparently
perceive ‘being adequate’ as ‘being useful’, for most reported discussions of lecture notes, group
discussions and presentations (the conventional method employed in tutorials) as being adequate,
yet a similar number also reported that graphics, audio and video play a key role in enhancing
understanding of literary concepts. For the most part, the findings (as presented in both Tables) are
identical. The noteworthy point is that the most preferred activity during tutorials is ‘discussions’
that focus on the use of multimedia tools. For example, for discussions of graphics, audio and video
aids, 92% (23 out 25) of the students in the pre-treatment survey and 89.5% (17 out of 19) of the
students in the post-treatment survey reported finding them useful.

1.3 Student response to assignments

TABLE 5: Student response to understanding of literary concepts from Assignments in
Pre-treatment Questionnaires (n=25)

Assignments SA A U D SD
Total 4 12 5 1 2
6 12 5 2 0
Written essays are adequate
25

A Poster assignment is necessary
25

A Folio task is necessary 4 14 6 1 0

25

A multimedia task is necessary 6 15 1 3 0

25

Individual speech presentations are necessary 4 10 6 4 0

25

Tests and quizzes are necessary 39454

25

Watching a movie/play of a literary work is necessary 10 11 4 0 0

25

Staging our own play (drama) is necessary 8 11 4 2 0

25

For types of assignments perceived as being most helpful for the understanding of literary
concepts, it is interesting to note that the ‘multimedia task’ and ‘watching a movie or play’ showed
the highest response (both recorded 84%). The ‘poster assignment’ and ‘staging a drama’ recorded
the second highest percentage with 76%. This reaffirms the earlier findings on Lectures and
Tutorials.

TABLE 6: Student response to understanding of literary concepts from Assignments
in Post-treatment Questionnaires (n=19)

Assignments SA A U D SD

Total

Written essays are adequate 39340

19 58510
A Poster assignment is necessary 48430

19 4 12 1 2 0
A Folio task is necessary 29620
26731
19
A multimedia task is necessary

19
Individual speech presentations are necessary

19
Tests and quizzes are necessary

19

Watching a movie/play of a literary work is necessary 6 11 2 0 0

19 68410
Staging our own play (drama) is necessary

19

As in the previous sections, the findings of the post-treatment survey on Assignments
concur with the findings of the pre-treatment survey. The ‘multimedia task’ and ‘watching a movie
or play’ again recorded the highest responses (84.2% and 89.5% respectively). The ‘poster
assignment’ and ‘staging a drama’ again were closest recording 68.4% and 73.7% respectively. Not
surprisingly, ‘tests and quizzes’ recorded the lowest percentage (47%) as was the case in the pre-
treatment survey (48%).

CONCLUSION

As reported, the findings in all three sections show strong support for the multi-modal approach to
the teaching of literary concepts. Further analysis of student responses to a learning style survey
(ongoing) and an advanced analysis of the data in the current study showing correlation between
questionnaire survey items are expected to corroborate the findings in this study.

REFERENCES

Barclay, L. 2006. ‘Multimodal teaching: The importance of using multiple models’ in Current
Developments in Technology-Assisted Education (2006), retrieved 14 October 2009 at
http://www.formatex.org/micte2006/pdf/569-572.pdf

Entwistle, N. 2009. Teaching for Understanding at University: Deep Approaches and Distinctive
Ways of Thinking. Universities into the 21st Century series. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ganakumaran,S. 2009. 'Alternative Measures to Assessment' in Ganakumaran Subramaniam and
Shanthini Pillai (Eds.) Developing Literacies through Alternative Assessments. SASBADI-
MELTA ELT series. Sasbadi Sdn. Bhd., Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Ganakumaran Subramaniam and Shanthini Pillai (Eds.) 2009. Developing Literacies through
Alternative Assessments. SASBADI-MELTA ELT series. Sasbadi Sdn. Bhd., Petaling Jaya,
Malaysia.

Jewitt, C. 2008. ‘Multimodality and Literacy in School Classrooms’ in Review of Research in
Education 2008, retrieved 5 April 2009 at http://rre.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/32/1/241

Kellner, D. () Multiple Literacies and Critical Pedagogy in a Multicultural Society

Kress, G. 2000. ‘Multimodality: Challenges to Thinking about Language’. TESOL Quarterly, Vol.
34, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 337-340 published by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other
Languages, Inc. (TESOL) accessed on 4 May 2009 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3587959

Pillai, Shanthini. 2009. 'Multimodal Literacies: Alternative Assessments for Literature Learning' in
Ganakumaran Subramaniam and Shanthini Pillai (Eds.) Developing Literacies through Alternative
Assessments. SASBADI-MELTA ELT series. Sasbadi Sdn. Bhd., Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Pritchard, A. 2009. Ways of Learning: Learning Theories and Learning Styles in the Classroom
(second edition). New York: Routledge.

Templer, B. 2009. ‘Poetry in Motion: A Multimodal Teaching Tool’. Paper presented at the 4th
International English Language Teaching Conference (ELT-CON 2009), organised by Penang
English Language Learning and Teaching Association (PELLTA), 22-24 April 2009, retrieved 15
October 2009 at http://eltcon.webs.com/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20full_Bill_templer.pdf

APPENDIX 1
Dear respondents,
Kindly give your honest opinion about your preferred teaching and learning styles. Please read the
following statements and tick the most appropriate answer.

Pre-treatment Questionnaire – Sample
Key

SA A U D SD
Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Disagree

√

LECTURES SA A U D SD

1. The lecture notes are adequate to facilitate my understanding of
literary concepts and theories.

2. Lecture slides that contain only written information are adequate to
facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and theories.

3. I need more information than the written notes provided in lectures

to facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and theories.

4. My understanding of literary concepts and theories is enhanced
when the lecturer uses graphics/ pictures/ illustrations in the lecture
slides.

5. My understanding of literary concepts and theories is enhanced
when the lecturer uses audio and video aids during lectures (eg. Song,
dance, drama, movie clips, etc.)

6. I think it is not necessary to use graphics/ pictures/ illustrations in the
lecture slides to explain literary concepts and theories.

7. I think it is not necessary to use audio and video aids during lectures
(eg. song, dance, drama, movie clips, etc.) to explain literary concepts
and theories.

8. I think the lecturer’s own explanations are adequate to facilitate my
understanding of literary concepts and theories in lectures.

9. I don’t think the lecturer’s own explanations are adequate to
facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and theories in lectures.

10. Lectures are the best way to facilitate my understanding of literary
concepts and theories.

11. I have to read the reference books to enhance my understanding of
literary concepts and theories.

12. I have to surf the Internet to find further material to enhance my
understanding of literary concepts and theories.

TUTORIALS SA A U D SD

1. Discussion of lecture notes in tutorials is adequate to facilitate my
understanding of literary concepts and theories.

2. Group discussions are adequate to facilitate my understanding of

literary concepts and theories.

3. Presentations in tutorials are adequate to facilitate my understanding
of literary concepts and theories.

4. My understanding of literary concepts and theories is enhanced
when we discuss graphics/ pictures/ illustrations provided in the lecture
slides.

5. My understanding of literary concepts and theories is enhanced
when we discuss the audio and video aids provided in lectures (eg.
Song, dance, drama, movie clips, etc.)

6. I think the lecturer’s own explanations are adequate to facilitate my
understanding of literary concepts and theories in tutorials.

7. I don’t think the lecturer’s own explanations are adequate to
facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and theories in
tutorials.

8. Tutorials are the best way to facilitate my understanding of literary
concepts and theories.

ASSIGNMENTS SA A U D SD

1. Written essays are adequate to facilitate my understanding of literary
concepts and theories.

2. A Poster assignment is necessary to facilitate my understanding of
literary concepts and theories.

3. A Folio task (compilations of various material with analyses) is
necessary to facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and
theories.

4. A multimedia task that includes video and audio input is necessary
to facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and theories.

5. Individual speech presentations are necessary to facilitate my
understanding of literary concepts and theories.

6. Tests and quizzes are necessary to facilitate my understanding of
literary concepts and theories.

7. Watching a movie/stage play version of a literary work is necessary
to facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and theories.

8. Recreating or dramatizing a scene from a literary work (drama task)
is necessary to facilitate my understanding of literary concepts and
theories.

9. Dramatising a real life situation is necessary to facilitate my
understanding of literary concepts and theories.

LEARNING STYLE SA A U D SD

1. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am listening to a
lecture.

2. I learn literary concepts and theories better by reading what the
lecturer writes on the lecture slides.

3. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am studying on
my own.

4. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am reading on my
own.

5. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I work with others
(group).

6. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am working on an
individual assignment.

7. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am working on a
group assignment.

8. I learn literary concepts and theories better by discussing with my
lecturer.

9. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I do something in
class.

10. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I make a model or
diagram of them.

11. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I make something
for a class project.

12. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I participate in
role-playing.

13. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am working on a
multimedia project.

14. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am involved in a
drama project.

15. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am involved in a
poster project.

16. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am watching a
play of a literary work.

17. I learn literary concepts and theories better when I am watching a
movie of a literary work.

THANK YOU.

EFFECTIVE TEACHING MATERIALS FOR INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION :
ZZZE 3012 WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION 1

Sharifah Zurina Syed Kamarulzaman, Norlaila Mufti, Fauzanita Kasim, Normilah A Wahab,
Aida Abdul Rashid

Pusat Pengajian Umum
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600, Bangi, Selangor Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The use of course books or textbooks in general has stirred a slight debate between whether to use
one or not. Those who object to course books in principle, see them as instruments of institutional
control that is supported by commercial interests or implicitly prescriptive and destroys the
creativity of teachers and learners. On the other hand, supporters of it see it as providing teachers
and learners with a range of professionally developed materials within tried-and-tested syllabus
structures. The research aims at investigating the problem areas of teaching materials used to build
interpersonal communication skills in order to heighten its efficacy and improve these skills in
learners for a workplace communication course offered via Pusat Pengajian Umum. As the course
on which the research is based on has no students registering it this semester, it is feasible at this
stage to firstly reflect. This paper presents a reflection of the contextual background, research topic
and methodology. It mainly highlights reasons that contribute to students’ lack of competence in
their interpersonal communication ability.

INTRODUCTION

Pusat Pengajian Umum (PPU) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, is offering four new English
language courses where two of which are workplace oriented; ZZZE3012 Workplace
Communication 1 (WC1) and ZZZE3022 Workplace Communication 2 (WC2). This research will
focus on WC1. This is not only because it is a new course but also because it is offered to a very
large student population. Therefore, its reliability and effectiveness is important to both student and
teacher development. The objective of Workplace Communication 1 is to equip students with both
oral and written communication skills to enable them to function at the workplace confidently and
competently.

A reason for introducing this course is based on past practice. English courses offered by
PPU need to be reviewed every four or five years. Thus upon reflection, previous English courses
were offered to students in their first year. These courses focused more on reading and writing
skills. The objective then was to prepare students for the academic setting. The continuous teaching
and learning of these courses led graduating students( third or fourth year students) to lack in
listening, speaking and communication skills in English as they have already fulfilled their English
course requirement of 4 credit units in their first year.

Another reason for introducing it is based on combined anecdotal and empirical evidences
of experimental and observational research. According to Norizan Razak et al (2006), ‘managers
have expressed dismay that many graduates have a poor command of English.’. She propounds that
students need further training and should be given more opportunities in using the English language
in order to make a good impression. The concern of being communicatively incompetent has
become greater when 80% of employers state that interpersonal skills are important criteria for
employment (Azizah et al 2005). This has led to high incidence of unemployment among public
university graduates in Malaysia (Morsidi Sirat et al, 2004).

It is very timely and a significant step when this new course was introduced because
students need to graduate as potential employees with good knowledge and skills in meeting the
real needs of their respective workplaces.

On the other hand, with every course there is the need for accompanying teaching
materials. As it is a new course which is recently approved, accessibility to a good and suitable text
is difficult. The use of course books or textbooks in general has stirred a slight debate between
whether to use one or not. Those who object to course books in principle, see them as instruments
of institutional control that is supported by commercial interests or implicitly prescriptive and
destroys the creativity of teachers and learners. On the other hand, supporters of it see it as
providing teachers and learners with a range of professionally developed materials within tried-and-
tested syllabus structures.

There are some issues or concerns of language instructors in determining a suitable
textbook for the course. Firstly, how much does each prescribed textbook cost? Students may not
want to pay a high price for a textbook and if they need to have one, may breach copyright laws and
photocopy it instead. Secondly, will the textbook be fully utilized? Some teachers are cautious in
deciding whether to use a textbook or not for fear that it may not be worth buying. Thirdly, will
there be a textbook suitable enough for the targeted students. Now, this is definitely very hard to
find.

These concerns have led language instructors (as teacher researchers) of the course, ZZE3012
Workplace Communication 1, to gather their own teaching materials that come from various
sources such as, Internet, textbooks, newspapers, etc. These will be used to enhance interpersonal
communication skills. With the concern of graduates lacking interpersonal communication skills
mentioned previously, there is a great need to investigate on teaching materials used to build
interpersonal communication skills in a workplace setting. Thus, in order to arrive at the objective,
some research questions have to be answered. They are:-

• What problems do students face in using materials when carrying out interpersonal
communicative interactions?

• What are the weaknesses of the teaching materials used for interpersonal communication?

• What types of teaching materials are effective in enhancing interpersonal communication
skills?

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the course has no students registering it this
semester. So, the objective of the paper is to reflect upon the topic in terms of the topic itself,
contextual background and methodology.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In general, communication is a process through which meanings are exchanged. It is something that
we do with rather than at other people. Specifically, it is defined as giving, receiving or exchanging
information, opinions or ideas by writing, speech or visual means, so that the message
communicated is understood by everyone concerned. The importance of developing good
communication skills cannot be taken for granted as the process of communication itself is a
complex process. (Benjamin:1986, Taylor: 1999). As this study is focusing on the speaking ability
in communication, specifically interpersonal communication, it is important to check
understanding of it .

Interpersonal communication is a form of communication where two or more people are
interacting with each other. There are two views of what Interpersonal Communication is; the
Contextual view and the Developmental view (Allyn and Bacon, 1999). The first view is to
examine how many people are involved, how physically close they are to one another, how many
sensory channels are used, and the feedback provided. The Developmental view, however,
considers the many different relationships people have with each other and, thus, centers around the
issue of relationship between the two or more interactants. Both views are important because
together they form a holistic understanding of interpersonal communication. But more importantly,
they match with the component objectives in the course; i.e. WC1. One of the major features of
face-to-face communication is its multiplicity of communication channels (e.g. face, body, voice,
object) that act on multiple modalities. In addition to that, as cited by Benjamin (1986), Professor
Llyod Bitzer claims that in any communicative situation, there are three features that help define the
relationship of the interactants, they are exigence, the problem to which communication is
attempting to resolve, audience, people capable about doing something to resolve the problem and ,
constraints which are anything that serves to influence or hinder what can or cannot be said in the
situation. This could easily lead to many levels of comprehension that may cause
miscommunication and, thus, misunderstanding between interactants.

TEACHING AND LEARNING THEORIES

Therefore, in reference to the research topic, designing materials to build interpersonal
communication skills is a challenging task. However, it is difficult to discuss effectiveness of
teaching materials for interpersonal communication without first considering the teaching and

learning processes found in educational theories as teaching materials are primary consideration
dependent on the teaching and learning processes adopted.

There are two educational theorists that are reviewed; Vygotsky and Bandura. These
theories are reflected upon in relation to teaching materials for language learning purposes.
Vygotsky believes that children are born with a variety of perceptual, attentional and memory
capacities which can be developed and used in their socialization and education, particularly
through the use of cultural inventions such as tools, social structures and language (Diaz et al.,
1990;Vygotsky, 1978). In other words, children already have the equipments they need to learn but
they would need tools and the social environment to help. In terms of classroom application, using
‘tools’ to transform basic knowledge to higher psychological functions would be the teaching
materials used. As the ‘tools’ of one culture may be significantly different from another, education
must place learning within the appropriate social and cultural contexts. This means that teaching
materials, then, need to be suitable and relevant to the social and cultural contexts the learners
experience. This is further supported when he stated that “the social system in which children
operate is crucial to their learning.” (1978). Therefore, teachers need to consider the real world
situations in which learners will face later and use the language in. The direct effect of this, seen
within the context of second language learning would be reflected in the materials for this course
whereby they must reflect their work life in order for learning to be significant.

For Vygotsky, cognitive development is more of the unfolding of cognitive understandings
of social beings within the social contexts. Emphasis is placed more on the continuing interaction
between child and the environment to facilitate understanding and this is essentially a constructivist
approach. Active involvement in the classroom and the process of learning rather than the product
is more the focus in his theory. Features of such would be peer interaction; sharing of ideas and
experiences, solving problems and being interdependent (Vygotsky, 1978).

In relation to the materials that will be developed to better interpersonal communication
skills in WC1, Vygotsky’s notions of interaction and collaborative efforts between learners and
teachers should be manifested in the types of activities that will be carried out. The type that reflects
interaction between learners and resembling the targeted social situations or contexts that learners
may find themselves in would be role plays and/or simulations. Ladousse (2004) indicated that
“role play is one of the whole gamut of communicative techniques which develops fluency in
language students, which promotes interaction in the classroom, and which increases motivation.”
(p.7) In addition, he pointed out that role play encourages peer learning and sharing the
responsibility for learning between teacher and student. He suggested role play to be “perhaps the
most flexible technique in the range” of communicative techniques, and with suitable and effective
role-play exercises, teachers can meet an infinitive variety of needs.(Ladousse,2004,p.7).

In relation to WC1, this approach is used in teaching the interpersonal communication
component where the use of role plays and/or simulations are given to students to facilitate the use
of language. This has in the past (with other similar subjects like Speech Communication) given
students the opportunity to:

1. imagine/ visualize situations and its demands and
2. use appropriate conventions to practice the language.

It has allowed learning of accuracy and natural language to occur during the practice. With the
use of role play and/ or simulations, students are not learning in solidarity, but are able to interact
and learn along with their classmates. This collaborative element, is what Vygotsky refers to as the
zone of proximal development. Proximal level is what the student can achieve with collaborative
support, as opposed to what they can do alone. “The student – student interaction are said to have a
higher probability of being developmentally appropriate than teacher – student interactions may
be.(Brown and Rogers, 2002).

These elements and notions found in Vygotskian theory should be reflected in the development
of the teaching materials for interpersonal communication skills as well as how these materials are
conducted to ensure that learning takes place.
With respect to the second theorist, Bandura, constructivist elements are also found in social
cognitive theory. This theory has developed cognitive principles quite extensively and provides a
balance to behavioral theory in the context of constructivism. In this theory, there are three
important features. They are :

1. Observing the behaviour of others.

2. Imitating behaviour through reinforcement.

3. Imitating behaviour of models.

The theory states that “ if an individual attends to a particular behaviour then the capacity to
perform that behaviour( with practice) can develop.” ( McInerney & McInerney, 1994). This
implies that the imitative behaviour can be developed through modeling,(imitating others from
observation) inhibition or disinhibition (whether the observed behaviour is given positive
reinforcement or otherwise) and elicitation or facilitation ( response behaviour to a cue from a
model).

In other words, Bandura and other social cognitive theorists believe that a lot of complex
human behaviour such as language acquisition, social behaviour and attitudes can be explained
through modeled learning and little via information-processing.
In order for modeled learning to take place, there should be these four principles that govern social
cognitive theory. They are:

• Attention

• Retention

• Reproduction

• Motivation

These have a lot of implications to teaching materials for interpersonal communication in WC1.
Upon reflection, it means that there should be visual and audio type of materials and that the
sequencing of tasks or activities in them should also be attended to.

In terms of attention, social cognitive theorists say that people give attention to characteristics
of modeled behaviour found in everyday examples. So, these modeled behaviour of everyday
examples can manifest themselves through the different roles found in the role play activities.
Another consideration is also in the level of difficulty of these activities whereby it is stated in the
theory that children attend to models of activities in which they feel competent rather than in
activities in which they feel less competent. This also supports Vygotsky’s theory whereby he
stated that learning must be placed within the appropriate social and cultural contexts of learners.
Thus, teaching materials, then, need to not only display models of activities that learners are
familiar and comfortable with but also they must be suitable and relevant to these contexts. In
addition to that, attracting attention also occurs in materials that have variety and distinctiveness. “
Materials that is bland, or presented too quickly … will not attract attention.” (McInerney &
McInerney, 1994).

With respect to retention, modeled behaviour that is coded symbolically in images and verbal
codes will allow for learning to take place. This basically means that a learner thinks about what he
or she is doing and rehearses the behaviour mentally before doing it overtly. At this stage the theory
becomes constructivist where the learner will interpret what he sees in images or verbal codes.
Techniques that have been useful to facilitate retention are talking about the activity to yourself
and/or others, labeling elements of the performance, or using vivid imagery to imagine the
performance of the activity before the event. This has tremendous implication on the preparation of
types of material of WC1 and the approach on using them to enhance interpersonal communication
skills. Examples of some types are audio-visual materials and pictorial diagrams.

The third principle governing social cognitive learning is converting the symbolic images and
verbal codes into appropriate actions, thus, reproduction. This can be manifested in the form of
role-plays or simulations. Therefore, types of activities/tasks found in the materials of interpersonal
communication can be of this nature. To develop further accuracy and appropriateness in the
performance of the modeled behaviour, this should be accompanied by corrective feedback from
the teacher or other sources which can contribute towards learners’ perception of the modeled
behaviour.

Finally, motivation is where the reproduction of behaviour is adopted due to observers
perception of the positive outcome gained from such behaviour or its avertive effects to
punishment. In other words, observing the modeled behaviour influences the learner’s motivation.
To conclude, social cognitive theory draws attention to the use of peer modeling in the classroom.
So, materials used should have activities that generate peer modeling among learners in the
classroom so that appropriate behaviours can be observed. In addition to that, the activities have to

be relevant to learners social and cultural contexts, not to mention close to their proximal level for
development to take place. Furthermore, the materials must also be varied and distinctive to
increase learners’ attention in class.

MATERIAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

The term ‘materials’ is referred to anything used by teachers or L2 learners to facilitate learning in
the classroom. Examples of materials are videos, CD-Roms, dictionaries, grammar books,
photocopied exercises, newspapers, photographs / pictures, live talks by native speakers,
instructions given by a teacher, tasks written on cards or discussion between learners etc. In other
words, materials can be anything used in the classroom which is intended to increase L2’s
knowledge of the language and / or experience in using the language. (Tomlinson: 1998). It is
further claimed that materials can achieve impact through it having novel topics / illustrations,
variety, attractive presentation and appealing content. To optimize impact, it is proposed that
material developer(s) should know as much as possible about the learners and about what is likely
to attract their attention. Varying the topics, activities or texts can also increase the chance of
achieving impact by the learners.

Dulay, Burt and Krashen (1982) were cited regarding the effects of anxiety on L2 learners
in acquiring language. It was researched that the more anxious learners are about language learning,
the less language acquisition is achieved and vice versa. That it is up to the language teacher to
reduce tension and anxiety in the learners. Tomlinson (1998) believes that anxiety can be reduced
via materials used, as well. The ‘materials can help the learners to feel at ease in a number of ways’,
such as via its presentation ( more white spaces, colourful) and content ( not culturally biased texts).
Ease through content can be achieved if the information (i.e. activities/tasks) are at a level where
learners are competent enough to do but at the same time will pose some challenge. Through
experience, learners are not relaxed with content that they are not familiar with, especially for a
second language course in communication such as WC1. So, content of materials need to be
something that learners can relate to their own culture. As it is not easy to prepare and find such
content, teacher instructions in the classroom and how the materials are being used, may also be
concerns of the research. Thus, teachers have a significant role to play not only in delivering the
objectives of the activities/tasks but also to ensure that learners feel at ease learning. Materials can
also help learners feel at ease if they are clearly helpful rather than testing. These would be
materials that have a ‘voice’ that is relaxed and supportive. The ‘voice’ comes through the content
and activities which encourage learners’ participation.

As teachers, especially language teachers, we want learners to have confidence when using
the language. In reference to material development, is this achieved through simplification of
content and/or teacher instruction or is it achieved via pushing the learners to go beyond their
existing proficiency level by doing stimulating activities and tasks? Based on experience, the
teacher researchers believe that the activities/tasks carried out have to be graded in difficulty.

Learners will start to do activities that are simplified first in order to gain fluency and attain a
certain level of confidence before moving to the next slightly more challenging activity. As the
activity progresses, so will the difficulty level. Therefore, teaching materials that help to build
learners’ confidence need to progress from easy to difficult (but achievable), not to mention
stimulating. Examples of type of activities are those that involve imagination, creativity and some
analysis.

These materials need also to be perceived by learners as relevant and useful in order for
learning to be meaningful. Tomlinson (1998) pointed out certain research reports by Krashen
(1982) and Wenden (1987) to show the importance of apparent relevance and utility in language
acquisition. This has implication to teacher researchers as material developers to be concern as well
in relating the teaching points to learner’s interests and ‘real life’ tasks which they might need to
perform in the target language.

Literature also states that materials should expose learners to language in authentic use.
Authentic materials are those that have the qualities of natural speech or writing. In this research,
they are materials that show natural speech as it investigates material effectiveness in interpersonal
communication skills at the workplace. Thus, preparation of these materials would focus more on
the unplanned discourse such as spontaneous conversations found in the target situations, for
example, greeting and introduction, making small talk, enquiring and giving information and other
relevant purposes commonly found at a workplace. In addition to that, these authentic input are rich
in features of authentic discourse in the target language. They should also be rich and varied in
medium. This is because there are different learners that have different preferred learning styles.
For example, there are learners who are more studial in nature and so, are more likely to gain from
explicit grammar teaching compared to those who are more experiential in nature. The latter may
prefer reading a story that has a predominant grammatical feature and learns them indirectly.
Therefore, types of material will have to vary in order to cater to the different learning styles. They
may include visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, studial, experiential, analytic, global, dependent and
independent (Tomlinson, 1998). However, the teacher researchers believe that a learning style is
preferred based on certain considerations. Firstly, what is being learned, where it is being learned,
who it is being learned with and what it is being learned for. In this research, these considerations
have already been identified. They are,

• Interpersonal communication skills are what is learnt.
• To communicate at the workplace is what it is for.
• In a classroom is where it is being learned.
• A class teacher and other students are who learning is with.

These act as constraints or boundaries when preparing and developing materials, thus in
general, the types of materials, and more specifically, the kinds of activities/tasks are very much
dependent on how much its development can be stretched to the limit of these boundaries.

To summarize, preparing materials and its development for interpersonal communication skills
is a primary consideration as it is dependent on the teaching and learning processes of educational
theories that are adopted. Some dominant features earlier mentioned in both teaching and learning
theories are materials need to be suitable and relevant to the social and cultural contexts the learners
experience, modeling is a good way for learners to observe or imitate behaviours, materials must
also be varied and distinctive to increase learners’ attention in class as there are also various
preferred learning styles by learners. Furthermore, materials should make learners feel at ease,
confident, be relevant , useful and authentic.

METHODOLOGY

This is a qualitative study investigating the effects of materials on students’ language abilities so
improvements can be made to the materials to further enhance students’ interpersonal
communicative skills at the workplace. As the course on which this research is based on had no
students registering for it this semester, research work could not be carried out yet. This will pose
some challenges to the research committee when work begins the following semester.

Samples

Samples for this action research will be students from the course, ZE3012 Workplace
Communication 1. It was hoped initially that there is a wide representation of students from various
disciplines to show the varied roles and contexts where oral interactions can take place. However,
next semester (semester 2, 2009/2010) there will only be medical and engineering students taking
the course. The materials prepared will need to cater for workplace situations in these disciplines.
Thus, samples from one of these disciplines may not be a true reflection of the various roles and
contexts that are found in most workplaces in general. For example, the workplaces of medical
students are only the hospitals and clinics, but, there may be a wider scope of roles and contexts
with the engineering students. So, it may be wiser to take samples from the latter discipline i.e.
engineering.

In terms of proficiency level, there are two proficiency levels of students taking Workplace
Communication 1; students with MUET Band 3/ 4 and students with MUET Band 1/ 2. Students
who are of lower proficiency level may find the materials more challenging compared to those from
a higher proficiency level. In addition to that, different students from different departments (
eventhough from the same discipline) may have different issues or topics that they attend to more.
To close the gap between different proficiency levels and different topics of interest via materials
used will be a challenging task.

Another matter of concern is the issue regarding getting the number of samples that are
needed for the research. It was suggested in the proposal that the research will need approximately
30 students of WC1. The selection of samples for this action research will be based on

volunteerism. Since the Engineering students have a very packed timetable, the question is, will any
of them volunteer considering the extra time taken outside class hours to carry out the intervention
stages?

Activity/Task

Role plays are used as this type of activity can resemble targeted situations or contexts at
workplaces and encourage interdependency and active participation between learners. Language
functions that will be attended to via materials used are ‘Introduction/Making Small Talk’,
‘Enquiring and giving information’ and ‘Entertaining Guests’

Instruments

The three instruments used to gather data, namely questionnaire, reflective journals/note and
audio/video recording may perhaps be useful ways to triangulate the data collected. However, the
question remains, will there be data that will co-relate, similarities or patterns found in the data in
order to make decisions on material development.

a) Questionnaire

With regards to the questionnaire, there are a few matters that the teacher researchers should take
time to ponder on before carrying it out. They are,

• What are the questions included in the questionnaire? These will have to be discussed and
carefully designed to get the most useful feedback from the samples.

• Will it be the same questions asked after each intervention stage?
• Should the questionnaire be administered after every function or after all 3 functions have

been practiced? If the latter is employed, there will be a massive pool of data that would
need sorting and analyzing. This may result in teacher researchers loosing focus of certain
aspects of the material used for an activity.

b) Reflective journals / Notes

This is an unobtrusive way of recording any aspects of teaching and learning, that is relevant to the
study, as they occur. These notes are quick observations of something happening. Eventhough there
will be amass of teacher-researchers’ notes that provide a wealth of material which can be used as
evidence or support for findings in the research, the question remains,

• How will the data be analysed? Can we make improvisations on materials based, not only
on what the journals tell us, but, also on our intuition? Perhaps it can be both, as researchers
on this project are also teachers with years of teaching experience.

c) Students audio/video recorded performance

Audio and Video recording of students’ performances is used in order to ensure that not only verbal
aspects are retrieved but also non-verbal aspects. As the research will look into the effects of
materials on students’ performance in an interpersonal communicative situation, it is crucial that the
performances are recorded. This will allow repeated viewing of the performance to be discussed
with the team of teacher-researchers.

However, the concern with recording students’ performances is the question of whether it
can it be recorded. This is dependent on the availability and accessibility to sufficient recording
equipment. Furthermore, another concern is how student’s will react to being recorded. This may
slightly affect students’ behaviour when doing the activities/tasks as they may appear
uncomfortable or a little self conscious when they are video-taped.

Procedure

The duration of this study was intended to be a year. However, as mentioned earlier the study could
not be conducted in semester 1 as there were no students registered for the course. This will lead to
carrying out the study and the writing of the report in one semester, i.e. semester 2.

The study will follow action research procedure which comprises three stages or cycles;
Diagnostic, Intervention 1 and Intervention 2.

Stage 1 (Diagnostic):

At this stage, students will demonstrate their strengths and weaknesses at doing the communicative
tasks. As mentioned earlier, there are two groups of students each with a different proficiency level
i.e. MUET Band 1 / 2 and MUET Band 3 / 4. Teacher researchers expect to find the lower MUET
Band learners to have more language problems (e.g. lexical and structural items) when carrying out
oral communicative tasks. Thus, they may not display fluency due to these problems. On the other
hand, the higher MUET Band group may be better in these areas and so would display more fluency
when communicating. However, these two groups of learners may not be able to relate to the
context and situations found in a workplace because they are in their first year of study. The
unfamiliarity to a working environment and learners’ weaknesses in vocabulary and language forms
inform teacher researchers as material developers to consider including vocabulary exercises, to
begin with more familiar workplace situations before progressing to less familiar ones etc. when
developing materials.

Stage 2 & 3 (Intervention 1 & 2)

Data from the diagnostic stage ( reflective journals, questionnaires and recording) will inform
teacher researchers on the improvement of teaching materials to help raise students’ performance in

interpersonal communication. Once revisions have been made to materials, they will be carried out
in the intervention stages; 1st. revised materials implemented in Intervention stage 1 and 2nd. revised
materials implemented in Intervention stage 2. These revised materials will have to consider the
needs of two different proficiency levels who may not be very familiar with the working
environment and have language problems. So, it may result in varied materials with different
exercises for different objectives. They may also comprise different situations . Variations may
include the incorporation of multimedia and the use of online materials to make it in line with the
current method of teaching. In terms of grammatical skill, it is anticipated that fossilization of errors
would occur at these stages. This implies that the teacher researchers will have to find the most
effective ways to ‘defossilise’ common errors students make.

CONCLUSION

Eventhough there are many challenges ahead when conducting this action research, especially when
collecting data and analyzing them for improved materials to be used during intervention stages,
utilizing a systematic evaluation procedure will make data analysis more manageable.

To conclude, the research topic is one that is very useful for language teachers who wish to
generate their own teaching materials for interpersonal communication purposes. Teaching and
learning processes adopted affect the types of material used and how they are presented in the
classroom. Furthermore, this topic can inform them of the salient aspects or features found in
material development. Generally, these features are based on the social and cultural background of
where they will experience using the language as well as the learners own cognitive ability,
emotional level, interests and perception of the learning itself.

REFERENCES

Benjamin, J.B. 1986. Communication : Concepts and Contexts. Harper and Row. Publisher. New
York.

Burns, A.C., J.W. 1998. Motivating students to engage in experiential learning: a tension-to learn
theory. Simulation and Gaming, p. 29, pp.133-151

Brown, J. B., Rodgers, T. S. 2002. Doping Second Language Research. Oxford University Press.

Ladousse, G. P. 2004. Role Play. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

McInerney & McInerney. 1994. Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning. Prentice Hall
Australia. pp.99 – 104, pp.246 – 251

McIntyre, C. 2000. The Art of Action Research in the Classroom. David Folton Publisher Ltd. UK
Norizan Abdul Razak et al. 2006. The Quality and Marketability value of local graduates:
Perspectives from the Malaysian Employers.Paper presented at the 5ft. Language for Specific
Purposes International eminar LSP: Exploring New Frontiers. 13 -14 April 2006 Putri Pan Pacific
Hotel Johor Bahru ,Johor.
Nunan, D. 1989. Designing Tasks for a Communicative Classroom. Cambridge University Press
UK
Richards, J.C. 2008. Teaching Listening & Speaking; From Theory to Practice.Cambridge
University Press. New York
Taylor, S. 1999. Communication for Business: A practical Approach. Pearson Education Limited.
USA. New York.
Tomlinson, B. 1998. Material Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.
UK

.

THE USE OF BLOG IN ENGLISH FOR LAW:
TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ REFLECTION

Sithaletchemy A/P S Krishnaiyer, Raja Hanani Raja Mushahar dan
Nuretna Asurah Ahmad
Pusat Pengajian Umum

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The study investigates the extent to which blog writing facilitates students’ reflection and the
effectiveness of teacher input to enhance their reflection. First year law undergraduates are required
to write a reflective journal, the aim of which is to allow students to reflect on their learning and
record their responses to what they have learnt in class or read. Examination of these entries
indicated that there were not many instances of reflection. Reflective ‘conversations’ encourage
peer feedback which can benefit students by further encouraging them to reflect and assess their
own learning. A ‘conventional’ journal may be lacking in this respect. Thus, using the blog may
help in enhancing students’ reflection. Research indicates that journal entries can also be reflective
assessments of events, where the writer shares questions about these experiences and often shares
thought with others (Osterman and Kottkamp (2004). “Blogging can be a place where we can make
connections and dig deeper into how and what we are learning…” It is obvious then that the blog
becomes a useful tool for reflection. Methods employed include a questionnaire comprising
questions / statements on students’ response and experience on blog writing to facilitate reflection
and effectiveness of teacher input. The second instrument is the blog postings entries. A qualitative
methodology of content analysis will be employed to analyse these entries. This paper presents
work in progress. The research sample consists of ten participants (selected on volunteer basis) who
are first year law undergraduates from UKM enrolled in a compulsory English course: English for
Law. The findings of this study will help in determining the effectiveness of blogs in enhancing
reflection among law undergraduates and a more effective approach in the teaching and learning of
reflective blog writing

INTRODUCTION

ZE 1162 English for Law is a course offered to all first year undergraduates in the Law Faculty.
The course essentially focuses on equipping students with the necessary reading skills required in
comprehending legal texts. Apart from this, students are also expected to undertake a project which
involves library research and fieldwork.

As one of the evaluation components, students are required to write a reflective journal, the
aim of which is to allow students to reflect on their learning and record their responses to what they
have learnt in class or read. They can also reflect on topics covered in their ‘content’ (law) classes.
The reflective journal complements the objectives of the course which generally aims to equip
students with the skills to read legal texts. Legal texts are demanding in terms of complexity of
sentence structure and content and as such, it is useful for students to constantly reflect on and
assess their understanding of these texts. Also, the nature of legal cases is that they usually refer to
precedents in that practitioners need to reflect on previous cases and decide on the principle to be
applied in the present case. In the classroom, after reading the cases, the law students would choose
appropriate courses of action based on facts and evaluate the implication of the decisions.
Therefore, having the students write their reflection would provide a platform for them to analyse
what they have read or learnt better. Students are to submit a total of 4 entries by the end of 14
weeks (the duration of a semester).

Previously, the reflective journal was done the conventional way. However, this
conventional mode of reflective journal writing was replaced by the introduction of the blog as a
tool for students to post their reflective entries. This is supported by the fact that in recent years, the
emergence of computer mediated technology has created new opportunities for language teaching
and learning. Nadzrah (2005) notes that “the use of computers in the classroom has increased
tremendously, and it is quickly becoming one of the learning tools used in language classes.”
Another study concluded that students perceived blogging as an interesting and motivating learning
environment. (Nadzrah and Kemboja, 2009)

Studies conducted also point to the growing popularity of blogs being used as educational
tools. Blood (2002) observes that “bloggers use this environment for self-expression and
empowerment as writing in blogs helps people become more thoughtful and critical in their
writing.” (cited in Nadzrah and Kemboja, 2009). Moreover, the idea of using blogs is similar to the
use of journal writing (Mcleod 2001; cited in Lowe, 2004). Therefore, this study was conducted to
ascertain the effectiveness of using the blog as a tool in encouraging law students to be reflective in
their blog entries.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Each student is to submit a total of 4 entries by the end of the semester. (Entry 1- week 4, Entry 2 –
week 7, Entry 3 – week 11, Entry 4 – Entry 14). Upon examination of the entries submitted for the
conventional journal, it was observed that although students did manage to reflect on their chosen
topic/issue, it was done with little interest or enthusiasm. At times there was not much reflection;
only a summary or an opinion of what they had read or heard. Some students even resorted to
lifting ideas from other sources and including these in their entries. However, a more important
underlying reason seems to be that the reflective journal administered in this manner means that the
teacher is the only person who reads the entries and responds by writing a comment. There is no
real audience.

Research objectives

a. To investigate the extent to which blog writing facilitates students’ reflection
b. To investigate the effectiveness of teacher input to enhance their reflection

Research questions:

a. To what extent does blog writing facilitate students’ reflection?
b. How effective is teacher input in enhancing their reflection?

LITERATURE REVIEW

Blogs and blogging

A blog is defined as “a web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an
individual.” (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/b/blog.html) while a reflective journal can be
described as a document that the learner writes to record the progress of his learning. For the
purpose of this study, the terms ‘blog’ and ‘blogging’ /e-journals and reflective journal writing will
be used interchangeably and will carry similar meaning.

Osterman and Kottkamp (2004) describe a journal as one form of narrative writing often
associated with reflective practice. They go on to say that journal entries can also be reflective
assessments of events, where the writer shares questions about these experiences and often shares
thoughts with others. (cited in Vethamani, M.E. (2006: 313) )

Studies done support the use of reflective journal writing (read blogging) for trainee
teachers in their professional development (Vethamani 2006; Yang 2009). In fact, this form of
writing has also been advocated in the field of nursing and occupational therapy. In these studies,
the kind of reflective journal that has been advocated is in the form of e-journals or blogs. This is
not surprising as Warschauer and Healey (1998) state that “the rise of computer-mediated
communication and the Internet have reshaped the uses of computer learning at the end of the 20th
century.” Further, it was observed in a study done on teacher trainee professional development that
the respondents found blogging enjoyable and “useful in their learning process” and that generally
blogging allowed them to “express opinions, share ideas, help them to develop confidence in
expressing their own viewpoints, say things they would not have said in class and also ask
questions they would not have asked in face to face discussions.” (Vethamani,2006). This would
not be possible with the ‘conventional’ reflective journal. It would support the view that first year
law undergraduates would, in like manner, embrace blogging.

Holly and Mcloughlin (1989) and Farrell (2004) support the view that journal writing facilitates
reflection. In fact, journal writing is described as a “powerful method for documenting and learning
from experience….” by Holly and Mcloughlin (cited in Vethamani, 2006). It needs to be mentioned

that the online reflective journal writing allows for a ‘real’ audience whereas in the conventional
journal writing setting, the teacher is the only reader. This is indicated in a paper by Arena and
Jefferson (2008) as “blogging lets many more become engaged. Blogging can be a place where we
can make connections and dig deeper into how and what we are learning…” It is obvious then that
the blog becomes a useful tool for reflection as according to Dewey (1993), reflective thinking is
“the kind of thinking that consists of a subject turning over in the mind and giving it serious and
consecutive consideration. Yang (2009) observes that the participants in his study considered
technology (with reference to blogs) a useful platform of reflecting and communicating with each
other.

It seems that in encouraging reflection, the students need to be continually engaged.
Reflective ‘conversations’ encourage peer feedback which can benefit students by further
encouraging them to reflect and assess their own learning. A ‘conventional’ journal may be lacking
in this respect. Thus, using the blog may help in enhancing students’ reflection (which is the aim of
the reflective journal in this course).

Models of Reflection

Platzer et al (1997) identified that learning through reflection is more effective if there is an
understanding of frameworks that encourage a structural process to guide the act of reflection. This
also suggests that students would need to be provided with some input and guidance on how to
write more reflective journal entries. Studies done seem to support this. A preliminary analysis of
blog entries by students enrolled in a Computer Applications course showed that the level of
reflection did not “appear deep”. This result is similar to that found in Langer (2002) who opined
that guidance on how to write reflectively is necessary. (cited in Chan K.K. and Ridgeway (2006).

There are several models of reflection to help students engage in the process of reflection.
Three of the most popular models are by Kolb (1984), Gibbs (1988) and Johns (1994). Although all
the models are based around the idea of looking at an experience, thinking about why it is as it is
and then deciding what to do the next time, each of them provides a different way of looking back
over events and learning from them.

Kolb (1984) states that learning takes place in four stages in a cycle. The Kolb’s (1984)
model has 4 steps. Step 1: Concrete experience, Step 2: Observations and reflections, Step 3:
Formation of abstract concepts and generalizations, and Step 4: Teaching implications of new
concepts in new situations.

Gibbs (1988) identified a series of 6 steps, which make up a cycle, to aid reflective practice
as follows: Step 1: Description - What happened ? Step 2: Feelings - what were you thinking and
feeling ? Step 3: Evaluation - what was good and bad about the experience ? Step 4: Analysis -
what sense can you make of the situation ? Step 5: Conclusion - what else could you have done ?
Step 6: Action plan - what will you do next time ? Johns’ (1994) model is quite structured and

asks a list of questions. It is based on five areas, namely description, reflection, influencing factors,
alternative strategies and learning, which enable students to break down their experience and reflect
on the process and outcomes.

Apart from these popular models, some universities have also come up with their own
models to teach reflective writing. The Royal Melbourne Institute Technology University (RMIT)
University in Melbourne, Australia has introduced a model (formula), Formula D-I-E-P, to teach
reflection to help out their students in the Student Learning Centre. This ‘formula’ consists of four
steps: describe, interpret, evaluate and plan.

Although all the models look different and have a different number of stages, an analysis of
the models shows that there are three elements which are common in all the models. All the models
have the following important elements: a description of an experience, reacting to the experience
and planning for future action.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sample

Participants will include first year law undergraduates from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
enrolled in a compulsory English course during their studies, English for Law ZZZE1162. Ten
participants were selected on a volunteer basis since it was assumed that volunteerism will mean a
sense of commitment and interest on the part of the participant.

Instruments

Two instruments are used in this study. The first is a questionnaire comprising statements on
students’ response and experience on blog writing to facilitate reflection and effectiveness of
teacher input. The questionnaire is based on a 5-level Likert scale. (Appendix 1). A second
questionnaire will comprise ‘open-ended’ questions to obtain students’ responses after they have
completed their submission of their four entries. (Appendix 2) The second instrument is the blog
postings entries made by the ten participants. A qualitative methodology of content analysis is
employed to analyse these entries.

Selection of a suitable model to be used for reflection (Appendix 3)

The model used in the present study was adapted from the D-I-E-P Formula used by the Royal
Melbourne Institute Technology (RMIT) University, Melbourne, Australia. In selecting the model,
the researchers considered a structure which is straightforward and comfortable for the students and
best assists them in learning from their experiences. The model consists of four steps: describe,
interpret, evaluate and plan. Each step has questions to guide students to come up with a clear and
structured explanation of their learning experiences.

Procedure (Appendix 4 )

This research will be conducted through action research procedure.

Stage 1

Instructions are given on how to create a blog in Week 3. Students are to reflect on their learning
experiences so far and to record their responses in the form of entries in the class blog. Instructor
provides some general guidelines on what students can reflect on. They are given a week to do so
(Week 4). As it had been only a month since the students had begun the course, it was assumed that
they would not have much to reflect on in terms of their learning. Also, although students had
access to the Internet and were familiar with blogs, they had practically no experience of
contributing personally to any blog. This is with the exception of a few students who had their own
(personal) blogs. Therefore, the first entry was not examined closely for reflection so as to give the
students the opportunity and confidence to explore this relatively new medium.

Stage 2

Students are then to post a second entry onto the blog (Week7). Entries are printed out and
examined for instances of reflection.

Stage 3

Questionnaires will be administered to gauge students’ perceptions towards the use of blogs to
facilitate reflection and teacher input.

Stage 4 (Intervention 1)

Students will be given input and guidance in the form of notes and explanation on what reflection
is. A model of reflection and language expressions to be used will be introduced to the students. A
sample entry which is based on the model will be discussed and students are told that they are to
structure their next reflective entry (the 3rd one) on this model.

Stage 5

Students are to post their third entry (week 11). These entries are again printed out and examined
for instances of reflection.

*At the time of writing this report, Stage 4 had not been completed.

Stage 6 (Intervention 2)

The blog entries are discussed with the students with reference to the model of reflection discussed
with them earlier. They will be guided on how to improve on the quality of their reflections and to
use this input and guidance gained during this session when writing their fourth and final reflective
entry.

Stage 7

Students are to post the final entry by Week 14.

Stage 8

An ‘open-ended’ questionnaire will be administered specifically to gauge students’ perception of
the effectiveness of teacher input and guidance in enhancing their reflections. It is important to
compare the responses of students as this will give an indication of the effectiveness of the use of
the blog and the input provided by the instructor to enhance reflection. The fourth entry will again
be examined and analysed for instances of reflection. (in comparison with the second and third
entries).

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Blog entries (postings)

1st Entry
Entries were rather unstructured and written more like diary entries with very little reflection. They
were mostly descriptions of the happenings over the first four weeks. (Appendix 5) As it had been
only a month since the students had begun the course, it was assumed that they would not have
much to reflect on in terms of their learning. Still, descriptions of their first impressions of campus
life indicates that students were making attempts to familiarize themselves with this relatively new
medium and were comfortable with it.

2nd Entry
Examination of the second entries in particular showed that they were still mostly descriptions of
events or experiences in campus with very few instances of reflection. If any, these reflections did
not focus on any one specific learning experience. They lacked the exploration and explanation of
events which reflection entails. (see Appendix 6)

Questionnaire
*For questionnaire analysis, please refer to Appendix 7

Blogging experience
It was found that 90% of the respondents found blogging to be a comfortable and an enjoyable
experience (Q4 & Q5), although 70% had no previous experience writing in a blog (Q1). 90% of

the respondents felt that contributing to the blog made the course more interesting (Q9). 80% liked
reflecting through the blog (Q25).

Self-expression through the blog
80% stated that writing in the blog helps them express themselves (Q6). 70% indicated that writing
in the blog gave them an opportunity to reflect (Q7) while 70% felt writing in the blog enabled
them to share ideas (Q11). 80% stated that the blog gave them the opportunity to say things they
would not have said in class.
These findings indicate that the students generally regard the blog as a space that allows them the
freedom to express themselves without feeling embarrassed. As one respondent said,

“Blogging helps me share and express on everything I have learnt, without speaking it
loudly in public.” (R8)

The blog as a tool in facilitating reflection
80% of respondents felt that writing in the blog makes them reflect on what they are learning
(Q12),.
The following are what respondents shared in relation to Q12:

“Helps me to reflect on issues that have not been discussed enough in class.” (R7)
“Helps me express my feelings on it.” (R5)
“Express my ideas better, certain things I have learnt only when I started to write in the
blog.” (R2)
“Able to express myself after class, I mean how I feel about the class and what I have
learnt.” (R1)

70% felt that they learn to reflect through reading friends’ entries (Q15) and 70% often read their
peers’ reflections in the class blog (Q18).
This indicates that since the blog is an ‘open’ medium of communication, it provides students the
opportunity to read their friends’ reflections and this directly facilitates their own reflection. This
would not be possible with the conventional mode of journal writing. Some of the comments from
the respondents were:

“As friends’ entries are different from mine, I will learn to think from a wider perspective.”
(R8)
“Gives me a brief picture of reflections. And from there i was able to do my reflections.”
(R5)
“I can get ideas….” (R6)
“I can learn better from the people who are same age as me.” (R4)

Students’ perception of input provided by instructor
90% felt that the input given by the instructor helped them to be reflective (Q20)

“My instructor really helps me to be reflective.” (R7)

“Input…………form…….a clear guideline for us to develop our ideas.” (R6)
“………it helps me to be reflective and I think it’s crucial.” (R5)
“Input is the guidance and instructions given by the instructor.” (R4)
“It is very helpful and can generate some idea to us. “ (R1)

and 70% felt that they needed more information on how to reflect. (Q23)
This suggests that students would need to be provided with more guidance on how to write more
reflective entries.

CONCLUSION

The questionnaire findings indicate that blogs do seem to facilitate reflection. Generally,
respondents find journal writing through blogging a comfortable and an enjoyable experience and
state that writing in the blog gave them an opportunity to express themselves and share ideas. There
were instances of reflection but these lack structure and focus as shown in the sample entries

Respondents indicated that they would like some guidance and more information on how to
reflect. Further, examination of entries shows that input is necessary. (since there are few instances
of reflection). This then shows that input in the form of a structured model of reflection and
guidance on how to write more reflective journal entries is necessary. A model with notes on what
reflection entails would help students to organize their thoughts and write better reflective entries.

REFERENCES

Arena, Carla & Jefferson, Casa Thomas (March, 2008) Blogging in the Language Classroom: It
Doesn’t “Simply Happen”, TESL-EJ, 11(4). http://tesl-ej.org/ej44/a3.html

Chan, K.K. & Ridgway,J (2006) Students’ Perception of Using Blogs as a Tool for Reflection and
Communication, ALT – C 2006. www.docstoc.com

Dewey, J (1933). How we think, New York: DC Heath.

Nadzrah, Abu Bakar. (2005). Computer for Teaching English as a Second Language (Secondary
School)
in Malaysia: A Case Study. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Adelaide, South Australia

Nadzrah, Abu Bakar & Kemboja Ismail (2009) Using Blogs to Encourage ESL Students to Write
Constructively in English, AJTLHE. 1( 5) : 45 - 57. www.ukm.my/jtlhe

Vethamani, M.E.(2006). Blogging and Trainee Teachers’ Professional Development. In
Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan, Norizan Abd. Razak, Mohamed Amin Embi (eds). Online Teaching
and Learning in ELT. Universiti Sains Malaysia, 309 -322

Yang, Shih-Hsien (April, 2009) Using Blogs to Enhance Critical Reflection and Community of
Practice, Journal of Educational Technology & Society.12 (2): 11 – 21.
http://www.ifets.info/journals/12_2/2.pdf

Blogs referred
http://www.interesting-reflections.blogspot.com/
http://www.crazyfuustarz.blogspot.com/
http://eflset3.blogspot.com
http://lawee-set2.blogspot.com
http://www.movingforward-lawstudents.blogspot.com/

PENGAJARAN DAN PEMBELAJARAN HOLISTIK (PPH) BERTERASKAN JASMANI,
EMOSI, ROHANI DAN INTELEK (JERI) : PERANCANGAN DAN PELAKSANAAN DI

FAKULTI PENDIDIKAN

Siti Rahayah Ariffin
Abdul Ghafur Ahmad

Rosseni Din
Jamil Ahmad

ABSTRAK

Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Holistik (PPH) telah diperkenalkan di Kementerian Pelajaran
Malaysia sejak tahun 1970an dengan terlaksananya Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR)
dan Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM). PPH berpaksikan usaha pengajar semasa
proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran perlu memastikan perkembangan jasmani, emosi, kerohanian
dan intelek (JERI) dilaksanakan secara bersepadu. Kesinambungan pengajaran di sekolah
dikembangkan hingga ke peringkat institusi pengajian tinggi bagi memastikan individu pelajar
pelajar berkembang secara berterusan. Fakulti Pendidikan member penekanan aspek ini
dilaksanakan dalam semua kursus bagi program yang ditawarkan di peringkat pra dan
pascasiswazah. Pelaksanaan PPH bagi kursus Pengukuran dan Penilaian melibatkan 98 pelajar
sarjana sesi 2007/2008 dan 2008/2009 melaksanakan kerja kursus, ujian pra, praktikum di MIMOS,
pembentangan seminar, penulisan laporan kajian, pembentangan laporan kajian dan ujian akhir.
Ujian pos menunjukkan perkembangan aspek kemahiran psikomotor, perkembangan emosi,
kemantapan kerohanian dan cabaran intelektual meningkat selepas tiga (3) semester. Perancangan
dan pelaksanaan PPH memerlukan struktur kursus yang mantap dari aspek Program Objektif (PO)
dan Objektif Kursus (OK). Pemetaan di antara PO dan OK perlu memenuhi keperluan dalam
Kerangka Kelayakan Malaysia (KKM) yang diajukan oleh Malaysian Qualification Agency
(MQA).

PENGENALAN

Kajian ini akan melihat pengajaran holistik dalam pembelajaran orang dewasa di institusi pengajian
tinggi. Beberapa teori pengajaran seperti teori pembelajaran orang dewasa, teori pembelajaran
holistik, dan pembangunan teori pembelajaran digunakan bagi membentuk kurikulum peringkat
institusi pengajian tinggi. Pembelajaran holistik melibatkan pelbagai aspek seperti kemahiran
psikomotor, intelektual dan afektif. Kemahiran ini digabungkan dalam 15 konstrak bagi memenuhi
keperluan JERI iaitu Jasmani, Emosi, Rohani dan Intelek. Lima belas kontrak yang dikaji adalah
Kemahiran ICT, Kerja Berpasukan, Keusahawanan, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Komunikasi,
Etika, Spiritual, Tanggungjawab Sosial, Alam Sekitar, Kepimpinan, Pemikiran Kritikal, Pendidikan
Sepanjang Hayat, Globalisasi dan Pengurusan.

Penjelasan mengenai 15 konstrak adalah seperti berikut :

Kemahiran Teknologi Maklumat dan Komunikasi (ICT) merujuk kepada kebolehan mengamalkan
persekitaran stesen kerja komputer, mengurus fail elektronik, menggunakan internet, menggunakan
perisian komputer secara beretika.

Kerja Berpasukan adalah kebolehan membina kumpulan bagi mencapai sesuatu objektif,
berkebolehan menyumbang kepada perancangan dan penyelarasan kumpulan, bertanggungjawab
terhadap keputusan kumpulan dan mampu membantu rakan-rakan secara proaktif.

Keusahawanan adalah kebolehan mencambah idea dan cadangan baru serta berinovasi.
Keupayaan membentang cadangan berasaskan fakta dan penghujahan dan mempamerkan
kebebasan dalam mengurus sumber.

Interpersonal ialah keupayaan berinteraksi dengan orang ramai dan dapat menyesuaikan
penggunaan bahasa badan sesuai dengan keadaan dan situasi.

Intrapersonal ialah keupayaan mengawal perasaan diri sendiri dalam keadaan marah,
murung, sedih dan sebagainya.

Komunikasi ialah keupayaan bukan lisan dan lisan untuk berinteraksi dengan orang ramai.

Etika ialah kebolehan menampil pemakaian santun dan sesuai, tingkahlaku professional
sesuai dengan etika kerjaya, berintegriti dan amanah, bersifat positif dan dapat memperbaiki diri
serta mengurus dan menepati masa.

Spiritual ialah kebolehan tingkahlaku selaras dengan agama masing-masing.
Bertingkahlaku telus dalam semua keadaan serta member respon positif terhadap aktiviti
kerohanian.

Tanggungjawab Sosial ialah kemahiran terhadap diri sendiri dan orang lain termasuk
semangat petriotik, menghormati hak orang lain serta kebolehan bertingkahlaku toleransi terhadap
pelbagai budaya.

Alam sekitar ialah kemahiran menghargai alam sekitar seperti menyokong aktiviti alam
sekitar, menunjukkan tingkahlaku menjaga alam sekitar serta melibatkan diri dengan aktiviti
menjaga alam sekitar secara berterusan.

Kepimpinan ialah kebolehan menerima tanggungjawab dan mengambilkira pandangan
orang lain, berupaya memimpin perundingan secara bijaksana, membuat keputusan dan
melaksanakan tugas kumpulan.

Pemikiran kritikal ialah kebolehan menyelesaikan masalah, menjana bukti dan data yang
menyokong dengan tepat dan menyeluruh, menjelaskan implikasi keputusan yang dijana serta
berupaya membuat inferens seperti kesimpulan dan menjelaskan perkara yang berlaku.

Pendidikan sepanjang hayat ialah kebolehan merancang strategi, meneroka isu dan
masalah, dapat membina struktur koheren dan terfokus serta menyusun maklumat supaya mudah
dicapai bagi meningkat kefahaman.

Globalisasi ialah kecekapan menggunakan bahasa pelbagai, dapat menyatakan pendapat
sendiri secara bebas dan menjangkakan tekanan pada masa akan datang.

Pengurusan ialah kebolehan mempamerkan perancangan secara sistematik dan
melaksanakan tugasan secara konsisten serta mengkeoordinasi aktiviti untuk membolehkan
pelaksanaan tugas.

OBJEKTIF KAJIAN

Lima belas konstrak yang dikaji adalah Kemahiran ICT, Kerja Berpasukan, Keusahawanan,
Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Komunikasi, Etika, Spiritual, Tanggungjawab Sosial, Alam Sekitar,
Kepimpinan, Pemikiran Kritikal, Pendidikan Sepanjang Hayat, Globalisasi dan Pengurusan.
Tujuan kajian adalah untuk melihat pelaksanaan pendidikan holistik dalam pengajaran di institusi
pengajian tinggi. Pendidikan holistik dilihat daripada 15 konstruk yang bersesuaian dengan
keperluan JERI iaitu kemahiran jasmani yang terdiri daripada kemahiran ICT, kerja berpasukan dan
keusahawanan. Sementara kemahiran emosi diukur dari kemahiran bersosialisasi dari konstruk
interpersonal, intrapersonal dan komunikasi lisan dan bertulis. Dari perspektif kerohanian kajian
ini mengukur keupayaan pelajar mengaplikasi etika kerja, spiritual, tanggungjawab sosial dan
tanggungjawab alam sekitar. Sementara kemahiran intelektual terdiri daripada lima konstrak iaitu
kepimpinan, pemikiran kritikal, pendidikan sepanjang hayat, globalisasi dan pengurusan.

KEPUTUSAN KAJIAN

Penyelidikan ini melibatkan pelaksanaan PPH bagi Kursus Pengukuran dan Penilaian ke atas 98
pelajar sarjana sesi 2007/2008 dan 2008/2009 melaksanakan kerja kursus, ujian pra, praktikum di
MIMOS, pembentangan seminar, penulisan laporan kajian, pembentangan laporan kajian dan ujian
akhir.

Biodata pelajar yang terlibat dalam kajian ini adalah seperti dalam Jadual 1.

Sesi Sem Jantina Bilangan
2007/2008 Sem 1 LP 24
9 16
2008/2009 Sem 2 28
Sem 1 LP 25
10 18
Sem 2 LP 21
JUMLAH 9 16 98

LP
10 11
38 60

Rajah 1 menunjukkan bilangan pelajar perempuan ialah 60 orang adalah lebih ramai daripada
pelajar lelaki iaitu 38 orang. Mereka menjalani latihan prastikum di MIMOS selama 5 minggu
untuk mendalami latihan Rasch Model dan penggunaan perisian WINSTEP. Mereka menunjukkan
aktiviti kemahiran yang melibatkan psikomotor seperti pengolahan data menggunakan pelbagai
perisian dalam statistik, perbincangan dengan kumpulan pakar dalam bidang model Rasch dan
WINSTEP menunjukkan kemahiran jasmani melalui interaksi ini. Pelajar ini mejalani latihan
praktikum di MIMOS setelah menerima latihan dalam kelas semasa pembentangan seminar,
penulisan laporan kajian dan pembentangan laporan kajian.

Hasil interaksi bersama pakar menunjukkan pelajar mempamerkan beberapa kemahiran
seperti yakin diri, komunikasi, bertolak-ansur dan kerja berpasukan. Data dalam Jadual 2
menunjukkan peningkatan dalam ujian pra dan pos bagi kesemua pelajar ini dari segi kemahiran
kerja berpasukan, komunikasi dan kepimpinan.

JADUAL 2: Peratus Min Ujian Pra Kemahiran JERI

Konstrak L Peratus Min Purata
43.92 Jantina
Kemahiran ICT 37.67 42.34
Kerja Berpasukan 45.31 P 36.78
Keusahawanan 47.72 40.40 45.31
Interpersonal 47.96 35.70 47.52
Intrapersonal 72.97 45.31 46.96
Komunikasi 47.26 72.90
45.72
72.81

Etika 47.96 45.72 46.96
Spiritual 40.44 45.21 42.58
Tanggungjawab 66.67 65.53 66.16
Sosial
Alam Sekitar 43.42 43.72 43.56
Kepimpinan 43.79 41.90 42.94
Pemikiran Kritikal 53.54 47.86 50.99
Pendidikan 43.53 44.99 44.18
Sepanjang Hayat
Globalisasi 37.54 39.03 38.20
Pengurusan 40.80 43.20 41.88

Jadual 2 menunjukkan semasa ujian pra, kebanyakan pelajar lelaki mempunyai kemahiran
jasmani yang lebih baik daripada pelajar perempuan kecuali kemahiran keusahawanan (kemahiran
ICT 43.92:40.40; kerja berpasukan 37.67:35.70; dan keusahawanan 45.31:45.31). Pelajar lelaki
menunjukkan kemahiran pengawalan emosi dan kesedaran kendiri dari segi interpersonal dan
intrapersonal adalah lebih baik daripada pelajar perempuan (interpersonal 47.72:47.26;
intrapersonal 47.96:45.72). Pelajar lelaki menunjukkan kemahiran komunikasi dan mengaplikasi
etika dalam kehidupan lebih baik daripada pelajar perempuan kecuali tanggungjawab sosial
(komunikasi 72.97:72.81; etika 47.96:45.72; tanggungjawab sosial 66.67:65.53). Adalah sesuatu
yang menarik pelajar perempuan mempunyai pengetahuan dan amalan spiritual dan alam sekitar
lebih tinggi daripada pelajar lelaki (spiritual 70.34:68.65; alam sekitar 70.35:70.06). Bagi dua
konstruk didapati pelajar lelaki menunjukkan kemahiran yang lebih tinggi daripada perempuan iaitu
kepimpinan dan pemikiran kritikal (kemahiran kepimpinan 43.79:41.90; pemikiran kritikal
53.54:47.86). Sementara tiga konstruk lagi didapati pelajar perempuan menunjukkan kemahiran
yang lebih tinggi daripada pelajar lelaki ( pendidikan sepanjang hayat 44.99:43.53; globalisasi
39.03:37.54 dan pengurusan 43.20 :40.80).

JADUAL 3: Peratus Min Ujian Pos Kemahiran JERI

Konstrak L Peratus Min Purata
66.94 Jantina
Kemahiran ICT 75.25 65.84
Kerja Berpasukan 73.74 P 74.46
Keusahawanan 71.37 64.48 73.18
Interpersonal 75.83 73.48 70.97
Intrapersonal 75.83 72.49 75.72
Komunikasi 70.79 70.47 75.82
Etika 68.65 74.82 69.86
Spiritual 75.82 69.40
68.71
70.34

Tanggungjawab 71.05 72.15 71.54
Sosial
Alam Sekitar 70.06 70.35 70.19
Kepimpinan 72.27 70.59 71.52
Pemikiran Kritikal 70.04 67.21 68.77
Pendidikan 75.74 73.89 74.91
Sepanjang Hayat
Globalisasi 70.31 69.60 69.99
Pengurusan 70.06 70.01 70.06

Data di atas menunjukkan kebanyakan pelajar lelaki mempunyai kemahiran jasmani yang
lebih baik daripada pelajar perempuan (kemahiran ICT 66.94:64.48; kerja berpasukan 75.25:73.48;
dan keusahawanan 73.74:72.49). Pelajar lelaki menunjukkan kemahiran pengawalan emosi dan
kesedaran kendiri dari segi interpersonal dan intrapersonal adalah lebih baik daripada pelajar
perempuan (interpersonal 71.37:70.47; intrapersonal 75.83:74.82). Pelajar lelaki menunjukkan
kemahiran komunikasi dan mengaplikasi etika dalam kehidupan lebih baik daripada pelajar
perempuan (komunikasi 75.83:75.82; etika 70.79:68.71). Adalah sesuatu yang menarik pelajar
perempuan mempunyai pengetahuan dan amalan spiritual, tanggungjawab social dan alam sekitar
lebih tinggi daripada pelajar lelaki (spiritual 70.34:68.65; tanggungjawab sosial 72.15:71.05; alam
sekitar 70.35:70.06). Sementara lima lagi kemahiran intelektual menunjukkan pelajar lelaki
mempunyai pengetahuan dan persepsi yang lebih baik daripada pelajar perempuan (kemahiran
kepimpinan 72.27:70.59; pemikiran kritikal 70.04:67.21; pendidikan sepanjang hayat 75.74:73.89;
globalisasi 70.31:69.60 dan pengurusan 70.06:70.01).

PERBINCANGAN DAN KESIMPULAN

Hasil ujian pra menunjukkan bahawa pelajar lelaki dan pelajar perempuan baru menguasai
kemahiran dalam JERI. Ini ditunjukkan purata min yang rendah berbanding dengan hasil ujian pos.
Peningkatan kemahiran ini adalah berpunca daripada pendedahan pelajar menjalani kerja kursus di
luar bilik kuliah, interaksi dengan pihak industri serta penyelesaian masalah ketika menyelesaikan
tugasan penyelidikan dan pembentangan laporan penyelidikan. Pendedahan ini perlu dimulakan
seawal semester bermula bersesuaian dengan Program Objektif (PO) dan Objektif Kursus (OK).
Pemantauan PO dan OK perlulah selaras dengan keperluan dalam Kerangka Kelayakan Malaysia
(KKM) yang diajukan oleh pihak Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA). Kemahiran JERI juga
mempengaruhi peperiksaan akhir setiap pelajar yang menduduki peperiksaan kursus ini. Walaupun
pelajar lelaki menunjukkan secara keseluruhan lebih baik daripada pelajar perempuan dalam
kemahiran JERI, tetapi keputusan peperiksaan akhir didapati pelajar perempuan menunjukkan skor
pencapaian yang lebih baik. Ini mungkin disebabkan pengetahuan teori adalah lebih baik dikuasai
oleh pelajar perempuan. Sementara pelajar lelaki mempunyai kemahiran dalam melaksanakan kerja
kumpulan dan dapat menyelesaikan masalah dalam keadaan kritikal serta dapat bekerja bawah
tekanan masa yang dihadkan. Pengalaman kajian ini menunjukkan perancangan sesuatu kursus

harus dimulakan sebelum semester bermula agar aspek kemahiran JERI dapat diterapkan
bersesuaian dengan PO dan OK fakulti. Pembelajaran secara holistic dapat membantu pelajar
melaksanakan penyelidikan dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran sedang berlaku. Ini
bersesuaian dengan kenyataan Yang (2004).

RUJUKAN

Argyris, C. & Schon, D.A. 1978 Organizational Learning : A Theory of Action
Perspective. Reading, MA:Addison-Wesley.

Brooks A.K. 2004 Transformational Learning Theory and Implications for Human
Resource Development. Advances in Developing Human Resources. 62, PP
210:225

Yang, B 2004 Holistic Learning Theory and Implications for Human Resource
Development. Advances in Developing Human Resources. May 2004; Vol 6
No. 2, PP 241:259

AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ RESEARCH SKILLS THROUGH ACTION
RESEARCH

T. Subahan Mohd. Meerah and Md. Mustafizur Rahman
Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)

43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Research-based education in universities gives students intellectual and problem-solving skills that
prepare them for future work. The development of such skills needs to be a central objective within
the education system since there is a negative attitude in the learning of research methodology
courses. At education faculty in UKM, graduate students’ research proposals and thesis or
dissertations suggest that the students’ review of literature is inadequate as well as they lack the
ability to conduct research. It is assumed that they have poor skills in the area of information
literacy or library use. This study aims to examine graduate students’ ability and skills to conduct
research, and to plan an instructional strategy for teaching-learning research methodology courses
to improve their research skills. An action research was employed for this purpose involving
students, lecturers of education faculty and librarians of central library. Through workshop, face-to-
face interview and observation it is seen, students need a set of knowledge, sophisticated skills to
search and locate the information from internet or libraries which can help them writing related
literature as well as conduct research. The study also reveals that the library is unable to teach them
how to conduct advanced library research. Varied types of need and necessity are recognized for
students of different age, experience and prior achievements. Overall the students are positive about
the value of the workshop to further enhance their information literacy skills as well as in use of
library resources.

KEYWORD: research skill, information literacy, action research, library resources and
research.

INTRODUCTION

Research is a doorway, opening on to a whole new outlook on the world. Research based rapid
changes in social and technological field during the past few decades have impacted our lives in one
way or another. The amount of information based on research and statistical analysis is growing in
our society (Greer 2000). We may not all consider ourselves researchers yet when we select a
business, a university, school or a career path, we gather and disseminate information in order to do
so. In this information age, people need to be information literate and have the skills to identify,
evaluate, synthesise and apply the needed information (Bundy 2004). Thus, the increasing

complexity of society and working life requires better understanding of scientific results, research-
based communication and decision making (Lehtinen 2007). Research-based education place
students in a discovery-oriented environment, expose them to the cutting edges of knowledge, and
give them problem-solving skills that prepare them for leadership roles in all sectors of life.
Therefore, for the Malaysian society, its industry, its citizens and students, there is a need to
develop an environment in which research skills are actively promoted, developed and celebrated.

Knowledge generation and exchange are important drivers of economic prosperity.
Universities and other research institutions are both essential sources and channels of such
knowledge. Thus, skills to understand how knowledge is created and transformed in our society are
central to university graduates. But, students at tertiary level with no prior experience often have
several misconceptions about the nature of research. Universities’ research methods courses are
often experienced as difficult and uninteresting by many social and behavioural science students
(Murtonen 2005). Students report problems concerning superficial teaching, linking theory with
practice, unfamiliarity and difficulties with concepts and content. However, all these issues
constitute an integrated picture of the parts of scientific research. Universities are spending vast
resources on research instruction, but the outcomes are not as good as expected (Rautopuro et al.
2007). Negative attitude in the learning of quantitative methods and statistics courses result in slow
progression rates (Meyer et al. 2005) and affect students’ future career selection (Onwuegbuzie
1997).

At the faculty of education in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), the students at
graduate and masters level study research methodology courses. But, examining the students’
research proposals at the end of the research methodology courses, supervising student-research and
during evaluation of their progress, and finally evaluating thesis as an internal and external
examiner, it can be assumed that the students lack the ability to conduct research. Experience
suggests that graduate or post-graduate students are submitting their proposal or thesis without
comprehensively reviewing the literature. The references or the bibliography part of the research
proposals are inadequate for conducting any research study. Among the post graduate students at
faculty of education, almost fifty percent students are working teachers or officers. These adult
students become puzzled with huge volume of information available by internet or libraries.
Modern libraries are also equipped with digital or electronic databases and resources; on-line
catalogs of other libraries are also available. It is very easy for anyone, expert in library research
skill or information literacy skill to locate important information by one click, but inexperienced
students will certainly face problem. Contemporary students may have information literacy skills
better than those adult students. However, presently students need more sophisticated skills to
search and locate the information from internet or libraries and consequently they need a new set of
helpful knowledge and skills. They must develop desirable skills needed to master the procedures,
processes and techniques of research.

In light of these challenges and evidences it can be assumed that students at Education
Faculty, UKM need to have adequate skills in the area of information literacy or library use. It also
seems important to find out ways how graduate students’ research skills can be developed in an

effective way, so that they can plan a systematic and comprehensive search of literature, find most
relevant and up to date information, manage a large amount of information and critically evaluate
the information considering legal and ethical issues. Therefore, this research study aims at:

(i) To investigate graduate students’ research skills and ability in relation to information
seeking strategies and use of library resources,
(ii) To plan an instructional strategy for teaching-learning research methodology courses to
improve research skills of graduate students.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Research is a creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of
knowledge, commonly known to humanity, commonly unknown or totally unknown; and to use this
stock of knowledge to devise new applications (OECD 2002). In the context of students’ learning,
research means that students actively find information new to themselves (Willison & O’Regan
2005). Breivik (2005) notes that students, whose education largely consists of lecture, textbooks
and reading lists, are not well prepared for problem solving in the complex world in which they
must work. The students, who participate in research, are more task-oriented, use a deeper approach
to learning and progression to higher degrees (Hathaway et al. 2002; Bauer & Bennett 2003). In
addition, undergraduate students engaged in research have reported higher self-appraisals of generic
skills (Ishiyama 2002; Kardash 2002). But, sometimes students think that doing research requires
the same skill as doing courses; that research projects are like homework sets- the advisor will
assign well-formulated problems and provide the student with the tools to solve them
(Krishnamachari 2002).

According to Schuyten (2001) mainly the students at higher education level, the doctoral
students, and the professional researchers need research skills. Research skills are categorised as a
combination of transferable and discipline-specific skills (Fraser et al. 2007). Schuyten (1991)
categorised research skills broadly into two types: (i) skills needed to read and evaluate surveys,
experiments and other studies dealing with substantive problems in the research area, and (ii) skills
needed to do research while planning a study, analysing the data, interpreting, generalising and
reporting the results. Both categories of skills rely on activating, applying and updating statistical
and methodological competencies. These skills can be learnt by someone actively engaged in the
practice of doing research. But, some research skills are related to professional skills, such as public
speaking, writing technical prose, and networking, which can be learnt and applied outside the
context of research. Moreover, students with research skills have a combination of maturity and
autonomy. They are enthusiastic, time-conscious and flexible, sophisticated in their thinking and
have a broader toolkit of skills to draw upon in the demanding roles. Research skills also include
the ability to adapt a student living and working in another culture, learn other languages,
demonstrates a capacity for adjusting to new situations as well as the self-discipline to overcome
feelings of alienation.

Eisenberg & Berkowitz (1994) describe the six main research skills, such as; task
definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, synthesis and
evaluation necessary to become a successful researcher. Each skill is broken down into several
detailed steps so that any one can follow while researching a particular topic in science, or any other
subject. Other researchers (Aspinall et al. 2008; Cox & Andriot 2009) state that research students
should be able to demonstrate: (i) the ability to recognise and validate problems (ii) original,
independent and critical thinking, and the ability to develop theoretical concepts (iii) a knowledge
of recent advances within one’s field and in related areas (review of literature) (iv) an understanding
of relevant research methodologies, research design and techniques and their appropriate
application within one’s research field, (v) the ability to critically analyse, interpret and evaluate
one’s findings and those of others and (vi) an ability to summarise, document, report and reflect on
progress in scholarly writing and also in presenting verbally. In Malaysia, reviewing available texts
and curriculum materials, Zainuriyah (2009) in her study, conceptualized the ability to conduct a
research as ability to investigate and ability to communicate. Students get the opportunity to learn
these broad-based research skills from research methodology books, courses and doing some
practical assignments. But students’ ability to investigate does not always include skills to
recognize useful information or to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information
while selecting research topics or developing a proposal/thesis. So, in this study the information
seeking skills as well as library research skills are added to Zainuriyah’s (2009) concept of
students’ needed research skills. Research literature on information literacy skills reveals that the
supervisors and the students experience difficulty using different sources of information (Breivik
2005). Students often need more help from the supervisors in this regard but this type of need is not
met by the supervisors which may negatively motivate students in their first step to research.

METHODOLOGY

Action Research is the process by which practitioners attempt to study their problems scientifically
in order to guide, correct, and evaluate their decisions and actions. Therefore, an action research
was employed in this study involving librarians of central library and students, lecturers from the
faculty of education, UKM. Action research utilizes a systematic cyclical method of planning;
taking action, observing, evaluating (including self-evaluation) and critical reflecting prior to
planning the next cycle (Reason & Bradbury 2001). As mentioned above, it seemed that the
graduate students in faculty of education required information-seeking and library-research skills,
so it was important to find ways to improve the needed skills. Therefore, the researcher arranged a
number of meetings with the librarian involved in providing instruction and help university students
in library use. Important information was gathered on the content of library research skills based on
experience and practices of the library at UKM and as well as other local libraries. Importantly, it
was decided that a course was necessary for all students especially for the busy post-graduate part-
time students on information literacy and library research skills. The researcher and the librarian
agreed to provide one day workshop of a group of 20-30 students. Consequently a day was fixed for

this purpose. Twenty students, who were also undergoing research methodology course and three
doctoral students signed to take part in the workshop. The workshop was conducted by two
librarians in the library using a computer programme and on line instruction. The content was to
direct the students to find out printed and electronic materials, access to open-access journals and
thesis on-line from the university library and from other sources outside. It also showed the
participants how to access SCOPUS cited journals and to identify journal impact factors. Twelve
research students, most of them were master’s students including two doctoral students took part in
the workshop. The workshop began at 9:00 am and ended at 4:00 pm with a lunch break for an
hour.

After the workshop the researcher met with all the students individually. A face-to-face
individual interview was held and they were asked three major structured questions (broad to
specific) about the course as follows:

(i) What is your feeling about the significance/usefulness of the course?
(ii) What is the appropriateness of the course?
(iii)What is the relevancy and adequacy of the course?

Further information were sought on how well they were at this stage able to conduct library
research and literature reviews on their past academic assignments or on-going thesis in education.
A comparison was done on the scores or grades of these students with a comparable group. The
lecturers conducting the research methodology courses were sought for help in this regard. Then,
the data was analysed to confirm or refuse the assumption that these students needed library
research skills to improve the quality of their writing literature review part for thesis or research
proposal. Further, after the training workshop a meeting was arranged to interview the librarian, the
training provider on the objectives of the course and the course-content.

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Most graduate students agreed that such courses on information literacy/library research skills were
useful and helpful for conducting research since every student would need to review the literature
while making proposals, writing dissertation. One of the students claimed, “The course is very
informative, if not how to find out what has been done then how to carry out further research. A
researcher must know the instruments available and literature review can make way to further
research.” Another student argued that, “Without any doubt all post graduate students should attend
the course, unless they have had such experience before.” The following excerpts also testify the
above, “Yes, helpful, because the students are not asked to do the exercise of finding information
on internet, they should learn how to find out relevant information and what is available.” The
students also propagated the benefits of the workshop to their research methodology course-mates
and some of them met with the librarian to arrange a similar course for them. However, a short 2
hour-long workshop was provided on request and that indirectly confirmed the need for such
workshop on information literacy or library research skills.

Overall the students were positive about the value of the workshop to further enhance their
information seeking skills as well as in use of library resources. However some of the students had
basic knowledge of how to access information on internet. They confirmed that the workshop
provided low-order information seeking skills. But they needed more in-depth knowledge of the
database, sources, accessibility and relevant skills. They agreed that there were gaps in their
knowledge-base what the workshop delivered. The students also alleged that they were not taught
how to conduct advanced library research. Thus the workshop verified the intensity of the problem
and the effectiveness of the workshop was evaluated by the students’ performance in writing
research related literature. While examining a sample of 5 students’ proposal, especially the
reference part they were asked whether the workshop was helpful for them. One student claimed
that, “The websites are very useful for relevant and up to date references, in fact, for the whole
exercise of making the proposal. So, I have got a better picture of my topic which has brightened up
the proposed study. How easy to get the information- I didn’t know before.” Thus, data confirmed
the need for programme instruction on library research skills and locating information for literature
review. The lecturers also claimed that students needed basic knowledge of library research skills.
They were not aware of important techniques and felt their lack of ability to write literature review
part for their thesis and project works. Different types of need and level of necessity were
recognized for students of different age, experience and previous achievement in their
undergraduate courses.

During the meeting with the librarian it was discussed that there was no complain from the
participants about the coverage of the topics. However, the topics were about locating information
but not about identifying and evaluating information for thesis or dissertations or literature review.
The materials shown were related to social science area or related to educational subjects in general.
The source of information or bibliography was not the issue discussed in the workshop. The
librarian took notes about the workshop evaluation results and reported that these would help him in
future to design the course more accurately in line with the need of the students. These findings
importantly showed way for the next phase of the action research.
2nd phase of action research: The above observations indicate that postgraduate students were not
adequately prepared in information research skills and they needed training. The workshop on
information literacy and library research skills offered by the library officials required to be
redesigned to provide comprehensive knowledge and skills to the incoming postgraduate students.
Thus, the results from the first phase offered the need for another cycle of action research. Further,
an instrument was required to assess the students’ level, their strengths and weaknesses regarding
library research and information literacy as there were a variety of gaps among them. The
instrument would be easy to administer and would cover skills regarding how to select, gather and
evaluate literature/information of interest. The assessment would measure the confidence and
readiness of the students in conducting literature review. Those who were not ready enough; they
could attend research skill development/training workshops. Thus the instrument would make it
easier to design further course to address their needs. The instrument would also meet the needs of
the training providers concerning library research skills. Consequently, the investigation began with
a search of available assessment instruments either local or international to identify strengths and

weaknesses in information research skills of students. However, to design an advance course in
information literacy skills, cooperation of the university librarians was required. A discussion was
held between the researcher and three librarians. One of the librarians holds a master degree in
library science, and the other two are to advice the students and staff of the university for research
purpose.

Reviewing the local literature, no appropriate local instrument was available for the purpose
of this study. A number of instruments on information literacy skills used abroad were collected and
reviewed from unpublished overseas thesis. A few instruments were found inadequate as they were
used for gathering information on library research skills mainly, excluding the usage of electronic
information. And the others required some major changes to suit the study’s need. Finally, it was
decided to develop a local instrument to measure the information seeking research skills of
postgraduate students at education faculty. In developing the constructs of the instrument, a
comprehensive review on information research skills was done reading through published and
unpublished texts, library handouts, postgraduate students’ handbook, research-methodology books,
thesis and articles. Once the constructs were established, the format was decided and then, items
were adapted from the literature. The items were also reviewed; the construct validity, clarity and
appropriateness of items were done by a panel of judges with experience in research or teaching of
research methodology/information literacy courses to graduate students. A pilot study was carried
out on a sample of 80 students to check the reliability of the instrument through item analysis. As
the instrument was found to be highly reliable, it was accepted with minor adjustment.

Further, a discussion was held with the librarians to design future workshops addressing the
needs of the postgraduate students and the use of the instrument. A series of workshops were
planned. The first workshop would be on introduction of identifying possible sources for literature
(for novice researches). The second workshop would be on identifying and selection of useful
information for assignments and to write literature review part of thesis. The third workshop would
be on evaluating the information of related literature and its sources and appropriateness. The
design of the workshop-courses was entrusted to the three librarians serving in advisory training
unit of the main university library and the researcher would also be involved in providing some
input on appropriateness of the content and mode of instruction for the targeted students. The
research study was planned to be conducted in coming second semester of 2009/2010 session
involving newly enrolled postgraduate students at faculty of education.

CONCLUSION

Tertiary education essentially encourages students to active reflective learning problem solving and
critical thinking. Moreover, research is a complex and recursive process which involves many
intertwined activities. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the way how students can enhance their
investigative skills to conduct their own research. They must learn critical reading, with curiosity
and careful argument, how to locate and use resources from internet or library, bibliographies,

literature review process, producing written reports, summaries and to follow documentation norms.
As information literacy skills or library research skills are very important, courses are necessary for
all students especially for the busy post-graduate part-time students to meet their diverse needs.
Universities should introduce these courses at the undergraduate level to address the skills required
and problems that may come upon.

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MOSORS (MALAYSIAN SURVEY ON ONLINE READING STRATEGIES) – AN
INSTRUMENT FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTS OF EFFICIENT

ONLINE READING STRATEGIES

Tan Kim Hua
Ravichandran Vengadasamy

Fadhil Mansor
Norfariza Md. Nor

ABSTRAK

This paper examined whether explicit training in online reading strategies would improve the
comprehension ability of university students on a series of short comprehension tests, and expand the
repertoire of strategies they use. Current literature has shown that online texts are provided with
“new formats, new purposes of reading, and new ways to interact with the information that can
confuse and overwhelm readers”. Reading online is an emerging skill and how students go about
dealing with the ramifications of recent changes in reading text online is worth investigating. The
data collected will assist in the development of MOSORS (Malaysian Survey on Online Reading
Strategies); an instrument for the identification and collation of constructs of efficient reading
Strategies for students in Institutions of Higher Learning in Malaysia which ultimate aim is to equip
students with sufficient online reading skills and to empower them to read online texts efficiently.

INTRODUCTION

Though a growing number of students and teachers are becoming proficient in browsing and
searching the Web, effective classroom-based applications of technology is still much lacking in
our Malaysian context. Frequently, students are reading information passively instead of engaging
actively and meaningfully in the learning. Meaningful learning from the web is more than just
simply browsing and search for information. Random surfing might only lead to valuable time lost
or frustration of being lost in cyberspace. The unstructured way of browsing could be at best lead to
passive reading and at worst, meaningless reading.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ONLINE TEXTS

Basically, there are three types of texts displayed in the WWW that readers will encounter online.
Coiro (2003) outlines the three types of texts as: non-linear hypertexts, multiple-media texts, and
interactive texts.

a. Nonlinear hypertext