Abstrak
This study aimed to improve the reading comprehension skills of ninth-grade students, especially in identifying the main idea and summarizing the text by using the GIST (Generating Interactions between Schemata and Text) strategy. This strategy was selected to train students to focus on the core information from the reading and reorganize it in a more concise and meaningful form. This research was a Classroom Action Research (PTK) conducted in two cycles, consisting of two meetings. The research subjects were 30 students of class IX-2 of SMP Negeri 08 Tarakan in the 2023/2024 academic year. Data collection was conducted through two main instruments, namely reading comprehension tests and observation sheets used to monitor student and teacher activities during the learning process. In the first cycle, the results discovered that only 22% of students reached the Minimum Completion Criteria (KKM) score. Although teacher participation and performance showed improvement, there were still significant challenges, including students' difficulties in understanding the steps of the GIST strategy, low involvement in group discussions, and limited time in implementing activities. Therefore, improvements were made in the second cycle by providing a more detailed explanation of the strategy and using more interactive learning activities. The results in the second cycle illustrated a significant improvement. Significant improvement can be seen from the increase in students who reached the KKM, from 22% to 63%. Student participation also increased from 80% to 96%, and teacher performance from 85% to 96%. This implies that the GIST strategy is effective in improving learning outcomes and processes. The findings show that the implementation of the GIST strategy can improve students' reading comprehension, particularly in terms of identifying the main idea and summarizing the text effectively. The implication of this study indicates that the GIST strategy can be used as one of the effective alternative approaches for teachers in improving students' reading skills at the junior high school level.