Journal Entry free essay sample

Initially, developing an appreciation for Philippine literature in high school students requires that teachers select reading material with themes that are relevant to the modern era in which they live in. Many techniques are available for classroom use when it comes to teaching literature. Along with traditional independent reading, group work and interactive activities are commonly used in literature classroom. These methods help students learn the messages conveyed in great works of literature. Using a variety of teaching techniques can help one reach more students.It also creates new and exciting experiences for students. Marzano (1988) stated that by writing about what they are thinking, students show their thinking process as they read, allowing teachers to redirect or encourage students to be more effective readers. Teachers may assign students free writing exercises in which they can respond to elements of the story, as well as prompt driven responses. Important elements of the story, aspects crucial to the theme, and anything of unique interest to a student should be encouraged to be reflected upon during the reading. We will write a custom essay sample on Journal Entry or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The storys main conflict, its level of importance, and possible solutions are all worthy topics for students to evaluate and discuss. Students keep reading journals and document their reactions to the book as they read it. Reading journals allow students to enjoy literature and make remarks about points of interest as they come to them during the reading. Both in traditional and online classrooms, journal entries are used as tools for student reflection. Reflective practice has been prevalent in the teacher education literature for several decades (Schmuck, 2006; Schon, 1983; 1991).In the early 20th century, John Dewey defined reflective thought as â€Å"active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends†. Learning to reflect on one’s own practice has become the focus of many teacher preparation programs (Valli, 1992). By consciously thinking about and comparing issues, life experiences, and course readings, students are better able to understand links between assumption and practice and to generate justifiable, well-supported opinions.Students engage with ideas and experiences that bring about questions, comparisons, insights, criticisms, speculations, and tentative conclusion. Journal entry strategy allows students to record their responses to text as they read. Students write down phrases or sentences from their assigned reading and then write their own reaction to that passage. This strategy is to give students the opportunity to express their thoughts and become actively involved with the material they read.This interactive strategy activates prior knowledge and present feelings, and promotes collaborative learning. In helping students to activate the prior knowledge they bring to the learning environment, teachers build on students’ strengths and experiences to create new learning. Background of the Study For the past few years, a good deal of attention has been paid in helping the students create a connection in literature. A lot of activities had been used in order to improve the students’ interest in Philippine literature.Reflection creates a connection between reading and writing as students are able to reply to the author or speaker as they write their responses. The strategy supports English-language learners. As the students read and select the lines that interest them, they are improving reading comprehension skills. As they copy the lines from the text, they are learning English sentence structure and vocabulary. When they write and then share their responses, they are engaging in conversational as well as academic discourse about the texts. In this study, the students are requested to make reflections on selected literary piece they will read. This research define reflection as going beyond description and instead, sharing a reaction or explanation of what students learned. Teachers in Luis Palad National High School give various activities that would help their students improve their performance in Philippine literature. Group discussion was often used by teachers as students’ activity; the students were grouped and they discuss the story with each other, giving their insights about the story they have read.The teacher also gives some worksheets which the students answer. Currently the teachers in Luis Palad do not make use of journal entry as their students’ activity. The researcher would want to study the effects of using journal entry as students’ activity and to what extent does it help in improving ones reading comprehension and performance in literature. The researcher sees this study as ultimately developing pedagogy of reflection applicable to a variety of literary pieces. Reflection connects the world of experience and the world of ideas (Dewey, 1933).Reflective practice allows for continual development in all areas, including growth in content knowledge and habits of mind. Teachers want their students to use their inner world of ideas, prior experiences, and beliefs to make sense of their reading. Statement of the Problem The intention of this research is to investigate the efficiency of Journal Entries in enhancing the students’ comprehension skill and improving their performance in Philippine Literature. 1. What is the level of the students’ comprehension in Philippine Literature before and after the utilization of Journal Entries? . Is there a significant difference between the pretest and posttest score of the experimental and control group? 3. What is the attitude of the students toward journal entry as a means of improving their performance in Philippine Literature? Significance of the study This study could help motivate the high school students to engage more in literature. One of the best ways to engage in literary text (story, novel, and poem among others) is to have conversation with it or its author, and journal entries allow the students to do that.It could give opportunity for the students to express their thoughts and become more involved with the material they encounter, respond emotionally, ask questions, make predictions, and connect the text to their own lives. In addition, this kind of activity might help students practice the habits of good readers by slowing down the reading process and demanding that they become aware of the â€Å"conversation† they are having with themselves about wh at a text might mean. Research by Marzano (1988) emphasizes the importance of metacognition and student learning.By writing about what they are thinking, students show their thinking process as they read, allowing teachers to redirect or encourage students to be more effective readers. Moreover, the teachers might be able to establish various kinds of teaching strategies based on the reflections, reactions and prediction of the students. Also, they might be able to identify on what difficulties the students encountered while reading a certain literary context. Furthermore, this research would be able to determine to what extent is journal entry useful in teaching literature.