Relooking my research proposal

As they say, the process of writing is a constant back-and-forth: you write, then you reflect, you analyse, you turn back, make corrections, reread - and the process goes on and on. The same goes with my research proposal. After completing it, and after submitting, I still read it, and the more I read, the more I realise the things that can make it a better proposal.

I am truly grateful to bump into my lecturer Dr Teoh who then told me that there are a few things that I need to amend to make my proposal better. I guess it's true that although it is just a research proposal, it has to be really clear, especially in terms of the objectives and the instrumentation.

The thing that worries me the most is the instruments that I will be using and the internal validity of it. I really really hope that it'll measure what I intend to and that the data analysis that will be done based on the data collected from the instruments will not be as difficult.

The constant battle of judgment

This is a reflection of the process of my research proposal write-up. I know this should actually be done while the process of writing, but I was too engrossed in finishing the task that I forgot. However, no fret for this is an honest account of the journey.

Firstly, it is not easy. There are times (most of the time) when I questioned myself, over the topic that I chose. Is it good? Can it be carried out as a research? Will it have issues of validity? Should I change the topic? Why does it sound boring now? All these made it really difficult. I would go back and forth, thinking, deleting the lines I have written, rewrote them, and at times, I just stared at the blank screen of my laptop.

Come to think of it, this is the active process that everyone engages in when writing. It's like you need to synthesize, organize and unify the scholarly articled related to your topi that you have read, and relate them to the topic that you have chosen to justify the need for that research to be conducted. At the same time, you will actively question your choice, and this actually helps you to grasp a better understanding of the content related to the area you have chosen, as well as of your own desire and aims.

Writing the introduction is not so much of a problem. However, when it comes to the justification part, it became a continuos battle between me and the literature, a constant back-and-forth deliberation that I felt like screaming! Hahaha. Nevertheless, in the process of doing so, I actually felt intrigued because it kind of tested my cognitive ability of reasoning. And I gladly say that I managed to finish the justification in a manner I think required at the master's level. Well, I hope so.

Literature in PBS

It took me quite some time think and rethink, to reevaluate and reanalyse my research problem and the area that I want to look into. At first, i thought of focusing merely on the teaching of literature, on whether cooperative teaching strategies will enhance students learning in the classroom. However, after much thinking, i feel that this research area or concern is a bit too 'normal' and could be boring. So i decided to change.

This was when I started to look into issues of education that are quite recent; after much thinking and reading, I decided that doing something on PBS would be enriching. Therefore, without diverging from the arch of literature, i tried to relate my then research area to the issue of PBS. 

PBS was introduced to improve the education system. It is believed that teaching and learning should be meaningful, and that it provides the opportunity for everyone to climb up the ladder. However, I am concerned

over the fact that literature is not included in the PT3 assessment that is replacing PMR. I am concerned that the teaching of the literature component will not be taken seriously, and it may even be left out. 

Another concern of mine is teachers' adoption of the traditional teacher-centered approach, which denies exploration and active meaning making when discussing a literary text.

A few questions come to my mind: 

1) can literature lesson still be made fun in the current PBS framework?

2) will cooperative learning strategy provides the environment where active learning of literature be fostered?

3) can cooperative learning increase students' participation in literature lessons?

I really hope that this research may shed some lights on what can be done to increase students' motivation and participation in learning literature. Though the subject of my research may be confined to one school, at least, I believe it will provide an insight on how literature lessons can be improved through the use of cooperative learning strategies.