Randomized Group Vs Heterogeneous Group in Developing EFL Argumentative Essay

A theory states that writing is a complicated task and highly complex skill. This theory supports a research finding saying that writing is considered difficult by most of students. Pair work is considered to be able to help EFL students to minimize their problem in EFL writing. This study was intended to compare which group performed the higher score in developing an argumentative essay. There were 23 students (randomized group) and 23 students (heterogeneous group) as the subjects of this study. Before the two groups experienced the treatment, the groups were given a pre-test to see the homogeneity of the groups. The instrument used in this study was a writing test adapted from IELTS test. The result showed that the subjects in subjects in randomized group (M = 68.87, SD = 13.815) performed better significantly than those in heterogeneous group (M = 57.13, SD = 11.190). Based on the result, randomized group technique is recommended to be employed in EFL writing class.     Keywords: Randomized Group, Heterogeneous Groups, EFL Argumentative Essa

Open-Ended Online Module to Improve Creative Thinking of Elementary School Students

This study aimed to produce a valid and practical open-ended learning-based online module to improve students' creative thinking skills. This was development research which used a 4-D development model consisting of four stages: to define, design, develop, and disseminate. Data were collected through validity and practicality questionnaires. The module that was designed was validated by three experts, while practicality was obtained from the responses of educators and fourth-grade elementary school students. Based on trying out the module, the following conclusions were obtained: 1) the open-ended learning-based online module that was developed met the valid criteria with an average percentage of 90.62%; 2) the module was very practical with an average percentage of 86.11%; 3) students' creative thinking abilities increased, with a percentage increase of 75%. Based on the results of this study, it can be recommended that the open-ended learning-based online module that was developed can be used as an alternative teaching material in teaching mathematics to improve students' creative thinking skills. Keywords: open-ended learning, online module, mathematics learnin

The Effect of Different Pair-Work Types on Students' Writing Quality

Although the use of pair work in classrooms is relatively easy to employ, the pair-work technique has been attracting the attention of many researchers because this strategy is believed to be beneficial. This paper aimed to investigate the effect of different pair-work types (homogeneous, heterogeneous and randomized pairs) on students' writing quality. Each pair wrote a single text: an argumentative essay. The average writing scores of the individual performances of the participants from the homogeneous group (n = 18), the heterogeneous group (n = 23), and the randomized group (n = 23) were compared. The results revealed that the participants in the randomized pair had the highest score (mean = 68.87), followed by the participants in the homogeneous group (mean = 64.17), and the lowest mean score was found in the heterogeneous group participants (mean = 57.13). Keywords: effect, pair work, writing qualit