MOHAMAD SHARIZAL BIN DRAHMAN BUJANG P81938 EXPLORING THE USE OF THINKING MAPS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER’S WRITING

INTRODUCTION Education has evolved tremendously over the years. It is crucial to prepare the students for the new challenges of 21 st century as creativity and innovation have become essential. 21 st century learning prepares the students in their learning. As knowledge knows no barrier, High Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) is vital to help them to analyse, to synthesize and to asses new information. Thinking map is a set of graphic organizers used in teaching and learning. It is a tool that develops learners with critical thinking and problem-solving skills. (Vishalace Balakrishnan et al., 2014). It is vital to enhance thinking skills among students in order to create innovative students.

PROBLEM STATEMENT 21 st century learning has changed the way a classroom is conducted. As educators find ways to improve the teaching and learning of literacy skills, especially writing, as it is seen as a gatekeeper to academic success. (Cooks, & Sunseri 2014). Students appear to struggle with writing as documented by their performance on standardized tests.

DATA ANALYSIS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE (PENULISAN) UJIAN 1/2016 SEKOLAH-SEKOLAH RENDAH KEBANGSAAN JEMPOL DAN JELEBU NUMBER OF PUPILS NUMBER OF PASSES PERCENTAGE (%) NUMBER OF FAILURE PERCENTAGE (%) DATA ANALYSIS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE (PENULISAN) UJIAN 1/2016 SEKOLAH KEBANGSAAN PULAPAH (SKK) NUMBER OF PUPILS NUMBER OF PASSES PERCENTAGE (%) NUMBER OF FAILURE PERCENTAGE (%) Source: Unit Penilaian & Peperiksaan, Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah Jempol dan Jelebu

Classroom observations revealed low comprehension among the students and students are struggling to write. (Wilson, Copeland-solas & Guthrie-dixon 2016) This is due rote learning as the teacher focuses more on answering the examination questions.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES To explore the use of Thinking Maps in student’s writing. To compare the writing performance before and after using Thinking Maps. To investigate the student’s perception and attitude towards the use of Thinking Maps in writing.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS How do Thinking Maps affect students’ writing? What are the comparison of the writing performance before and after using Thinking Maps? Why Thinking Maps important for writing achievement? How do the students perceive Thinking Maps in writing? How do the students respond towards the use of Thinking Maps in writing?

LITERATURE REVIEW Constructivist learning focuses on understanding, making some correlations, associations, inter and transdisciplinary associations, based on a complex documentation, exploration, investigation, explanation, interpretation. In this context, an important role is played by graphic organizers. (Mogonea, 2014) Constructivist-learning environment makes the classroom flexible and relaxing and this enables students to develop autonomy over their learning. (Wilson et al. 2016)

LITERATURE REVIEW Visual aids such as graphics, illustrations, pictures, audio, and video can be used to serve as a helpful tool in facilitating students’ understanding (M. Yunus, Salehi, & John, 2013). The use of scaffolding as an instructional strategy is supported by research that maintains the importance of teachers’ initiating activities that require students to process and apply new information. (Cooks, & Sunseri 2014).

METHODOLOGY PARTICIPANTS3 PUPILS IN YEAR 6 1. CLASSROOM OBSERVATION 2. UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW 3 PUPILS & 1 TEACHER 3. DOCUMENT ANALYSISBEFORE AND AFTER THE USE OF THINKING MAPS (SENTENCE WRITING)

BIBLIOGRAPHY Cooks, J. & Sunseri, A Leveling the Playing Field: The Efficacy of Thinking Maps on English Language Learner Students’ Writing. CATESOL Journal, 25(2013), 24–40. Wilson, K., Copeland-solas, E. & Guthrie-dixon, N A Preliminary Study on the use of Mind Mapping as a Visual- Learning Strategy in General Education Science classes for Arabic speakers in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(1), 31– 52. doi: /josotl.v16i Yunus, M., Salehi, H., & John, D. S. (2013). Using Visual Aids as a Motivational Tool in Enhancing Students’ Interest in Reading Literary Texts. Recent Advances in Educational Technologies, 114–117. Retrieved from Mogonea, F.-R. & Mogonea, F The Constructivist Teaching and the Optimization of Learning through Cognitive Maps. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 128, 164–168. doi: /j.sbspro