The Effectiveness of Reciprocal Teaching Method Embedding Critical Thinking Towards MIA Second Graders’ Reading Comprehension of MAN 1 Kendari

Abstract

This research is aimed to investigate the effectiveness of reciprocal teaching strategy embedding critical thinking for students’ reading comprehension at the second grade of MIA at MAN 1 Kendari. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed to investigate the effectiveness of the method, as well as students’ perception. The study was guided by two research questions: (a) does reciprocal teaching method embedding critical thinking (RTT+) affect MIA second graders’ reading comprehension; (b) how do students perceive RTT+? Ninety-seven students participated in the present study. The instruments of the study were reading comprehension test and questionnaires. Reading comprehension test was administered on two different occasions; before and after treatment, whereas questionnaires were administered prior to the end of the study. Paired sample t-test was employed to examine possible differences in students’ pre- and post- test scores. The results show significant improvement in students’ post-test scores. Implications of the study will be critically discussed in this paper. Key words: Reciprocal Teaching Method, Critical Thinking, RTT+, Reading Comprehension.