Indonesian Junior High School Research Articles

Equating of standardized science subjects tests using various methods: which is the most profitable?

A good test set can be reflected in the quality of the items. It can measure the ability of the test takers reasonably even though they are distributed in several question packages. This study uses an exploratory, descriptive method to determine the equivalence of standardized test sets in science subjects for junior high schools in Indonesia. The data were obtained from the database of Junior High School National Examination results in the subject of Natural Sciences, which consisted of 5 question packages with 40 items/package. The equating technique uses the Item Response Theory 3 PL approach with the help of R Studio Software. The research results show that the national exam questions, which consist of 5 question packages, have a good level of item difficulty and all guesses. However, the discrimination index and several items obtained unfavorable results. In addition to the results of equating the graphical method using the closeness of the test characteristic curve, the Stocking & Lord methods produce the most equivalent scores. These findings can be a reference for test developers or researchers in the field of measurement to produce better and more accurate test kits.

Analysis of Indonesian Junior High School Students’ Problem in Learning English

This study focuses on students' problems in speaking English at SMP Plus Kasih Ibu Patumbak, Indonesia. Speaking skill is very important for social life to make people can communicate with global citizen easily. The students of SMP Plus Kasih Ibu Patumbak have been facing many problems in learning English, especially in speaking. The purpose of this research is to find out the students' problems in speaking English. This research design used is a descriptive qualitative research instrument for observation, interviews, and documentation. The study subjects were students of grade VII A totally 24 Students. The results of the data analysis, the researcher found several problems of students in speaking such as: lack of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, fluency and feeling nervous and being shy. It implies that Indonesian junior high schools need a very strong encouragement to more often practice English at school.

The Use of Tiktok Based on Audiolingual Method in Arabic Learning at an Islamic Junior High School in Indonesia

There have been various discussions on the use of TikTok in Arabic learning today, and they indicate that it has the potential as an interactive learning media. However, using TikTok in Audiolingual-based Arabic learning needs more attention. Therefore, this research aims to fill the gap by describing the utilization, stages, and supporting and inhibiting factors in using TikTok in Arabic learning based on an Audiolingual approach at an Islamic Junior High School in Indonesia. This study used descriptive qualitative research. The researcher carried out observations and interviews to obtain research data. The research data were analyzed using the Miles and Huberman technique. The results of this study report that 1) the use of TikTok in learning Arabic is based on media support, teaching skills, and variations in delivery. 2) There are three stages in the learning process: preparation, implementation, and evaluation. 3) Supporting factors found are students' ability to understand lessons and adequate school facilities. The inhibiting factor is the limited time available for applying the audiolingual method, which takes quite a long time and makes students feel bored. This study recommends research on the effectiveness of TikTok on interest, motivation, and achievement in learning Arabic.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK SAFETY UNDERSTANDING AND AWARENESS IN THE SCIENCE LABORATORY OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN INDONESIA

Laboratory guidelines not only provide practical experience to students but also help students to identify hazardous materials and work safety in the laboratory. This study aims to investigate the scientific understanding and the awareness of Indonesian junior high school students about safety signs in the laboratory. The survey questionnaires were given to 191 third-grade junior high school students who had received work safety material in the laboratory. The findings indicated that the majority of students had misconceptions about the definition of hazardous materials in the laboratory. In addition, they experienced low laboratory work safety awareness. In the interview, the researcher found that students did not pay attention to the safety signs on the packaging label of the material during the experiment. The results of this study fill the gap in laboratory learning studies. The research results also provide information to improve the quality of learning in the laboratory, especially in increasing students' awareness of how to use, store, and properly dispose of materials in the laboratory.

CONTENT ANALYSIS ON TWO ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR THE EIGHTH GRADER OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

This paper reports a study that analyzed the content of two English textbooks used in junior high school in Indonesia. The two textbooks are officially published by Indonesia's Ministry of Culture and Education. The first is "When English Rings a Bell," written by Siti Wachidah, Asep Gunawan, Diyantari, and Yuli Rulani Khatimah and published in 2017, and the second is "Modul Pembelajaran Jarak Jauh pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19 untuk jenjang SMP Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Inggris untuk semester genap kelas VIII” which is published in 2020. The findings revealed similarities and differences between the two textbooks. Two English textbooks differ greatly because they have different goals. The second book is not a revision of the first, but it appears to be the solution to the pandemic. The first textbook is designed to improve language skills through the use of communicative approach, both spoken and written, with English as the medium of communication. However, the second textbook is expected to be beneficial and meaningful for students to achieve the intended competence independently. Despite differences in goal or focus in developing the textbooks, they share similarities in terms of basic competence that students must achieve.

The Portrait of Gender Equality in English Textbook for the Ninth Graders of Junior High School

Textbook as an essential component of learning was required to assist in education that promotes gender equality. The findings of previous studies on gender issues in language textbook mostly indicated that they depicted gender biases and gender stereotypes. To continue the study about gender issues in the textbook, the present study looked at visual and textual data representing the equality of gender that focused in the sector of education in ELT textbooks for the ninth graders of Indonesian junior high school. The findings revealed some gendered exposes gender equality in the sector of education. This finding implied that ELT textbook authors in Indonesia evaluated balanced resources that might aid junior high school students in enhancing gender awareness and eliminating gender misconceptions through proper exposure to materials expressing positive viewpoints of males and females. This study used Qualitative Content Analysis and a Descriptive Research Design to lead the portrays of the male and female characters in the textbook chosen.

Learning English Vocabulary with Taboo Game: A Case Study of Indonesian Junior High School Students

Vocabulary serves as the basis for the four language skills. However, for many EFL learners, vocabulary mastery is difficult to achieve. This situation requires English teachers to find and utilize different approaches to help make vocabulary learning more enjoyable yet engaging for their students. This study aimed to elucidate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' reflections after utilizing the Taboo game for vocabulary learning and to explore their perceptions of its benefits. A qualitative method was used in the current study. The data were gathered through in-depth interviews and questionnaires. This research was carried out at one private junior high school in Medan, Indonesia. Thirty-four second-year students agreed to participate in the study (15 females; 19 males). The results of data analysis through frequency count and Content Analysis revealed that most students were satisfied with learning vocabulary through the Taboo game. Furthermore, in terms of their perceptions, the students reported three benefits (1) Improvement of vocabulary mastery, (2) Enhanced vocabulary recall (3) Higher engagement. In general, the Taboo game was perceived positively by all the student participants. Moreover, the Taboo game assists in learning and understanding materials, making it easier to know and learn new vocabulary and increasing their learning creativity.

THE IMPACT OF USING TEAM GAME TOURNAMENT TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY

The aim of this study is to reveal the effectiveness of using Team Game Tournament (TGT) to improve the vocabulary mastery of the second-grade students of Islamic Junior High School in Indonesia. Quantitative method design is used in this research. In order to achieve the objective of this research, the researchers designed a quasi-experimental study. The researchers used two classes to take pre-test and post-test, namely experiment and control classes. The teacher teaches vocabulary mastery in two classes. The experiment class used TGT and the control class used existing English textbook in teaching vocabulary mastery. For the data collection method, this study used vocabulary tests with multiple choice questions based on pictures. The final result of this experiment shows the average value of the experimental class was greater than the control class. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that TGT is effective in improving vocabulary mastery.

The Impact of Using Voice of America (VOA) in Teaching Degree Comparison to Indonesian Junior High School Students

This research was conducted based on the main problem is the learning effect of using the voice of America (VOA) YouTube Channel in Degree of Comparison. Based on the main problem formulated above, the research objectives are as follows: to determine the effect of using Voice of America (VOA) learning english YouTube Channel in teaching degree of comparison in the eighth grade of SMPN 24 Kota Serang. The subject of this study involved 60 students as a sample from class VIII SMPN 24 Kota Serang in 2022 as a population. The show that the value of t0 is 3.26 with degrees of freedom (df) is 58. There was a significant difference between students' understandings on degree of comparison Using Voice of America (VOA) English learning through YouTube Channel. The study found that most of the data showed an increase in learning using YouTube video channels. It is suggesting that students should consider the learning method used to achieve sustainability.

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF FREEWRITING TECHNIQUES ON THE WRITING SKILLS OF INDONESIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of using the freewriting techniques on the writing ability of Indonesian junior high school students in producing descriptive texts. The study was conducted in a private school located in Banten province and involved 33 students who were selected through a total sampling. A quasi-experimental design was used, with pre- and post-tests serving as the research instruments. The tests were validated for content validity and inter-rater reliability. The results were analyzed using a t-test, which showed that the use of freewriting techniques had a significant positive effect on the writing ability of the students. The t-count (2.533) was higher than the t-table (2.039) at a significance level of 0.05, indicating that the alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted and the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected. The average score of the experimental class was higher than that of the control class, further emphasizing the positive impact of the freewriting techniques. These results suggest that the implementation of freewriting as a teaching techniques has the potential to enhance the writing ability of Indonesian junior high school students.

PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS' READINESS TO DEVELOP DIGITALIZED AUTHENTIC MATERIALS WITH ISLAMIC VALUES

Pre-service English teachers still need to gain the competence to develop authentic materials with Islamic values, reflected by their low perceived readiness. To reveal their readiness, this study was conducted by using narrative inquiry. The data were gathered from the storytelling of pre-service English teachers pursuing master's degrees at IAIN Kediri. Participants in this study were one male and one female student with teaching experience. The data were analyzed by using thematic analysis. The data showed that the pre-service teachers believed the readiness to develop digitalized authentic materials with Islamic values could have been more optimal. It is because of the existing instructional materials provided by the government, their lack of confidence as new teachers, and their limited autonomous access to their classes as a new teacher. English textbooks provided by the government are only general English. So, it makes the teachers follow the materials instead of developing authentic materials with Islamic values that are fundamentally needed by students studying in Islamic institutions, such as modifying the materials from books to reflect Muslim activities. Therefore, the pre-service teachers must expose themselves to integrated materials books and digital materials with Islamic values.

Culture and EFL Instruction: How do Eight Graders Perceive Multicultural Reading Activities in their EFL Classrooms?

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the study of cultural integration in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. The incorporation of local culture into the EFL classroom plays a crucial role in increasing students' awareness of culture and identity maintenance. However, studies on the development of multicultural reading materials have, to the best of our knowledge, been conducted infrequently in Indonesia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find out students' perceptions of multicultural reading materials that we had previously developed. This is a survey-based study involving eighth-grade students in an Indonesian junior high school in Lampung. Using descriptive statistics, the collected data were analysed. The findings indicate that the participants in the study favour the implementation of the multicultural reading activities we developed. The tasks have a favourable impact on their reading skills. The implications of the findings are also examined, along with a number of suggestions for future research.

Bullying and its Implications on Middle School Students and Teachers in Indonesia

Bullying has happened in the diverse level of schools in Indonesia. This detrimental act certainly has a fatal impact on victims of bullying in the form of loss of confidence, social disability, worry, and possibly physical disturbances. The purpose of this study was to examine the implications of bullying for teachers and students at a junior high school in Indonesia, as well as the teacher's role in fighting bullying behaviour. This study uses a mixed method design with a non-probability sampling technique and quota sampling strategy. This study used questionnaires and interviews to gather information about bullying and the role of the teachers at that school in responding to such an act. The findings revealed two important issues as follows, a) Bullying of students is included in the mild criteria, namely 90.9% or 170 students, moderate, namely 8.0% or 15 students, and severe, namely 1.1%. or 2 students, and b) The teacher's role in preventing bullying is to provide supervision, guide, give advice and strengthen students' self-confidence so that they can overcome incidents or problems involving bullying to reduce bullying at school. This study indicates some implications regarding the preventive actions that school policy should apply to protect their pupils from experiencing bullying.

Characteristics of Different Strategies in Problems Solving of Linear Pattern

Generalization is the core of mathematical activities that are important to be taught to students. One of the material generalizations that are emphasized at the level of junior high school in Indonesia is the generalization of linear patterns. One strategy that is often used by students in generalizing linear patterns is a different strategy. However, many students do not know the usefulness of the difference in making general formulas, so that they are trapped in a recursive relationship. This problem can be overcome by analyzing the results of student work that has succeeded in generalizing linear patterns using different strategies. For this reason, this study aims to get a description of the characteristics of the different strategies of students who have succeeded in generalizing linear patterns. The approach that fits this research is a case study approach to 6 grade VIII junior high school students who successfully solved the problem of generalizing linear patterns using a different strategy. The results showed that there were six characteristics of different strategies used to generalize linear patterns, namely: (1) using the difference to be substituted into the nth term formula of an arithmetic sequence, (2) using the difference to substitute into linear pattern formula, (3) using difference as a multiple, (4) using the difference as a jump number, (5) using the difference to be placed in a different column, and (6) using the difference to determine the formula for generalizing linear patterns directly.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ELECTRONIC DICTIONARY IN LEARNING VOCABULAY AT INDONESIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL CONTEXT

The main objective of this research is to find out the effectiveness electronic dictionary in learning vocabulary at Indonesian junior high school context. The method employs pre-experimental with pre-test and post-test design, 15 students is involved as the participants of the research. The result of this research reports that there is a significant increase on students’ vocabulary, proven by the value of sig. (2-tailed) is 0.00 0.05. This indicates that H1 is accepted and H0 is rejected. It is assumed that there is a significant difference between the students’ vocabulary after being giving treatment. This is evidenced by the high average students’ post-test score compared to the pre-test, which means it is effective to use electronic dictionary in learning vocabulary.

Generalization of Patterns Drawing of High-Performance Students Based on Action, Process, Object, and Schema Theory

<p style="text-align: justify;">This study is qualitative with descriptive and aims to determine the process of generalizing the pattern image of high performance students based on the action, process, object, and schema (APOS) theory. The participants in this study were high performance eighth-grade Indonesian junior high school. Assignments and examinations to gauge mathematical aptitude and interviews were used to collect data for the study. The stages of qualitative analysis include data reduction, data presentation, and generating conclusions. This study showed that when given a sequence using a pattern drawing, the subjects used a number sequence pattern to calculate the value of the next term. Students in the action stage interiorize and coordinate by collecting prints from each sequence of numbers in the process stage. After that, they do a reversal so that at the object stage, students do encapsulation, then decapsulate by evaluating the patterns observed and validating the number series patterns they find. Students explain the generalization quality of number sequence patterns at the schema stage by connecting activities, processes, and objects from one concept to actions, processes, and things from other ideas. In addition, students carry out thematization at the schematic stage by connecting existing pattern drawing concepts with general sequences. From these results, it is recommended to improve the problem-solving skill in mathematical pattern problems based on problem-solving by high performance students', such as worksheets for students.</p>

English Teachers’ Classroom Management : Cultivating Students’ Creativity in Indonesian Junior High School

This study aims to find out how the creativity of a teacher in managing the class to foster student creativity at SMP Negeri 12 Tebo Regency. The object of this research is an English subject teacher at SMP Negeri 12 Tebo Regency. The method used is descriptive qualitative method in the form of survey research. Data was taken by direct communication techniques, namely in the form of interviews. While the data processing technique is using deduction reasoning, which means drawing conclusions from the general to the specific. Deductive reasoning is drawing conclusions from a general premise or assumption to make a special logical conclusion. The results showed that the English teacher at SMP N 12 Tebo Regency already had criteria for a creative teacher in the teaching and learning process, such as the teacher already had a great curiosity when teaching, the teacher already had a flexible nature, the teacher already had a sense of humor, the teacher already have an inspiring nature, the teacher already has a positive and empathetic attitude, the teacher has dared to take risks, such as instructing students to make media that will be used for learning and the teacher has also used existing facilities or media.

Educational Animation about Anemia Knowledge for Female Indonesian Junior High School Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Educational Animation about Anemia Knowledge for Female Indonesian Junior High School Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Depicting Gender Construction in Visual Images of ELT Textbook of Junior High School in Indonesia

Di Indonesia, kesadaran terhadap kesetaraan gender dalam buku pelajaran sekolah masih perlu mendapat perhatian. Sebagai upaya untuk mengisi kesenjangan tersebut, dilakukan penelitian terhadap buku pelajaran Bahasa Inggris kelas IX SMP. Penelitian ini memiliki dua tujuan: (1) untuk mengetahui konstruksi gender dalam gambar visual yang terdapat pada buku pelajaran Bahasa Inggris kelas IX SMP yang diterbitkan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia; (2) menjelaskan representasi bias dan stereotip gender dalam gambar visual buku pelajaran Bahasa Inggris kelas IX SMP yang diterbitkan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif yang menggunakan analisis tekstual yang dipadukan dengan analisis wacana. Dalam pengumpulan data, analisis tekstual untuk menganalisis representasi gender yang dikemukakan oleh Kress dan Van Leeuwen (2006) yang diadopsi oleh Painter dan Martin (2010) dan Van Leeuwen (2008) digunakan dan diadaptasi di beberapa bagian untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa (1) perempuan secara relatif dikonstruksi sedikit lebih dominan daripada laki-laki dalam buku pelajaran; (2) bias gender dan stereotip gender masih ditemukan dalam buku pelajaran. Di sini, dapat disimpulkan bahwa ada porsi yang berbeda dalam merepresentasikan gender dalam buku teks ini yang mengarah pada bias gender. Kemudian, hal ini juga mempengaruhi stereotip gender karena dibangun berdasarkan pandangan umum tentang berbagai karakteristik yang terkait dengan budaya dan perbedaan sosial antara laki-laki dan perempuan. Oleh karena itu, latar belakang sosiokultural penulis mempengaruhi mereka untuk menentukan isi buku pelajaran. In Indonesia, the awareness of gender equality in school textbooks still needs paying attention. As an attempt to fill this gap, the ninth grade ELT textbook of Junior High School was researched. This study has two objectives: (1) to find out the gender construction in visual images found in the ninth grade ELT textbook of Junior High School published by Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture; (2) to explain the representation of gender biasness and stereotyping in the visual images of the ninth grade ELT textbook of Junior High School published by Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. This study is a qualitative research study that employed textual analysis combined with discourse analysis. In collecting the data, textual analysis for analyzing gender representation proposed by Kress and Van Leeuwen (2006) adopted by Painter and Martin (2010) and Van Leeuwen (2008) was used and adapted in some parts to answer the research questions. The results revealed that (1) females relatively were constructed to be slightly more dominant than males in the textbook; (2) gender biasness and gender stereotypes were still found in the textbook. Here, it could be concluded that there were different portions in representing gender in this textbook which drove to the gender biasness. Then, it also affected gender stereotypes since they are constructed based on general views about the range of characteristics related to the culture and social divisions between males and females. Therefore, sociocultural background of the authors influenced them to determine the contents of the textbooks.

An Analysis of the Online Final Examination Items in the Mathematics Course Using the Rasch Measurement Model

<p><strong>Abstract</strong>. The National Examination in Indonesia has been abolished since 2020. Hence, the Indonesian Junior High School (SMP) makes its final examination items for the 9<sup>th</sup>-grade, and from the results, the school determines success in the course. The final examination has an important role and significant value in making decisions about students' graduation. Therefore, this study is aimed to analyze the Online Final Examination items in one of the public junior high schools in Bandung. The sample was 234 students in grade 9 using their mathematics examination tests, comprising 20 multiple-choice items with 4 options (A-D), while the data processing used Winsteps software with the Rasch modeling technique. Subsequently, the Rasch model results showed an acceptable people separation statistic of 1.54 and poor person reliability at 0.7<0.8. The item separation statistics was in a good category at 2.21, while the reliability at 0.83 was excellent. Although 4 online final examination items were in the fit category, 16 were good and capable of dividing students according to their abilities. They also provided very detailed data about the quality of the items and the ability of each grade 9 student. Since each test item is included in the fit category, this study contributes information on preparing and analyzing the Online Final Examination to teachers.</p>