Enhancing Malay language literacy proficiency through collaborative teaching approach

Abstract

Collaborative teaching is very common in the western countries. However, that is not the case in Malaysia. Therefore, this study intended to apply the collaborative teaching approach to improve the Malay language literacy proficiency of 24 students focusing on Malay reading literacy and hoping to increase the level of 3M among the students for the challenges of the 21st century. The 3R mastery (reading, writing, and arithmetic) problems in primary school are worrying all parties. If this is not resolved at the earlier stage, other teachers later will be burdened in the process of teaching and learning. Therefore, teachers need to implement remedial, reinforcement, and enrichment to ensure that students have mastered the basic skills of 3M. Implementing remedial, reinforcement and enrichment is not an easy task. This is because the teacher should identify the student's literacy level and integrate with the Primary School Standard Curriculum (KSSR) activities. The number of students in one class complicates the implementation above. Moreover, students are separated or grouped according to the level of proficiency in a classroom, causing the teacher difficulties to monitor students with good behavior and more likely to teach students without regard to distinction. In conclusion, students who have not mastered will not learn and at the same time, they will not master the basic 3M. Both LINUS and remedial teachers need to collaborate through teaching as one of the problemsolving steps to students' 3M mastery. Data collection methods consisted of the pre and posttests, observations and analysis of the work documents by the 24 students. The study found an increase of 68.42% in the level of Malay language literacy of the pupils through collaborative teaching approach. There was an increasing interest in readings of 36.84% after the intervention. In addition, this collaborative teaching approach helped the teachers in the implementation of the remedial, reinforcement, and enrichment and increase students' 3M mastery. Through the interview, teachers agreed that collaborative teaching approach can improve pupils in the Malay language reading literacy.