Conducive Classroom Environment 200

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 classrooms 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 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
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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 students behaviour.
( as citied in Darch & Kameenui, 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 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 students 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
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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 teachers desk. Teachers desk
are usually placed in front of the classroom in majority of Malaysian primary school
classrooms. I in the opinion that placing the teachers 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 teachers 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.

References.

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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+commu
nication...-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. & Kameenui, E. J. ( 2004). Instructional classroom management: A proactive
approach to behaviour management. ( 2nd 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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