Action Research: Using Student Playtime to Increase the Understanding of

K-1 Students in Language Especially with The New Adjective Words

1. Introduction:
1.1 Background of the Study:
In the last researchers practicum, Researcher saw most of K-1 students
couldnt truly understand with kind of feeling words-adjective word that researcher
gave as a language lesson. On the other hand, they could show those kinds of
feeling in daily life. For example, Liny as K-1 student can cry when she missed her
mother but she didnt know or consider that she was showing sad feeling. From
this situation researcher saw K-1 student couldnt automatically understand to link
the new word with the exactly meaning of the word. Because of that researcher
needed to find a method that could help K1-students linked the new words to their
daily life and make them understand the words and the researcher next language
lesson plan about new words.
1.2 Research question
What can teachers do to increase the understanding of K-1 students in
language especially with the new adjective words?
1.3 Purpose of the Study:
Through this study, the researcher would find out that learning with play
experiences could help the K-1 students to increase their understand of the new
adjective words. Researcher would see this information from collect the data
(asking question and simple assessment) of K-1 students. It would give a
suggestion and help researcher to find out the method worked or not, could the
researcher do it again in the next lesson, and could this method be adapted or
modified to help student increasing their understanding and ability to link their new
adjective words to the real life.
1.4 Definition of Terms:
Before researcher started to answer the research question above, researcher
would define the definition of any terms that are used.
1.4.1 Action research

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Action research involves the specific problem, which was the

understanding of K-1 student in new adjective words within the particular
classroom (Barry & King, 1998, p. 654). It also contributed to the selfevaluation process, which normally results in improved practice (Barry &
King, 1998, p. 654).
1.4.2 Playtime
Playtime was one of the important tools for student especially for K-1
students. With the experience of students playtime they were allowed to
express their thoughts and feelings and develop language and literacy skills
and concepts (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2006, p. 46). This term was focusing to
Symbolic Play stage that was appropriate for age 2 to 7 (Isenberg & Jalongo,
2006, p. 57). This stage focused on social roles and interaction and made
mental and verbal plans of action, assume roles, and transform objects or
actions to express their feeling and ideas (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2006, p. 58).
1.4.3 K-1 Student
K-1 students were the lowest level in kindergarten department. The rage
of the ages of the student was 3 until 4 years old. It was the common ages to
students begin their school journey.
1.4.4 Adjective words
Adjective words were words that describe a noun (1996, p.5). In this
research the adjective words concluded the feeling of the K-1 students (happy,
sad, angry, angry, afraid, etc).
2. Literature Review
K-1 students that consist of 3 until 4 years old children who are in the
preoperational stage have limited notions of abstract ideas (p.38). For example were
kinds of feeling (happy, sad, angry, etc). It made K-1 student hard to understand the
meaning of new adjective words. They couldnt consider that they often shown it in real
life. In this stage child also was egocentrism, which tendency to believe that other
people view the world as they do (p.39). Same with Nilsen and Albertalli that said,
The preschool child, age three through five, is in the egocentric stage of failing to
distinguish between the thoughts and feelings of herself and of others. (Nilsen &
Albertalli, 2002, p. 402). It made K-1 student hard to understand the meaning of new
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adjective words. They couldnt see the new adjective words for example the feeling
from other people or their neighbor because in this stage they just focused to
themselves.
In playtime student could answer those problems above. Modern theories of play in
cognitive developmental part examined play as a mirror of childrens emerging mental
ability. They practice using known information (recognize adjective words) while
consolidating new information and skills, test new ideas against their experiences, and
construct new knowledge about people, objects, and situations (Isenberg & Jalongo,
2006, p. 66). It showed kind of learning in a social activity that gave student more
challenging for their intellectual than gave children printed pictures to color and/or cut
out while sitting quietly at their seats (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2006, p. 23). Play also
enabled children to practice both verbal and nonverbal communication skills by
negotiating roles, trying to gain access to ongoing play, and appreciating the feelings of
others (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2006, p. 53). Based on this statement playtime could help
student to understand the adjective word especially feeling term from others. In the
same time they also would learn about others feeling and got more clues from it.

3. Research Methodology
3.1 Subjects:
The researcher would collect the information from doing a microteaching to
her 11 classmates at Teacher College that took Primary English and Biology
English majors. They already took their majors for 2 years. The rage of their ages
was 19 until 30 years old.
3.2 Setting of Place and Time:
The researcher would do the microteaching on Thursday, 19 th November 2009
at building B 6th floor room 2, Teacher College. The microteaching would be done
during the Pedagogy class that start from 1 oclock to 3 oclock but the
microteaching just would use 30 minutes from the duration of Pedagogy class.
3.3 Instruments:
The researcher would use two types of instrument to collect the data for the
research. Those instruments were:
3.3.1 Observation Notes

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The researcher would observe each one of the students based on first
observation instrument (see Appendix C) and over all situation of the class to
reach the goal by using the method that was researched based on second
observation instrument (see Appendix D). This instrument would show the
data collection of students performance in microteaching and help the
researcher analyze the suitability of the method.
3.3.2 Self-evaluation
The researcher would do self-evaluation after done the microteaching by
answering (see Appendix E). Did the student understand with the lesson?
Could they apply the information that was given? Was the method appropriate?
From these information the researcher would analyze and find did the
researcher could use playtime to increase student understanding about new
adjective words that were given or not.
3.4 Procedures:
3.4.1

First Cycle:
1. Planning Stage: The researcher planned the implementation of
using playtime to increase the understanding of K-1 students to be
acknowledged by the homeroom teacher.
2. Action

Stage:

The

researcher

conducted

the

action

of

implementing the using playtime to increase the understanding of

K-1 students consistently in accordance with the planning stage.
3. Observation Stage: The homeroom teacher observed the action of
the researcher implementing the using playtime to increase the
understanding of K-1 students as well as the students in the session.
4. Reflection Stage: The researcher and the homeroom teacher did a
reflection of what occurred during the session and what the
researcher and the students did in the session.
3.4.2

Second Cycle:
5. Planning Stage: The researcher planned to use playtime for
increasing the understanding of K-1 students in accordance with
the reflection.
6. Action Stage: The researcher as the teacher conducted the action
of implementing the using playtime to increase the understanding

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of K-1 students in a Cohort 2 classroom in line with the planning

stage.
7. Observation Stage: The students observed the action of the
researcher as the teacher implementing the using playtime to
increase the understanding of K-1 students.
8. Reflection Stage: The researcher completed the final reflection for
the necessary follow-up actions for the teaching and learning
process of the using playtime to increase the understanding of K-1
students.
3.5 Data Collection:
The researcher would collect the data by observing student performance
(student rubric and teacher table observation). From student rubric the researcher
would use from no at all until very much scale. It would make the leveling of
student understanding in the microteaching lesson. From teacher table
observation the researcher would catch big picture of the situation in the
microteaching and count the total of students (how many boy students And how
many girl students?) in every level of student understanding.
The researcher also collected data from reflection or self-evaluation the
researcher perspective as a Christian teacher that saw every student were unique. In
this evaluation would be collect the reason why the student could or couldnt show
the understanding (the differences of ages, background, and culture, the current
condition of the student, were there any challenge for student to show their feeling,
etc). It would help the researcher to study from two sides, the performance of
student and the background of the student performance.
3.6 Data Analysis:
From the data collection the researcher would analyze the understanding of the
student by using accumulate the result of student rubric with formula below:
Total all the result of student rubric percentages*
= Average of class understanding**
Total student
*) The rage of the percentages for every student was 25% - 100% (no at all very much)
**) < 80% = the method was not working enough
> 80% = the method was working enough

The formula would show the method could work or not by student performance.
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The researcher also could analyze in this stage of ages which gender first
develop, whether boys or girls from the total of boys or girls in every stage. This
information would give a clue for the researcher to act, respond, and assess
appropriately. The analysis above also would use performance of the student.
Beside observe the performance of the student, the researcher also would
do self-evaluation to evaluate the other reasons or current situation that much or
less affected students performance. By summarized the self-evaluation and
compared it with data observation, the researcher would get the result of data
analysis and find whether the method were appropriate or not to increase
understanding of K-1 student in language especially new adjective words.

REFERENCE:
Barry, K., & King, L. (2006). Beginning teaching and beyond. Southbank Victoria: Social
Science Press.
Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2010). Educational psychology: Windows on classrooms. New
Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

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Isenberg, J., & Jalongo, M. (2006). Creative thinking and arts-based learning: Preschool
through fourth grade. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Manser, M. (Ed.). (1996). Oxford learners pocket dictionary (7th ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Nilsen, B., & Albertalli, G. (2002). Introduction to learning and teaching: Infants through
elementary age children. New York: Delmar.

Appendix A
First Lesson Plan and The Feedback
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