Using a Hand Puppet to Increase Storytelling Skill

M. Nur Hakim

, Zuriyati

, Saifur Rohman

Doctoral Student at the Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia

Faculty of Language and Art, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Teaching Media, Hand Puppet, Folklores, Storytelling Skill, Comprehension of Stories

Abstract: This research is aimed at enhancing students’ storytelling skill through a medium of hand a puppet. Media

play important roles in increasing students’ skills in storytelling. One of such media that grabs students’

attention in teaching storytelling in elementary school is hand puppet. A hand puppet is a medium of

teaching aid in developing contents of folklores. Even some researchers have conducted lots of study related

to a hand puppet in order to increase students’ creativity in their learning. The method used is action

research comprising four stages, i.e. planning, action, observation, and reflection. Data gathering is done

through observation, interview, and tests. Data obtained from observation and interview is analyzed

qualitatively, while data taken from results of a test are analyzed through both descriptive and quantitative

methods. The findings indicate that there is improvement in students’ skills of storytelling based on their

ability to comprehend the contents of stories, understanding meaning of stories, intonation, expressions, and

the use of media. The improvement can also be seen from their motivation and self-conidence. The results

of learning or the average score in each cycle are 55.5 for cycle 1, 63.4 for cycle 2, and 71.4 for cycle 3.

Therefore, it can be implied that this research has encouraged students to increase their interest and skills in

storytelling, especially stories derived from folklores or local traditional stories. It is hoped that It can also

build the students’ character value which can be implemented in a real life.

1 INTRODUCTION

Teaching literature subject in elementary school is

essential because it is intended to increase students’

ability to appreciate works of literature and the

students can convey ideas both in written and

spoken (Sumayasa, Marheini, & Dantes, 2015). One

of teaching materials in the literature subject which

is essential to be delivered to students is storytelling.

By teaching storytelling in literature subject, teacher

and elementary students are facilitated to preserve

folklores or local traditional stories. It can be the art

of learning to help the students understand the lesson

(Lawren & Paige, 2016).

Storytelling is an activity related to delivery of

oral stories from a certain generation to another

generation by words of mouth (Lockett, 2011;

Hodge., et al., 2002) to strengthen social traditions

in their society (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).

According to Bietti, Tilston, & Bangerter (2018), it

is revealed that storytelling is the center of activities

to spread cultures from generation to generation.

This argument is supported by Bruner (in Lombardo

& Damiano, 2012) which states that activities of

storytelling function as a tool to pass down values in

a culture, so that they can be understood and

implemented properly in a society.

Teaching storytelling at schools gives students

opportunity to practice with their imagination and

creativity (Robertson & Good, 2005) while

developing a story. Teaching storytelling can also be

regarded as delivering information to audience and

improving students’ verbal language (Lockett,

2011). In addition, storytelling can increase literacy

in a particular culture (Miller & Pennycuff, 2008)

and improve linguistic ability (Abdulla, 2012).

However, one of Madrasah schools at

Bulukumba Regency had difficulties because the

students were not capable of telling traditional

stories well. Their difficulties were especially due to

their inability to tell traditional stories appropriately,

which could be seen through words produced.

Apparently, the did not acquire enough vocabulary,

besides their facial expressions seemed to be flat.

For these reasons, the researcher has decided to

implement a hand puppet in teaching storytelling by

Hakim, M., Zuriyati, . and Rohman, S.

Using a Hand Puppet to Increase Storytelling Skill.

DOI: 10.5220/0008997802830288

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Education, Language and Society (ICELS 2019), pages 283-288

ISBN: 978-989-758-405-3

283

making use of a hand puppet as a solution to

problems faced by students.

The use of a hand puppet draws so much

students’ attention, so that they like to engage in

storytelling, which gives solution to their problems

dealing with storytelling. A hand puppet can

generate students’ imagination, leading to the

increase in vocabulary as they become more

productive telling a story through their own

imagination. Also, hands movements of a puppet

help students practice telling a story with facial

expressions. This is in line with Synovitz’s view (in

Pitre, et al. 2007), as it says that the use of a hand

puppet in learning gives students chances to express

themselves and to increase their motivation.

In general, students like or even love a puppet,

since the characters of a puppet entertain those who

play a puppet for themselves and for their audience,

besides building their characters more effectively

(Yulianti & Latief, 2016). By getting involved in

playing a puppet, students become more active in

their learning activities (Maharani, 2016), while at

the same time this puppet becomes a medium to

show their comprehension in studying literature

subject, nature, and social relationship (Korošec,

2012). We can conclude that a hand puppet

functions as a medium which makes students

involved in the process of telling a story more

confidently by expressing their ideas and mastering

the whole story while performing in front of the

classroom.

Some research shows that students' success in

telling a story is as a result of using a teaching aid or

media. Nonetheless, there is still relatively small

amount of using a hand puppet in telling folklores or

local traditional stories. It is why through this article;

the writer tries to investigate more deeply about the

students implementing a hand puppet to increase

story telling skills in an elementary school. Some

previous research discusses the study of aspects in

using stories during learning process (Casey, Erkut,

Ceder, & Young, 2008) within context of geometry

subject through mysteries and contexts of a

collaborative story telling through a true story

(Chang, 2010). On the other hand, Escobar-Chaves,

et al. (2010) study the use of a puppet as a

performance among family members to minimize

their watching television.

Having said that, this research is mainly aimed at

increasing student’s storytelling skill through media

of a hand puppet. Specifically, there are two goals

needed to achieve, firstly to see the process of

implementing a hand puppet, and secondly to see the

improvement of students’ storytelling skills.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Story or folklore telling gives its emphasis on

creativity and mastery of characters (Rifà‐ Valls,

2011), because characters are important element

inside a story, which influences the imagination of

audience (Yang, 2011). Thus, the role of teacher in

teaching storytelling has to emphasize on students

learning while playing, in order to urge students to

find new knowledge according to their own ages or

ability.

Another important aspect is that story telling

functions as a form of communication between

teacher and students by telling their experience,

knowledge, and comprehension to explore various

ideas (Skouge & Rao, 2009; Savvidou, 2010). Direct

interaction between teacher and students during the

implementation of storytelling influences student’s

ability to improve the capacity of their imagination

by sharing and experiencing a story together (Göttel,

2011). Plots in a story or folklore are imagination

expressed through language (Parkinson, 2010)

blended with movements and facial expressions

(Liang, et al. 2015).

A hand puppet is an artificial teaching aid which

has been used as communication media during

learning process since so many years ago (Pitre, et

al. 2007). The use of a hand puppet as teaching

media at elementary schools is still popular

nowadays. The use of hand puppet is often used

until now because puppet is not only used as a media

to learn but also an oject to play for children

(Hartwig, 2014). A main character presented

through a hand puppet contains various movements

supporting attractive illustrations in teaching, but it

can be easily implemented by students themselves.

The students can tell a story in accordance with its

plot using hand puppet as it can be a media to

interact (Epstaein, 2008), therefore it makes the

students easier to tell the ideas of a story based on

their imagination.

An important thing to consider to make their

performance run smoothly is that students must

prepare themselves thoroughly, especially in terms

of preparation in playing a puppet, because it

requires good techniques, in both hand movements

and a style of a character selected (Luo, et al., 2011).

Skills to move a hand according to a certain plot is

indeed fundamental in playing a hand puppet, as it is

a determining factor in a storytelling. This is also

why before performing a hand puppet, students need

to do some effective basic training, which actually

can be done easily amongst students themselves in

their own groups. When students find themselves

ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society

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able to master contents of a story together with the

harmonious movements, they are allowed to perform

their puppets in front of the classroom.

3 METHODOLOGY

This research was conducted in one of Madrasah

schools in Bulukumba Regency, to Grade 3

elementary students. The procedures applied are

action research, by referring to action research

model developed by Kemmis and Mc. Taggart (in

Hopkins, 1993) comprising: planning, action,

observation, and reflection, where there are 18

students involved.

Data gathering was accomplished through

observation, interview, and a test. First, observation

data were gathered by making use of observation

sheets taken during the implementation of action

research, whereas the interview was completed

through accurate information obtained according to

the focus of research. Then, the interview was

conducted according to the guidelines by adjusting

to the related research being conducted. Finally, the

third data were gathered by administering student’s

storytelling tests. The tests given were in order to

see their progress during action research. Indicators

in scoring storytelling tests include: (1) contents; (2)

comprehension of a story; (3) voice; (4) intonation;

(5) facial expressions; and (6) the use of media (or a

hand puppet). The Indicators in scoring are

according to the ability of the elementary student’s

level required to achieve. Qualitative research was

carried out through data coding derived from

interviews. While the data from the results of

storytelling tests were analyzed quantitatively

through descriptive statistical processes. The

students’ average scores were used to give

descriptions of student’s storytelling skills achieved

by using hand puppet media.

4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Findings

4.1.1 Cycle 1

The first step carried out in this research is planning,

which was done by designing lesson plans of

storytelling through puppet media by adapting the

materials according to the problems faced by

students. Thus, the design was begun through the

selections of stories and media of a hand puppet

according to the contents of stories. The second step

was based on the implementation of teaching

scenario prepared. The researcher was involved

directly during teaching and observation.

Unfortunately, at first, students looked clumsy

holding a puppet while telling a story, and as a

consequence the story seemed to be unstructured.

The third step was reflection, which was done to fix

the problems or students’ weaknesses during action

research. The findings indicate that during reflection

of cycle 1, there seem to be some problems because

students still do not get enough practices. Another

problem is that hand puppet still does not appeal to

the students’ taste. This can be the reasons why the

result based on descriptive statistic process of

storytelling test in cycle 1, is just average scores of

55.5, with minimum scores of 50, and its maximum

scores of 67.

4.1.2 Cycle 2

Cycle 2 applied the same procedure as it was done in

cycle 1, which began the first step with planning,

except for the revision of planning in cycle 2,

especially in its teaching scenario. The puppet media

selected in cycle 2 was by making use of a character

of a parrot hand puppet. In this teaching scenario,

students formed some groups in order to train

themselves in their own groups before performing in

front of the classroom. The results indicate that

student’s interest in hand puppet media gradually

grow. It is shown through their enthusiasm while

practicing story telling in each group. Nonetheless,

students’ facial expressions and intonation are still

disappointing while telling a story, although they

manage to increase their scores. Based on

descriptive statistic of the result of storytelling test

in cycle 2, their average scores are 63.4, with

minimum scores of 50, and maximum scores of 70.

4.1.3 Cycle 3

Just like the previous cycles, the first step in cycle 3

began with planning, so its planning was the result

of developing teaching scenarios from the two

previous cycles based on the reflection. The design

in this teaching scenario focused on students’ time

management by stressing the importance of

practicing using puppet media while preparing their

storytelling. To anticipate problems related to facial

expressions, the researcher designed a teaching

model by adapting between the contents of stories

with the relevant facial expressions. Based on the

observation, apparently students feel enthusiastic

Using a Hand Puppet to Increase Storytelling Skill

285

following each step during learning process,

especially because the use of a hand puppet is quite

exciting, so that it is enjoyable and easy to

understand. This brings good impact as based on

descriptive statistic; the results of storytelling test in

cycle 3 are the average scores of 71.4, with 63

minimum scores and, 77 maximum scores.

4.2 Discussion

Based on the results of the research, it shows that

puppet media or a hand puppet is able to improve

students’ storytelling skills. The improvement in

students’ storytelling skill is shown through the

teaching process in this action research. During the

beginning of the implementation of a hand puppet,

students look awkward while playing the puppet,

and sometimes they are not quite interested in the

hand puppet media. Consequently, in cycle 2 and

cycle 3, the researcher tries to fix the problem and

improve the teaching scenarios. The development of

learning scenario is conducted based on the result of

problems identification faced by the students in each

cycle through observation and interview. Few steps

carried out to overcome the problems in learning are

to create group works, to practice storytelling, to

choose interesting story, to use puppets which are

favoured by the students. It will be not difficult for

the students to develop their story using appropriate

puppet and story. Over all, the students’ ability

increase in the aspect of storytelling,

comprehension, intonation, expression, and media.

The results of the observation indicate that

students become more confident and master the plots

of stories better. Students’ improvements in their

confidence and motivation are demonstrated when

students are enthusiastically raising their hands to

tell a story in front of the classroom. The findings

are in line with the concept stated by Remer and

Tzuriel (2015) which states that the use of a hand

puppet in teaching literature subject can enhance

students’ creativity, interaction, motivation, self-

confidence, and stimulus that make them become

more active in telling a story (Keogh, et al. 2008).

Hence, the use of hand puppet in learning has a

significant role to increase the ability to tell a story

in the level of elementary students.

The findings from students’ interviews

demonstrate that students feel attracted in using

puppet media or a hand puppet to tell a story. The

following are transcripts of students’ interviews:

[iya pak, boneknya lucu-lucu, karena sama

dengan isi ceritanya]

Yes, sir. The puppet that I use is so interesting

because it is relevant to the contents of story.

[jadi gampang Pak bercerita, karena pakai

boneka]

The contents of story are easy to remember when

I use hand puppet media.

[boneka burung beonya, sama dengan ceritanya

Ambo Upe, jadi gampangka ingat jalan ceritanya

karena ada boneka saya liat]

The use of a hand puppet with a parrot character

is appropriate media, because with the story titled

Ambo Upe and a Parrot, it facilitates me in

delivering my story.

Some tape scripts from the results of interviews

reveal that hand puppet media facilitate students in

delivering their stories. It is because hand puppet

media used in storytelling are adapted with the

contents of story, such as the use of a hand puppet

with characters of a buffalo and a parrot. The

findings are in agreement with the concept stated by

Pitre, et al. (2007) which suggests that the use of a

hand puppet in teaching literature subject helps the

process of communication and helps them to

comprehend the literature subject related to social

relationship (Korošec, 2012). Furthermore, the use

of hand media can motivate students to develop their

ideas and creativities in learning process (Lowe &

Matthew, 2000). It is in line with the findings of this

study describing that through the use of hand puppet,

the students can develop the plot of the story and

their creativity moving hands, therefore it will be

interested to be watched.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Based on findings, it indicates that the efforts to

improve students’ storytelling skill are successful,

by considering the scores that increase. Actually, the

improvement is obvious in terms of its process and

results. By looking at the process, students are able

to improve their storytelling skills by using a hand

puppet, and they can show facial expression relevant

to stories, as well as understand the contents of the

stories. In addition, students’ self-confidence

improve because they are motivated to perform in

front of the classroom telling a story. The results

indicate that students’ progress in cycle 1 is only

average scores of 55.5, but in cycle 2 students’

average scores are 63.4, and eventually in cycle 3

students’ average scores are 71.4. To sum up, hand

puppet media give positive impact in increasing

students’ storytelling skills. Moreover, the research

findings give implication toward the development of

ICELS 2019 - International Conference on Education, Language, and Society

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learning literature and the students’ understanding of

character values through the stories conveyed and

heard.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The scholarship is funded by LPDP KEMENKEU

RI.

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