TEACHERS SCAFFOLDING IN THE TEACHING

WRITING REPORT TEXT

(A Case Study at The Ninth Grade of One of Junior High Schools in Ciamis)
By
Hijriati Utami Putri
English Department Program
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
Galuh University
Abstract
This paper discusses about the successful use of scaffolding techniques to
improve students writing skills in Junior High School. This study is aimed at
finding how the teacher uses scaffolding in teaching writing report text and
finding kinds of scaffolding which are used by the teacher in teaching writing
report text. The population of this study is all English teachers and all of students
at the ninth grade at SMP N 3 Kawali that consisted of one hundred and twenty
five students. The result and finding of this study includes that scaffolding
techniques involved modeling the concepts and expected behavior by instructor,
conducting in-class activities to help students learn the concepts, assigning
homework activities that builds on the previous steps, and providing clarifications
and support resources to help students in the learning process. It can be concluded
that the scaffolding techniques allowed students to go from simple to complex
aspects of writing, such as grammar, vocabulary and the writing process, and
develop the necessary skills and confidence in their abilities without assistance.
Keywords: writing, scaffolding, report text

INTRODUCTION
Writing is one of the skills in the learning English. It is one of the
important subjects that students should be learned. According to Bryne (2000:43)
writing is transforming out thoughts into language, it is very complex skill that
requires both physical and mental activity on the part of the writer. Based on the
definition above, it can be argued that writing is a complex skill used by students
to communicate in written form to express their idea, thought, opinion, and belief.
In accordance with this statement, the writer argues that writing skill is
regarded as one of the most difficult tasks for any learners who learn English.
However, there are problems faced by students in writing skill such as lack of
idea, difficulty of grammar, and lack of vocabulary.
In addition nowadays, there are many kinds of support that can be given in
order to improve students writing skill. One of those supports is scaffolding.
Scaffolding anables students to achieve higher level of performances than they
could achieve on their own or without the strategic guidance of the teacher
(Hammond, 2001, p. 14). In this study, scaffolding is teaching strategy that is used
in teaching writing report text. Moreover, this study is aimed at figuring out the
teachers ways of using scaffolding in teaching writing report text and figuring out
the kinds of scaffolding that are used by the teacher in teaching writing report text.
Scaffolding as Teaching Strategy
Vygotsky (1978) defined scaffolding instruction as the role of teachers
and others in supporting the learners development and providing support
structures to get to that next stage or level. An important aspect of scaffolding

instruction is that the scaffolds are temporary. Furthermore, in the educational

setting, scaffolds may include models, cues, prompts, hints, partial solutions, think
aloud modeling and direct instruction (Hartman, 2002, p.65)
The Definition of Report Text
According to Hammond (2000, p. 100, Report is a text roommates
present information about something, as it is. It is as a result of systematic
observation and analyzes. Besides, report text generally describe an entire class
of things, whether natural or made : mammals, the planets, rocks, plants, countries
of region, culture, transportation, and so on. In addition, the social purpose of
report text is to present information about something.

METHODOLOGY
This study employed a qualitative approach with choosing case study as
the research design. Case study was chosen because this study was carried out the
detailed description of the case. Fraenkel and Wallen (2007, p. 430) stated that
what case study researchers have in commons is that they call the object of their
research cases, and they focus their research on the study of such cases.
In addition, this study focused on the observation, including identifying
and describing the teachers scaffolding during writing report text. Moreover, case
study is very valuable and generates deep reach data of a major investigation from
one phenomenon that was being an object of the study.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

After conducting the observation and interview, the researcher collected

and analyzed the data. Based on the classroom observation, the writer found that
one of the goals in teaching writing report text, giving variety with visual aids was
one of Scaffolding strategies to provide for students learning and understanding
report text. In order to teach English writing report text successfully, especially to
students of Junior High School, the teacher must pay attention to some factors
causing the success of teaching English such as choosing the strategy and
technique.
In addition, based on the interview, there were several types of scaffolding
performed by the teacher. The first is brainstorming which functions to build up
students background knowledge. The second is modeling which involves teachers
and learners discussing and exploring the stages and the genres and its key
grammatical and rhetorical features with the help of the teacher. The third is
giving variety visual aids by inviting students to participate in the task through
several activities.
The fourth is verifying students work and clarifying their understanding
as this feedback which is critical to reinforce what students have learned as well
as resolve any difficulties they may have. The last is individual writing in which
students contribute ideas about the topic, which can guide instructors discussion
based on their ideas and lead students to a deeper understanding of the topic
without assistance.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings and discussion, it can be conclude that the

implementation of scaffolding techniques for improving the writing process
resulted in significant improvements in students writing abilities. Second, it was
found that there were several types of scaffolding performed by teacher. Those
types are brainstorming, modeling, giving variety visual aids, verifying students
work, and individual writing.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bryne. 2002. Shaping Written Knowledge. Madison: University Press\
Fraenkel, Jack R, and Wallen, Norman E. 2007. How to Design and Evaluate
Research in Education (7th edition). San Francisco: Mc Graw Hill
Companies Inc.
Hammonds, Jennifer & Gibbons, Pauline. 2001. What is Scaffolding
learning:Teaching

and

learning

in

language

literacy

education.

Australia:PETA.
Hartman, Dr. Hope. 2002. Instructional Scaffolding. Retrieved on 15th anuary
from http://www.condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu
Vigotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in Society The Development of Higher Phsychological
Proccesses. Cambridge. Ma Hardvard University Press.