Using Think-Pair-Share Strategy to Improve the Reading Comprehension of the Tenth Graders of SMAN 1 Kepanjen

Reading is one of the essential skills that should be mastered by students in learning English. The teaching of reading as a foreign language in Indonesia can be included as teaching of reading comprehension because it aims to improve students’ skill in understanding the meaning of a written text (Cahyono & Widiati, 2006). Some students of X MIA 3 in SMAN 1 Kepanjen got difficulties in comprehending a text because they did not know the meaning of some new vocabulary items, the structure of a sentence, and the tenses used in the text. Thus, the reading class tend to be difficult. Teachers as learning facilitators should engage the students to comprehend a text well and be active in learning process. One of the strategies that can be implemented is Think-Pair-Share (TPS) strategy. This strategy has three stages to be followed: think, pair, and share. In the think phase, the students read a recount text and answer a comprehension question individually. In the pair phase, the students work in pair to compare their answers/ideas/opinions. Then, they decide the best answer. In the share phase, the students discuss their answer with the whole class. Then, they have to state their final answer individually. This study was conducted to improve students’ reading comprehension and active participation. This study used the Classroom Action Research (CAR) design which involved 30 students of X MIA 3 in SMAN 1 Kepanjen. The data were collected by usingthree instruments: reading comprehension test, student worksheet, and observation checklist. This study was carried out in one cycle,consisting of four meetings. The criteria of success were the students’ improvement in reading comprehension and their active participation in reading class. The improvement was indicated by their reading comprehension test scores. Whereas, the students’ active participation was identified fromthe observation checklist results. The findings showed that the students reading comprehension improved. The average score of the preliminary test and the final test improved from 75.8 to 80.5 which a significant value of .026. In this study, the learning and teaching processes ran well and interactively. In addition, the students were active during the learning process. TPS strategy successfully improved the reading comprehension of the tenth graders of SMAN 1 Kepanjen. For the English teachers, this strategy can be used as an alternative strategy to teach reading comprehension or otherEnglish skills. The time allotment should be managed wisely in implementing this strategy. In addition, the teacher has to make sure that all the students are active in each phase of TPS strategy. For the future researchers, I suggest to use this strategy to improve students’ reading comprehension in different text types, different English skills, setting and subjects.ABSTRAK Reading is one of the essential skills that should be mastered by students in learning English. The teaching of reading as a foreign language in Indonesia can be included as teaching of reading comprehension because it aims to improve students’ skill in understanding the meaning of a written text (Cahyono & Widiati, 2006). Some students of X MIA 3 in SMAN 1 Kepanjen got difficulties in comprehending a text because they did not know the meaning of some new vocabulary items, the structure of a sentence, and the tenses used in the text. Thus, the reading class tend to be difficult.Teachers as learning facilitators should engage the students to comprehend a text well and be active in learning process. One of the strategies that can be implemented is Think-Pair-Share (TPS) strategy. This strategy has three stages to be followed: think, pair, and share. In the think phase, the students read a recount text and answer a comprehension question individually. In the pair phase, the students work in pair to compare their answers/ideas/opinions. Then, they decide the best answer. In the share phase, the students discuss their answer with the whole class. Then, they have to state their final answer individually. This study was conducted to improve students’ reading comprehension and active participation.This study used the Classroom Action Research (CAR) design which involved 30 students of X MIA 3 in SMAN 1 Kepanjen. The data were collected by usingthree instruments: reading comprehension test, student worksheet, and observation checklist. This study was carried out in one cycle,consisting of four meetings. The criteria of success were the students’ improvement in reading comprehension and their active participation in reading class. The improvement was indicated by their reading comprehension test scores. Whereas, the students’ active participation was identified fromthe observation checklist results.The findings showed that the students reading comprehension improved. The average score of the preliminary test and the final test improved from 75.8 to 80.5 which a significant value of .026. In this study, the learning and teaching processes ran well and interactively. In addition, the students were active during the learning process. TPS strategy successfully improved the reading comprehension of the tenth graders of SMAN 1 Kepanjen. For the English teachers, this strategy can be used as an alternative strategy to teach reading comprehension or otherEnglish skills. The time allotment should be managed wisely in implementing this strategy. In addition, the teacher has to make sure that all the students are active in each phase of TPS strategy. For the future researchers, I suggest to use this strategy to improve students’ reading comprehension in different text types, different English skills, setting and subjects