Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1       Research Design

The research design will be adapted from Muhammad and Fadzliyati (2010). This study will be utilizing the pre-experimental design, that is, the one group pre-test – post test. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000) point out that the pre-experimental design threatens the validity of the findings. Therefore, an embedded mixed method research design is planned, where “more  meaningful  information  results  when  the  qualitative  second phase  builds  on  significant  predictors  rather  than  on  simple  group  comparisons” (Creswell & Park, 2007). The use of qualitative methods will reinforce validity of the  comparison  of  quantitative  data  as  well  as  explaining  the  meaning  of  the comparisons  that  will be  made.  The experimental element  in  this  study  is  aimed  at determining  if  learners  perceived  that  they  had  experienced  an  increase  in comprehension, interest and motivation in learning literature as a result of drama. Three instruments  were  utilised  to  collect  the  required  data – a  5-level  Likert  scale questionnaire,  interviews  with  the  learners,  and  teacher  observation.

3.2       Populations and Sample

The research will only be done to 60 Form One learners (average age of 13) of 34 boys and 26 girls. They will be randomly selected from two advanced-level classes in a premier residential school, or MRSM Kuala Kubu Bharu that is located in Hulu Selangor, in the west of Peninsular Malaysia. These 60 learners are considered average good English language learners based on their final semester examination.

3.3       Instrumentation

There will be three instruments to be used in this study. They are as follow:

3.3.1    Questionnaire

Under the quantitative approach, a questionnaire will be distributed. The questionnaire will be adapted from Muhammad and Fadzliyati (2010) in which it will be consisted of 10 items (Appendix A).  It  will elicit responses  on  a  5-point  scale  (from  strongly  disagree  to  strongly  agree)  designed  to find out the learners’ perceived comprehension level of the poem read (items 1-5) and their interest and motivation to learn poetry (items 6-10). The 10 items in the  questionnaire  is  the  minimum  number  of  items  required  to  form  a  reliable construct (Pallant, 2001). In addition, the relatively small number of items enabled the respondents to focus on the items and respond accordingly and accurately, and thus answer the research questions.

The questionnaire will be administered in the first stage (first administration) after all the learners have read the text (and before the first interview session is conducted with the learners). After the learners’ experience with drama, the same questionnaire will be once  again  administered  (second  administration)  to  the  same  60  learners after  the debriefing session in the reflective observation phase in the second stage. The aim of administering the questionnaire the second time is to find out if their perceptions toward  the  10  items  have  changed  now  that  they have experienced “a  new  way” of learning  poetry.

3.3.2    Interview

The interviews will be conducted in 2 phases of the study – before the learners  experience  drama  (1^st interview)  in  the  first  stage  and  after  the  learners experienced  drama  (2^nd  interview)  in  the  second  stage. In the 1^st  interview,  the  main objective  is  basically  to  gain a  deeper  understanding of  the  learners’ views  on learning literature before experiencing drama, so that a comparison of their experiences (before and after drama) could be made. 20 learners  (twelve  boys  and  girls  girls)  from  the  60  learners  will be  chosen  for  both interviews. The  questions  asked  is designed  for  an  in-depth  exploration  of  the  learners’ feelings toward the learning literature, the poems they have to study and the poetry lessons. At this point, the learners will be responding to the questions in the interview based on  their  perceptions  and  initial  experiences  of  literature  learning  in  the  previous academic year. During the interview sessions, although all the learners will not be able to converse well in English, they will be allowed to use the Malay language if they need it to explain their feelings better.

As for the second interview, the same twenty students who were interviewed in the first interview will be again interviewed after the reflective observation stage. The questions asked are designed to discover:

1. the learners’ feelings towards how they like (or don’t like) learning literature using drama;
2. how well the learners understand (or do not understand) the poem they have to study in order to perform and;
3. the learners’ interest and motivation level before and after the use of the RT (if there is any).

3.3.3    Teacher Observation

Another source of qualitative data for this study is teacher observation. The teacher observation will cover both the first stage and the second stage.  Data from these observations  provide  a  clear  understanding  and  explanation  of  many  of  the  issues and  themes  that  are emerged  from  both  interview  sessions  (first  interview  and  second interview). The observations had “overpowering claim to validity” (Gillham, 2008, p.1) because they verify what the learners “actually do when they might say they do when asked in interview”(Scott & Morrison, 2007, p. 168). In order to identify and determine learners’ interests and motivation, the following actions and behaviours of learners will be observed:

3.4       Data Collection

The data collection technique used for the purpose of this study is through the distribution of questionnaire. The questionnaire will later be analyzed using a t-test score. In addition to obtain the data, the procedure of the collecting data through interview and teacher observation is shown in Figure 2.

To ensure reliability and validity of the data from the interviews, Cohen, Manion & Morrison’s (2000) suggestions and procedures were applied; for validity, the teacher’s observations were used to support and explain the data obtained from the interviews. Teacher observation will also provide insights for further understanding and elucidation of the initial data.  As  for  the  reliability  of  the  data  obtained  from  the  interview, structured  questions  are  used, that  is, highly  specific  and  focused  questions  will be forwarded to the learners (Appendix B).

Based on the procedures stated in Chapter 3, the study will resume its data analysis and presentation of results which to answer the research questions mooted at the beginning of this paper.