Improvement of Elementary School Students’ Competence of Reading Comprehension through Generative Learning Model

Reading comprehension is a competence that everyone has to possess. It can broaden human’s insight in that we will not be left behind as time goes so fast. One of the teachers’ efforts as to enhance the reading comprehension competence is to apply a learning model that is able to explore a lot of students’ potency. The learning model considered to be capable of developing the students’ creative-thinking is a generative model. Based on the result of data analysis, it is known that the process of reading-comprehension learning runs well in full activity of students. The students’ tendency to the learning of reading comprehension using such a model is positive in the means of 75.10%. The generative learning model succeeds in enhancing the students’ competence of reading comprehension. The means of score before the treatment is only 53.80%, whereas after the treatment it gets 72% in which the index gain is 0.41 and it is categorized into mediocre. There is difference of reading-comprehension competence between the use of generative learning model and conventional model. It is proven by t -test, indicating that t- observed is higher than t- table . Therefore, the generative learning model is effective and reasonable to use for the teachers in the improvement of stduents’ reading-comprehension competence. The basic assumption of generative learning model is that knowledge should be constructed within the students’ mind.


INTRODUCTION
The human resource with high quality, in globalization era, is nowadays absolutely needed. High-qualified human beings are just evoked by the right education. The education can greatly contribute to solve various problems the human beings have. It gets along with Naisbitt in Syaodih (2007) (Sukmara, 2007). personality, character-building, and lifeskill to be independent and continuing education to the next levels (Syaodih, 2007). After all, the students need to be provided through a lot of knowledges and suffecient attitude in order to make them capable of living amongst people in high status. Those components can be accomodated through activities of meaningful learning and other ones, for example, an independent activity, reading done by the students continuously.
Reading is one aspect of language proficiencies that needs to be developed.  (Firdaus, 2007). One of the models supposed to be capable of developing the students' thinking-creativity is a generative learning.
The generative learning is a model focusing more on actively integrating the new knowledges using knowledge the students have before (Osborne and Wittrock, 1995  Weiner (1985) states that reading comprehension is a complex process happening to a reader. In such a process, the reader tries to empower all of mental  (Trianto, 2007). Therefore, students need to give some various problems in order to possess understanding and skill of applying a lot of knowledge, proficiency, and values in the real life.
In the process of -teachinglearning, teachers do not only transfer knowledge to their students, but also should give them chance to develop and construct capacity of knowledge and their ideas by solving some problems and by cooperating with each other to create social and intellectual relationship for their life.
One of the most important principles is that the teachers do not only provide konwledge to their students, but have to create a good learning atmosphere as well, so that they are able to construct knowledge in their mind for themselves (Joyce & Weil, 2009).
The teachers may give their students a chance to find out or to apply the students' ideas, and guide them to be aware of using their own method of learning. They should hence offer them an exact way to encourage them to deeply understand learning concepts. In addition, Joyce and Weil (2009)  The basic assumption of generative learning model is that knowledge should be constructed within the students' mind.
Brain is not a blank slate in which the students passively process and accept new information coming from outside (Osborne dan Wittrock, 1995). This process occures because cognitive conversion is just lasting as conceptions understood by the students before are processed through imbalance in comrehension of the new information. If a hesitation happens to them because of any contradiction between new information and the previous one, in actuality the learning process is going on to them.
Hence, in such a learning model the students are claimed to actively construct their knowledges, meanwhile the teachers act as a stimulator, facilitator, and mediator providing a good way for the students' learning. In this matter, Osborne and Wittrock (1995)  In this case, Osborne and Witrock (1995)  is not only put and saved, but also connected to the long-term memory. The idea, after the connection is operated, is no longer isolated in the short-term memory but come into and saved in the long-term memory, so that it can be used for overcoming a lot of problems or for constructing solution when necessary.
After all, the generative learning can function as a way of detecting a thinking pattern, understadning a problem, and solving a particular problem in the process of teaching and learning. The generative learning model focuses more on scaffolding-a step by a step help in learning and solving a problem (Nur, 2002). A help given to a learner is firstly procedural and structural and next learning responsibility is taken over by the learner. In order words, he or she has to learn for his or her will in order to solve and overcome a problem as he or she has learnt. A teacher hence has to execute his or her function as a facilitator, motivator, and director of learning in that such a learning model can succeed properly.
In addition, Osborne and Witrock (1995) classify the generative learning into four steps: (1) the preliminary step, (2) the focus step, (3) the challenge step, and (4) the application step. The points of them can be seen below:

a. The Preliminary Step
This first step is also called as an exploration or introductory step. At this stage, a teacher has to guide his or her students to explore knowledge, ideas, beginning conception they have already got before. The beginning conception can be used as a basis or turning point of the learning program that will be conducted.
To lead them to do exploration, he or she can give them stimuli, such as questioning, problems, giving assignment relating to conception they will have to learn. The stimuli are given them in order to enhance their motivation and anxiety to those conception they will have to get.

c. The Challenge Step
This third step is also called as introduction to conception. The students, after finding several things at small groups, decide to make conclusion. They are asked to present their findings in larger discussion group, a class discussion. At this occassion, the teacher give them a chance to share their opinion with each other, so that a student can compare his or her opinion with another one.This sharing idea is surely based on some arguments, findings, facts, and data obtained by them at the previous steps. Therefore, they, at this satge, practice expressing opinion, ideas, critics, and capability of debating based on evidence, facts, or logical reasons.

d. The Application Step
At this step, it is necessary for the students to manage to solve problems relating to the real world using a new concept they have already got (Wena, 2009:180). Giving question, home assignment, and project-based tasks are BAHTERA: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, Volume 19 Nomor 1 Januari 2020 http://journal.unj.ac.id/unj/index.php/bahtera/ P-ISSN : 0853-2710 E-ISSN : 2540-8968 22 BAHTERA : Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, Volume Januari 2020 forms of solving problems taken by the teachers at this stage. The given questions begin with the simpler to the most complex one. This way is done in order that the students do not undergo frustration when failing to answer the given questions.
They, by working on the simpler questions, have good opportunity to answer them correctly, so that their motivation will be increasingly higher. Giving questions is intended to increase their understanding to the new conceptions they have already learnt. At this stage, the teacher has to guide, lead, and encourage them to solve the problems using the right concepts. So, it is expected that they can overcome the problems, verbally express them in right ways, criticize prblem-solving of another group, assess problem-solving, and make logical conclusion. The new concepts, through such a learning activity, can be constructed and saved in their long-term memory. Thus, the generative model, in the framework of enhancing the students' creativity of learning, is one of the learning models that the teachers may select to get success of their teaching.

Hypothesis Test
The  Thus, it is necessary to encourage the students and make them aware of how important the reading activity is, especially to go against the rapid development of science and technology. All educator is claimed to think about exact ways of how they have high awareness of reading, since by keeping reading in continuous and regular manners they will be able to add vocabulary words and enlarge their thinking-insight. They, by consequence, will not be isolated in this competitive life.Some various synergy efforts as to improve our students' reading interest need to be actualized by all side. They need to think the exact ways of enhancing students' reading interest in high frequency and intensity. Colaboration among teachers, lecturers, educational, principals, government, students' parents, librarians, and students should be realized to enhance a reader community. The teachers, in other words, are expected to construct good literacy, so that the students have awareness, will, attention, and motivation to read. All side should go hand in hand to develop interest, habit, and capability of reading. Eventually they will be smart generation and be able to be the best leaders to this country.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
The generative learning is one of learning models that the teachers can select in the process of learning and teaching. It is important for them to conduct. The model can enhance activity, creativity, and thinking of students to solve the problem relating to the new concept they have to learn. The students' competence of reading comprehension, through a series of learning activity focusing more on integration of the new concept to the BAHTERA: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, Volume 19 Nomor 1 Januari 2020 http://journal.unj.ac.id/unj/index.php/bahtera/ P-ISSN : 0853-2710 E-ISSN : 2540-8968 33 BAHTERA : Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, Volume Januari 2020 concept the students already have before, is significantly increasing.When the learning-teaching process happens, the students are not passive receivers of various knowledge but active and work to construct the meaningful understanding of any information they get based on the knowledge they have already had.
A teacher, if he or she will apply the generative learning model for the reading learning, has to possess a skill of good questioning to arrouse his or her students' thinking-creativity of solving problems and finding new concepts. In addition, he or she should have high patience to accept some various ideas and questions. In this case the teacher cannot be in position of correcting and blaming their students' opinion, until they themselves find a new concept they learn.
He or she has to have a capability of motivating them in order that they will be able to actively get involved in exploring and finding out new concepts they have already learnt.