“IMPLEMENTATION OF DIFFERENTIATED

LEARNING FOCUS ON SCAFFOLDING OF LEARNING ENGLISH AT

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL”

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

NUR FITRIYANI
22013049

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

FACULTY TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF KENDARI
KENDARI
2024
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The introduction chapter of this study includes several sections. It starts with the background

of the study and then is followed by research questions, the objective of the study, and the

significance of the study. After that, the scope of the study will also be discussed. This

chapter ends with the definition of terms.

A. Background of the study

Because learning English is important to give students foreign language communication

skills so that they can compete in the international market and the world of teacher roles. In

differentiated learning using scaffolding, this will provide a framework that can involve

showing how the task is to be completed, outlining the main objectives and creating more

complex task elements. This is usually what parents teach them throughout their lives, and

this teaching method is used in an educational context through the scaffolding method,

students may initially need a lot of help and then gradually need help little by little until they

can carry out activities independently. Later interpretations of Vygotsky's work introduced

the term scaffolding as a way to describe the provision of assistance that helps children

complete tasks beyond their abilities (Bruner, 1981).

Given that much classroom teaching is done in groups, teachers use a variety of

scaffolding strategies to modify certain tasks to suit the individual abilities of each

participating student. For example, when reading a book with students, and attempting to

teach them how to predict future events in the story, both as a means to engage students and

to improve their understanding of the language, the teacher may provide examples. In this

research, many have examined how teachers implement differentiated learning on

scaffolding. for example, Pentimoti (2017), found that teachers could benefit from focusing

on professional development opportunities regarding the use of dynamic features of language

interventions, such as scaffolding strategies, in preschool classrooms. By implementing

differentiated learning on scaffolding the impact will be on student achievement and student

learning outcomes. This was proven by researcher Naibaho (2019), who found that the

scaffolding method was effective in improving students' speaking achievements and could

improve students' speaking skills.

Even though there are many researchers related to differentiated learning that focus on

scaffolding, there is still a lack of research on implementing differentiated learning that

focuses on scaffolding in English language learning. From my literature search, there is a lot

of research on differentiated learning that uses scaffolding, but not on English language

learning but on learning such as mathematics. For example, Kamal's research (2021) focuses

on how to increase students' understanding of mathematics learning using differentiation.

Especially in the field of space. Masinading & Gaylo (2022), that there is a significant

relationship between academic performance and self-confidence in Mathematics among

students taught using different scaffolding methodologies. Thus, concerns about increasing

students' mathematical literacy can be addressed with different scaffolding strategies. It can

be seen that both studies are related to differentiated learning on scaffolding in mathematics

learning. Despite the growing interest in differentiated learning and its potential benefits,

there is a notable research gap in the specific context of implementing a differentiated

learning approach with a focus on scaffolding in the junior high school English classroom.

A. Research Question

The research question of this study is "How does teacher implement differentiation

learning scaffolding to their students?"

 B. Objective of the Study
The purpose of this study is to investigate how the implementation of differentiated

learning focused on Scaffolding by one of the teachers at the chosen school.

C. Scope of the Study

The scope of this research, namely the implementation of differentiated learning with a

focus on scaffolding. In an educational context, scaffolding involves providing temporary

support and guidance to students as they work on assignments or concepts. This helps them

gradually build their understanding and independence. This study will focus on how

scaffolding techniques can be applied effectively in different teaching to support students

with different ability levels, particularly at the junior high school level.

D. Significance of the Study

This study is expected to bring some significances to some different groups. They are as

the following:

1. Teachers

This study can be information for teachers about effective learning strategies that will

meet students' learning needs with various implementations such as different learning

techniques and scaffolding, educators can also create an inclusive and interesting learning

environment.

2. Students

This study can provide new knowledge that scaffolding differentiated learning will help

students become actively involved in completing their assignments individually according to

students' learning interests so that they become effective leading to academic improvement.

3. Researcher

This study will add new knowledge and theories regarding the implementation of learning

which is differentiated in scaffolding, writing, and input for further research.

 E. Definition of key terms

The researcher would give the definition of key terms as follows:

1. Differentiated learning

Differentiated learning, according to Tomlison (2000), is a concept, principle, or

philosophy for effective teaching that involves different pupils from various backgrounds. In

other terms, 'Differentiation' refers to personalizing training to match the needs of each

individual. Whether teachers differentiate between material, process, product, or learning

environment, the use of assessment and grouping is a successful teaching strategy. Butler and

Lowe (2008) proposed student needs to maximize each student's potential.

2. Scaffolding

Scaffolding is assistance provided to pupils for them to learn and solve challenges. This

support can take the form of instructions, encouragement, warnings, breaking down issues

into stages to solve them, providing examples, and other acts that allow pupils to learn

independently. Vygotsky did not invent or use the concept of scaffolding. "He did not use the

term scaffolding, Barnard and Campbell (2005) write on page 77, it originates from an article

by Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976) and has since been widely applied to the assistance

required in a ZPD." Scaffolding is defined by Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976) as "an adult

controlling elements of a task that are essentially beyond the learner's capacity, thereby

enabling him to concentrate and complete only those elements that are within his range of

competence" (p. 9).