Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension of Descriptive Texts through Mind Mapping

Abstract

Reading comprehension requires students to understand textual information and organize relationships among main ideas, supporting details, and text structure. This classroom action research investigated the use of mind mapping to improve tenth-grade students’ comprehension of descriptive texts. Participants were 26 students from Class X IPS at Madrasah Aliyah Islamiyah Pontianak during the 2024/2025 academic year. The study employed Burns’ action research framework across two cycles of planning, action, observation, and reflection. Data were collected through reading comprehension tests, an observation checklist, and field notes, and analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic summaries. Results showed progressive improvement, with mean scores increasing from 57.5 in the preliminary study to 70.8 in Cycle I and 81.7 in Cycle II. The proportion of students achieving mastery also increased from 26.9% (7/26) to 57.7% (15/26) and 84.6% (22/26), respectively. Improvements in Cycle II followed more explicit teacher modeling, vocabulary support, guided practice, and individual mind-map construction. These findings suggest that mind mapping can support students in selecting, organizing, and connecting information when comprehending descriptive texts. However, improvements cannot be attributed exclusively to mind mapping, as repeated practice and additional instructional support may have contributed. Given the single-class, two-cycle design, the findings are context-specific. Overall, mind mapping is a potentially useful strategy when accompanied by appropriate scaffolding and guided practice.