Improving Students' Reading Comprehension Through the Student Team Achievement Division (STAD) Method

Abstract

This study aims to determine the effectiveness and students' perceptions of the use of the Student Team Achievement Division (STAD) method in improving students' reading comprehension skills. This study used a quantitative method with a class action research approach (CAR). This research was conducted in class VIII.7 MTsN 2 Makassar involving 35 students as the research sample. Researcher used observation, questionnaires, and reading tests consisting of pre-test, post-test I and post-test II as instruments in data collection. The results showed that the used of the STAD method could improve students' reading comprehension skills significantly. The students' average score on the pre-test was 58.86. After two cycles of applying the STAD method, the students' average score in the post test II increased to 88.57. There was an increase of 50.47% from pre-test to post-test II. As for students' perceptions of the STAD method, that the majority of students liked the method based on student responses to the questionnaire, 68.6% of students thought that the STAD method was fun and not boring, 62.8% of students felt helped by group mates' explanations, and 60% thought that they become more active during the learning process by using the STAD method.