Differentiated Instruction in Improving Senior High School Students’ Reading Comprehension Level

Abstract

This research investigated the effectiveness of using differentiated instruction (DI) on grade 11 senior high school students’ reading comprehension throughout the academic year 2021–2022. It aims to identify the reading comprehension levels of the control and experimental groups in the pre-test, and post-test gained results, determine whether there is a significant difference in the reading comprehension levels gained from the control and experimental groups, and pinpoint the benefits and drawbacks of using this strategy. A quasi-experimental was used as a method to carry out the investigation. 142 senior high school students in Grade 11 from UPT SMA Negeri 3 Takalar served as the respondents. The results from the pre-test and post-test, an observation in the classroom, the survey, and the researcher's notes are used as the data sources. The basic method of understanding, synthesizing, interpreting, and re-analyzing was used to describe the qualitative data in order to decide common topics. Strengths and disadvantages of DI were identified based on observations made in the class, the survey, and the reflection. Statistical analysis showed a substantial difference between pre-test results and post-test results despite the observed and experienced difficulties.