FINAL PROJECT OF SEMINAR ON TEFL: THE MURDER SCRIPT

The MURDER Script

A.    Description of The MURDER Script

A number of cooperative learning techniques have been developed and one of those techniques is the MURDER Script. The MURDER Script technique, which is done in pair, enables the students to collaborate and perform the thinking tasks or summarizing and elaborating on reading material. This technique requires the students work together to achieve learning objectives that they could not achieve individually during learning process. Students are given the responsibility of creating a learning community where all students participate in significant and meaningful ways rather than working as individuals in competition with the others in the classroom.

The word “MURDER” in this technique’s name is actually an acronym for each step of the process that is done in the MURDER Script. The word “MURDER” stands for “Mood”, “Understand”, “Recall”, “Detect/ Digest”, “Elaborate/ Expand”, and “Review”. All of those six words represent the steps that are going to be done in this technique. Here are the explanations of the steps in the MURDER Script:

1. “Mood” is the first step in which the student should attempt to find a time and place that set a positive mood. This will allow the student to study more effectively, because an individual will usually not be able to study effectively if he or she is in an environment that is distracting or just generally irritating.
2. “Understand” is second step in which the student marks any information that he or she does not understand by circling it, highlighting it, or simply drawing a question mark next to it.
3. “Recall” is the third step in which the student should attempt to paraphrase and note everything that he or she leaned from the section that he or she just went over.
4. “Detect/digest” is the fourth step in which the student should go back over each topic that he or she marked earlier and read again that material in an attempt to understand the material better.
5. “Elaborate/expand” is the fifth step in which the student should go back and start asking and attempting to answer questions about the specific topics that he or she still does not understand even after completing the detect/ digest step.
6. “Review” is the last step in which all of the material that the student actually does understand in order to refresh that material in the student’s mind.

B.     Language Skills or Components that Can be Taught

The MURDER script technique can be collaborated into and can be used to teach all of the language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. This technique is appropriate to be applied for the students in Senior High School.

C.    Teaching Procedure of The MURDER Script

In applying this technique during teaching-learning process, teacher has already implemented all of language skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Here are the steps in using the MURDER Script technique:

1.      The teacher asks the students to make groups in pair. If the students have got their pairs, then the teacher gives a reading passage that has been divided into sections. (The teacher can do this or students can use natural breaks in the passage, such as chapter sections.)

2.      Each student starts to read the first section silently. (Implementing reading skill).

3.      After the students have finished read the reading passage, the teacher ask the students in each pairs to summarize what they have read to their partner alternately. The students convey the key ideas of the section without looking down at the text. (Implementing speaking skill)

4.      The other partner looks at the text, detects any errors, omissions, or unnecessary information in the summary and discusses with the recaller. (Implementing listening skill)

The roles of recaller and detector rotate for the next section.

5.      Then, both students elaborate on the idea in the section. Types of elaborations include:

·         connections with others things the students have studied,

·         links between the section and students’ lives,

·         additions of relevant information not included in the section,

·         agreements with the views or ideas expressed in the section,

·         reaction to the section such as surprise, gladness, or anger,

·         applications of the ideas and information,

·         questions, either about things not understood or questions generated by the sections.

6.      When the entire text has been completed, the pair combines their thoughts and then they construct overall summary of the entire text. (Implementing writing skill)