1. Conducive Classroom Environment 2009
What is conducive classroom environment? Conducive classroom is a pivotal
linchpin in promoting a favourable mood or atmosphere in a classroom to ensure an
effective teaching and learning process to take place. Fraser ( 1994, 1998a.) found
that results of studies conducted over the past 30 years evidently showed that
students learning is significantly determined by a quality classroom environment ( as
citied by Dorman, 2002 in an article “ Classroom environment research: Progress
and possibilities”). This supports the fact that students learn better in a positive
classroom environment in the school. One of the integral feature in creating
conducive classroom environment is a good classroom organization and
management.
First and foremost, teacher plays the role of a manager in the classroom.
Effective management skills is important to manage a primary school classroom
properly. Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar in his article “ Role of teacher as classroom manager”,
states that;
“Classroom management is the orchestration of classroom life: planning
curriculum, organizing procedures and resources, arranging the environment
to maximize efficiency, monitoring student progress, anticipating potential
problems.”
Hence, the teacher as a manager should seriously take into account classroom
organization such as planning the lessons as well as the classroom’s physical
arrangement. Wong and Wong advocates that organization helps teachers to keep
on schedule and eliminates chaos in the classroom( as citied in Charles, 2011, p.
106). During the school based experience, I found out that one of the teacher whom
I observed lacked proper planning in terms of lesson planning. During lesson, the
teacher drew some pictures on the blackboard to give a clearer picture to her
students regarding a particular subject. However, I realised that drawing on the
blackboard consumes time and the student grew restless while waiting for their
teacher to complete her drawings. Hence the students were talking to their friends
and made commotion in the classroom. The teacher took some time to settle her
class. Therefore I would like to suggest that, before entering the class, the teacher
should be well prepared to teach the lesson by preparing relevant teaching aids such
as charts, visual aids, and many more. Preparing lesson plan is important as it gives
the teacher the opportunity to weigh the various options available and to make his or
her choices before the lesson is carried out in the classroom ( Chitravelu,
Sithamparam & The, 2005, p.26). In a study report on the factors contributing to
classroom effectiveness found out that a high number of respondents agreed that
lessons should be planned adequately because it helped them to teach better
( Ministry of Education of Thimpu, 2001). In light with the above findings, I think that
it would be better if teachers prepare beforehand teaching materials such as charts,
flash cards, picture cards and even make full use of overhead projectors installed by
the Malaysian government ( if there is any). Besides that, I would strongly
recommend the teachers to prepare a wide array of interesting materials because it
will help to keep the student engaged in the lesson. When the students are engaged
in the lesson, there would be less behavioural problems and thus this will warrant to
a conducive environment in the classroom. This point is supported by Kounin who
believes that smooth lesson flow keeps the students’ attention without frequent
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2. Conducive Classroom Environment 2009
interruptions or distractions, there is a less opportunity for off-task behaviour to occur
( as citied in Larrivee, 2009, p. 39).
In addition, organizing a classroom requires a good time management skills.
Jones found that massive time wasting was the main characteristic of less-
productive classes ( as citied in Charles, 2011, p. 121). As mentioned earlier, it is
oblivious that lesson plans plays a vital role. Smooth flow in teaching or transition
periods during activities will ensure that precious time is not wasted as the time
allocation for each subject in primary schools are limited to 30 minutes minimum.
Brophy (1979) and Good ( 1982) believe that there is a positive correlation between
engaged time, appropriate academic activities, and high achievement ; thus
classrooms must be structured to promote student engagement in learning ( as citied
by Chai, 2005 in an article “ Classroom management issues in information and
communication technology ( ICT)- mediated learning environments: back to the
basics”). When planning an activity, the teacher should take into consideration the
right amount of time required. For example, if too little or too much time is allocated
for a particular activity, the lesson therefore would not achieve the desired objective
and worse the situation might create chaos in the classroom. This shows the
importance of time management in planning a lesson.
The second aspect in creating a conducive classroom environment is by
having an attractive physical classroom environment. During the school based
experience, I observed that most of the classroom are equipped with notice boards
where the teachers displayed their students works and also put up some colourful
charts, posters, diagrams, theme-based displays and materials that are informative
and attractive. Chitravelu, Sithamparam and Teh ( 2005) opine that physical
environment is important as an attractive classroom will foster effective learning ( p.
289). I recommend that the teachers prepare a small reading corner in the classroom
so that the students could benefit from it by reading books or relevant material during
their leisure time. Moreover, we could instil reading habits in the students indirectly.
Besides that, I also realised that the climate of the classroom I observed are very
hot and there were noise that affects the learners concentration to the teaching and
learning process. I would suggest that the teacher device activities that does not
require the students to shout loudly. Besides that, if the noise level interferes with
neighbouring classes, the teacher should consider interspersing student-centred
activities with phases of teacher-centredness ( Chitravelu, Shithamparam & Teh,
2005, p. 294-295). In addition, physical layout or seating arrangement in the
classroom is key feature in creating a conducive classroom environment. The
number of students in Malaysian classroom can range from thirty to fifty students,
therefore due to the large number of students, majority of the classrooms are setup
in rows. Lewis and Sugai (1996) points out that;
“ Changes in the organization and the physical arrangement of a
classroom can have a dramatic effects on student’s behaviour.”
( as citied in Darch & Kame’enui, 2004)
Hence the teacher could rearrange the desk arrangements into an open U-shaped
arrangement or a circle which encourages greater interaction ( Chitravelu,
Sithamparam, & Teh, 2005, p. 290). However, the teacher should arrange and adapt
the seating layout according to the activity and not stick to one seating plan
throughout the year. For example, if the activity requires group work, the desk could
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3. Conducive Classroom Environment 2009
be arranged in groups or pods or even ask the students to turn their chairs so that
they face the students behind them in rows (Chitravelu, Sithamparam, & Teh, 2005,
p. 290). Other furniture in the classroom such as rack and cupboard should be
arranged properly in a way that it does not obstruct the student’s view to the
blackboard or to the teacher teaching in the front of the classroom. This point is
supported by Nitsaisook and Anderson ( 1989) where they believe that furniture
should be arranged so that the students are oriented to the primary source of
information such as the teacher or audio-visual materials without disturbing the
classroom ( as citied by Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar ). I strongly believe that the government
should seriously take into consideration in reducing the number of students in a class
and the classroom space should be increased to permit effective teaching. Another
aspect that I would like to bring to light is the position of the teacher’s desk.
Teacher’s desk are usually placed in front of the classroom in majority of Malaysian
primary school classrooms. I in the opinion that placing the teacher’s desk in front of
the classroom is not very suitable as the teacher could not monitor students behavior
who are sitting far behind. I think that placing the teacher’s desk at the back of the
classroom is more suitable as the teacher could keep an eye on everything that is
happening in the classroom without the students knowledge. This is supported by
Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar who advocates that teachers should be able to see the students
at all times. Based on the points above, it can be seen that physical layout of a
classroom do play an important role in ensuring a conducive classroom environment
that fosters effective learning.
Classroom organization and management are pivotal features in producing a
conducive Malaysian primary school classroom. Creating a good classroom
ambience or atmosphere is not an impossible thing to do. Teachers should take the
initiative to strive to create a conducive environment for the benefit their students.
1466 words.
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4. Conducive Classroom Environment 2009
References.
Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar. Role of teacher as classroom manager. Retrieved on
September, 21, 2010 from http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-
bin/articles/index.pl?read=3491Charles, C. M. ( 2011). Building classroom discipline.
( 10th ed.). Boylston Street, Boston: Pearson Education.
Chai, C. S. ( 2005, December). Classroom management issues in information and
communication technology ( ICT)- mediated learning environments: back to the
basics. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia. Retrieved on September,
20, 2010, from
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Classroom+management+issues+in+information+and+
communication...-a0142339826
Chitravelu, N., Sithamparam, S. & Teh S. C. ( 2005). ELT Methodology: Principles
and Practice.( 2nd ed.). Shah Alam, Selangor: Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd.
Darch, C. B. & Kame’enui, E. J. ( 2004). Instructional classroom management: A
proactive approach to behaviour management. ( 2 nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Education.
Department of School Education, Ministry of Education Thimpu ( 2001). Factors
contributing to classroom effectiveness: a study report. Retrieved on September, 20,
2010,from
http://www.education.gov.bt/Publications/ClassRoom%20Effectiveness.pdf
Dorman, J. (2002, December). Classroom environment research: Progress and
possibilities. Queensland Journal of Educational Research, Vol.18 No. 2, p.112-140.
Larrivee, B. ( 2009). Authentic classroom management: Creating a learning
community and building reflective practice. ( 3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Education.
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