CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter
consists of background of the study, research question, hypothesis, objective
of the study, limitation of the study, significance of the study, and definition
of key terms.
1.1 Background of The Study
As International
language, English has became an important aspect in our daily live and also has
been important for the development of our education. English is learned in
every school in Indonesia
as foreign language, specially in the junior and senior high school as a compulsary
subject for the students. The purpose of teaching and learning English at
school is to give the students basic abilities about the paractice of language
skill.
In English,
there are four skills that must be mastered by the students, They are listening,
speaking, reading, and writing skills. But, for junior and senior high school, it
is still named and focussed on English subject. The teaching learning process
will be succesful when the aim of it can be reached, and it can be looked at by
the students’ result of their understanding related to the teachers’
information that is provided on learning English as students’ achievement. The
result of students’ learning can be seen by the score they got, and normally,
it is supported by students’ participation and behavior in the classroom.
Students’
participation in learning is influenced by physical
arrangement of classroom. The physical arrangement of your classroom can influence
your students’ behavior and learning
(Partin, 2009:2). There are some classroom physical arrangements can be done by
the teacher, they are the placement of desks, bookshelves, pencil sharpeners,
and cabinets can influence traffic flow, student interaction, as well as noise,
attention, or disruption levels but the single most important decision
influencing the physical classroom environment is the students’ seating
arrangement (Partin, 2009:3)
According to Doum in
McCorskey (1999) said that there is some reason to believe that these participation
patterns are related to student achievement in the natural environment. He found
that when college students were allowed free choice of seating, the students
choosing seats nearer the front obtained higher test scores than students
seated nearer the back. However, when students matched for previous achievement
were assigned seats, this pattern was only partially replicated.
Graham (Accessed 5th October 2011) “the
manner in which seats are arranged in the classroom significantly impacts the
quality of education. Seating arrangements have an equally profound effect on
the effectiveness of communication both between the teacher and students and
amongst the students themselves”.
Based on some
references above, It is clear that classroom physical arrangements specially seat arrangement
influence the result of students’ achievement, but it is not enough to prove
that opinion, because there are some other factors influencing on it. And after
seeing other opinion related to other factors on students achievement, it may
be so hard to judge the students’
achievement on learning English will always be good in the end of the study if
only emphezied for the classroom arrangements, especially students’ seat
arrangement between students who sit in front position and behind position.
Because
of these different opinions related to the factors influencing students’
achievement specially related to students’ sitting position, the reseacher
expects that it should be presented by the reseach in order to avoid and
minimize the effects of some assumption that “ Students’ Seat Arrangements
influences students’ prestation” so that, to reply this problem as the proof,
the resecher will try to make the research by the title “ The Influence of
Students’ Seat Arrangements to the Result
of Their English Learning at Tenth grade in
MAN 2 Pamekasan Academic years 2014/2015“
1.2 Research Question
Related to this research, the researcher tries to apply a research
questions they are:
1.
Does the students’ Seat
Arrangements influence the result of their English Learning?
1.3 Hypothesis
As the interim
answer, the research has hypothesis they are:
Ho. There is no influence
between students’ Seat Arrangements and the result of Emglish learning.
Ha. There is influence between
stuents’ Seat Arrangements and the result of English learning.
1.4 Objective of the Study
The objective of the study on this research is to know the influence of
students’ Seat Arrangements to the result of their English learning at Tenth grade in MAN 2
Pamekasan.
1.5 Limitation of the Study
This research is conducted at the tenth grade of MAN Pamekasan. And it is
focussed on influence of students’ Seat Arrangements to the result of their
English learning at Tenth grade in MAN 2 Pamekasan.
1.6 Significance of the Study
By conducting this research, the reseacrher greatly expects that the
findings will be useful for the readers, the teachers, the students, and the
researcher himself as the feedback of this study.
- The Readers
The researcher hopes that the findings in this study will be able to help
the readers to know the influence of students’ Seat arrangements to the result
of their English learning
- The Teachers
The researcher expects that the findings will give advantages for the
teachers especially the English teachers. So, they can know does the students’ Seat
arrangements influence the result of learning English or not?.
- The Students
The researcher
hopes that the findings in this research will be useful for the students who
want to know the influence of their Seat arrangementfor the result of leraning
English.
- The Researcher
As a reseacher, the writer really expects that the findings in this
research will help himself to give a specific information and better
understanding about the influence of students’ Seat arrangementfor the result
of learning English.
1.7 Definition of Key Term
To make this study clear to other researcher and to avoid in
misunderstanding on this study, this research has several key terms which are
mainly discussed and they have significant roles to clarify.
1.
Influence
Influence
typically means to affect others in a way to have them see a certain point or
action and react upon it.
2.
Classroom management
the provisions
and procedures necessary to establish and maintain an environment in which
instruction and learning can occur Position
3.
Seat arrangement
Seat arrangement
are a main part in a teacher’s plan for classroom management.
4.
Result
is the final consequence of a sequence
of actions or events expressed qualitatively or quantitatively.
CHAPTER
II
REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this chapter,
the writer would try to classify several theories concerning with classroom management, the influence of
classroom management, classroom arrangement, kinds of seating arrangement, the
importances of seating arrangement, the impacts of seat lacation, the front of
the class vs the back of the class, the definition of achievement, and factors
influencing on achievement.
2.1 Classroom Management
Classroom
management is important aspect done by the teacher in teaching and learning
processes. Kratochwill said Classroom management, often called classroom
discipline. And also Evertson and Weinstein in Tom Kratochwill said classroom
management has two distinct purposes: “It not only seeks to establish
and sustain an orderly environment so students can engage in meaningful
academic learning, it also aims to enhance student social and moral growth” (Accesed 25th November 2011).
Maryellen Weimer says definition for
classroom management: “the provisions and procedures necessary to establish and
maintain an environment in which instruction and learning can occur” (Accesed
25th November 2011). Lisa Rodriguez, Ph.D. said that Elements of
classroom management vary. In researching this topic, it is clear that a common
understanding for the term management might be useful. For this purpose,
management refers to issues of supervision, refereeing, facilitating, and even
academic discipline.
In addition classroom
management is defined the classroom management refers to a process that
teachers guarantee the classroom instruction, the order, the effectiveness,
deal with some matters, and arrange the time and space, and some other factors,
and the purpose of classroom management is to deal with student’s misbehavior.
And also it is defined the classroom management refers to managing the student,
studying in classroom, the teacher and student’s behavior and the activity; it
is the way teachers organize what goes on in the classroom. It contributes
directly to the efficiency of teaching and learning as the most effective
activities can be made almost useless if the teacher does not organize them efficiently
(Accesed 25th September 2011).
A weel managed
classroom can provides an exciting and dynamic learning experience for everyone
envolved. So that classroom management or classroom discipline plays a larg
part in educational system. Canter in Patricia Kaliska (2002) explained that in
the past, a simple stern look or warning was sufficient to shape up the
classroom
Based on some
definition above we can say that the classroom management is classroom
discipline as the process of the teacher guarantee the classroom instruction,
the order, the effectiveness, deal with some matters, and arrange the time and
space, and some other factors, including managing the student, studying in
classroom, the teacher and student’s behavior and the activity; it is the way
teachers organize what goes on in the classroom. The purposes of classroom management are not only seeks to establish and sustain an orderly
environment so students can engage in meaningful academic learning, it also
aims to enhance student social and moral growth, and to deal with
student’s misbehavior.
2.2 The Influence of Classroom Management
Classroom
management as like as other importance aspect in teaching learning processes
must has the influence for students leraning processes.
Patricia Kaliska
(2002) said that Behavior theoriests in 1930’s throught present day described
frameworks for encouraging and maintainng good behavior. And she also said
these theories greatly influenced, and are still influencing classroom
management. According to Emmer and stough in kaliska (2002) “ some studies have
used students’ achievement or attitude as outcomes. In addition Gordon in
kaliska (2002) said that good classroom management can help to ensure
protection of the students from physical attacks by other students, dangerous
enviromintal conditions such as playing around electrical equipment, and from
pychological abuse from peers or adult.
In addition
Gordon in kaliska (2002) believes that the teacher has the opputunity to create
a learning environment that is kind and respectful in order to to meet the
nurturing need. Kounin in kaliska (2002) also said that thought techers who
could be that “aware” would be better managers of children in the classroom.
Beside these
influence of classroom management above, ther are some other influences on
classroom management. An efficent management systems are needed to establish
and maintain a positive, learning environment for students. According to curwin
and mendler in kaliska (2002) presented a list of global causes of misbehavior
that describe the specific roots of classroom deterioration, they are follow:
§
Violence in society
§
Massive media coverage of
overt and covert messages regarding “sex, violence, and death”.
§
A throw way social
mentality focused on individual indulgence and subsquent escape from family
commitment.
§
Unstable home situation
§
A wide range of temperament
among children.
2.3 Classroom Arrangement
Classroom arrangement is related to how the
classrooms are arraged and it is usually identified by some arrangements in the
classroom especially seating arrangement. Fred Jones,
the author of Tools for Teaching, says the typical classroom
arrangement, with students' desks lined up in neat rows, makes it easy for
custodians to do their jobs but tough for teachers to freely walk among their
students' desks. In addition Alexandra Ramsden said about seating arrangement
that Seating arrangements are a main part in a teacher’s plan for classroom
management. Not only do the teachers need to consider the physical arrangement
of the room but also the nature of the students involved. (Accessed 25th
September 2011).
According to Harmer in Lotfy (2012:2) also reviewed different seating
arrangements in terms of pros and cons in relation to certain activities and
interaction patterns. For example, he explained that the rows and columns
seating arrangement could suit formal classrooms where the teacher could take a
front position for a lecture format while the circles seating arrangement would
enable students to face each other while giving the teacher an opportunity to
move around students.
According
to Scardamalia and Bereiter in lotfy (2012:2) said that classdesign should be
flexible, creative, and able to develop problem-solving and information-finding
skills. And they also agreed that students should be active participants in the
learning process that students should have the chance to interact with the
teacher and with each other in order to learn the language. As defined by Cornell in lotfy (2012:3) “He
explains that thinking of furniture and seating arrangements is important in
creating a suitable learning environment for students”. In addition, McCroskey and McVetta and O’Hare in lotfy (2012:10) “assert that the
“kind” and “amount” of communication desired in a certain class are the
determinants of the suitable seating arrangement”. And also as described by
cornell in Lotfy (2012:12) “in order to
accommodate the shift to cooperative learning, the classroom physical
environment should be more flexible in a way that encourages interaction,
mutual learning and a “sense of community” among students”.
According
to Wannarka and Ruhl in Lotfy (2012:13) “deciding whether students’ behavior is
on-task or not depends, to a great extent, on the nature of the activity and
the desired communication pattern inside the class. They gave the example that
if teachers want to guarantee on-task behavior during individual work, they
should arrange their classroom furniture in rows and columns so as to minimize
student-student interaction”
In addition Baron in Lotfy (2012:12) believed that seating arrangements
should be treated as a priority when thinking of a classroom with maximum
on-task behavior. Downer, Rimm-Kaufman,
& Pianta in Lotfy(2012:13) also believe that effective learning takes place
when the classroom design “fosters student engagement.” By studying three
different seating arrangements, rows and columns, clusters and circles, and
their effect on students’ classroom behavior, and also Rosnefield et al. in Lotfy (2012:13) found
that sitting in circles encouraged more student on-task behavior and oral
response among students and between the students and the teacher than did the
rows and columns. On other hand, Wengel in lotfy (2012:14) stated that there
was no one seating arrangement that was better than the other. He has explained
that choosing a seating arrangement should be based on the class needs, the
interaction patterns aimed at and the teaching styles.
Seating
arrangements are need by the teachers in the classroom. Alexandra Ramsden said
that The teacher needs to be able to walk around the room without the students
having to move their desks. Teachers needs to take into account that students
seated in the center or front of the classroom tend to interact more frequently
with the teacher and the number of behavioral problems tend to increase as the
students sit farther from the teacher (Accesed 25th September 2011).
2.4 Kinds of Seat Arrangement
Alexandra
Ramsden said that there are six common seating arrangements, they are cluster,
rows, table rows, semi- circle, pairs and centers or activity zones. (Accessed
25th September 2011). And also Jody
Lenderman in his article said that” There are several options when it comes to
arranging a class, including rows, circles, clusters, activity zones, and
pairs.
1.
Cluster
Alexandra
Ramsden said clusters consist of four or five desks pushed together so every
desk is facing another one. The fifth desk, if needed, would be put on the end
of the group of four. The classroom would have clusters scattered around, so
each cluster would be far enough apart that the student’s chairs wouldn’t hit
each other. In this situation the teacher is free to walk around the room
without bumping into students desk or chairs and can work with the groups. The
groups of students need to be thought about before setting up. The students
need to be able to work together. (Accessed 25th September 2011). On
other hand, Cusik in Jody Lenderman analyzed that the cluster arrangement.
Clusters are perfect for small group activities. They encourage peer to peer
learning and group interactions. She also describes how this setup is a great
primer for the business world and how to interact with others. The focus of
this arrangement is definitely on the students. This is a very poor choice for
tests, unless they too are group oriented. (Accessed
at 5th October 2011).
2. Desk Rows
Alexandra
Ramsden said a desk row is a traditional classroom seating arrangement of
several rows of desks facing the teacher. The student’s desks are not touching
each other but are lines up in rows and columns. The teacher is usually only
able to walk from the front to the back in this set up, not walk from side to side
without making students move. Before assigning seats to children the teacher
needs to do a sociogram. The teachers need to quickly map social interactions
between and amongst students so they know where to place the children. Also, they need to decide which students can
handle being in the back of the classroom. The students are in a perfect test
taking arrangement if the teacher is monitoring the class. In this situation
the teacher’s philosophy is probably more adult-run and direct instruction.
(Accessed 25th September 2011). On other hand, Cusik in Jody
Lenderman discusses is the desk row arrangement. When using desk rows, the
teacher wants the focus of the room, either for a lecture, whole class
instruction, or for testing. Student interaction is kept to a minimum as this
arrangement is not conducive to discussions or interactions. (Accessed at 5th
October 2011).
3. Semi-circle
Alexandra
Ramsden said Semi-circle seating arrangement is when all the desks touch each
other facing the front of the room in a semi-circle shape. The teacher can
easily see each student and they can see him/ her and the instructional aids.
The philosophies of the teacher using this arrangement can be direct
instruction, child run or collaborative. Each philosophy could be implemented
into this classroom setting. Because all the students can see each other they
can have debates and discussions amongst themselves. The students can give
ideas on how they want to do an activity and the seating arrangement could
probably accommodate the activity (Accessed 25th September 2011). In
addition, Cusik in Jody Lenderman said circle arrangements. This setup is
perfect for group discussion lessons. The students can see each other and any
materials posted to aid in the discussion. The focus of this type of class
falls more on the students, with some guidance by the teacher (Accessed at 5th
October 2011).
4. Table rows
Alexandra
Ramsden said Table rows consist of long tables that are placed in rows that are
perpendicular to the front and back of the room. The students sit next and
across from each other. This set- up is typically found in science labs and
writing workshops. It is a good arrangement for group work and large group
projects. The philosophy of the teacher who would set up their classroom with
table rows is probably collaborative learning. They motivate their students by
letting them work together, and it helps students learn how to learn. The
problem with this set-up is there are students that are at the end of the
tables in the back of the room that will not be able to see during the direct
instruction time. Also, it is hard for the teacher to see all the students and
watch their faces and behavior. It allows the student for a lot of socializing
and it is very bad in a test situation. None of the students are facing the
front of the room when sitting at the table (Accessed 25th September
2011). On other hand, Cusik in Jody Lenderman said that table rows are
basically a halfway point between desk rows and clusters. They are generally used in science type
classes as they allow for lectures, then group work. The groups are larger than
in clusters, allowing more space for projects. This arrangement is more
beneficial when there is an activity, like an art or science project (Accessed
at 5th October 2011).
5. Activity Zones
Alexandra
Ramsden said activity zones or centers seating arrangement are very common in
the primary grades, especially kindergarten. This is where there are usually
about five or six tables set up in the room. A number is given to each table
and an activity. At each table that the students go to they will be actively
engaged in the activity. The teacherĂ¯¿½s philosophy is probably more
collaborative learning. The students are doing their individual work but they
are all helping each other. At the young
age where this seating arrangement is mostly used it is very hard for the
students to monitor and help the students. At times the class can get loud and
out of hand (Accessed 25th September 2011). On other hand, Cusik in Jody
Lenderman said that this arrangement is used when there are several groups of
students working on different topics. She recommends zones only for older
students as there can only be minimal supervision. If needed, the teacher can
lecture the class, but needs to make sure everyone has a seat that is conducive
to learning. These classrooms tend to be louder since there is a lot of
interaction and self-regulation among the students (Accessed at 5th October
2011).
6.
Pairs
Alexandra
Ramsden said that Having the students sit in pairs seating arrangement is when
the two student’s desks are together and spaced away from other pairs. This
arrangement allows the teacher to walk around the classroom and monitor all the
students. Previous the seating arrangement the teacher needs to decide which
students can be paired together and not misbehave or lower their academic
stamina. The teacher philosophy is probably a mix between adult run and
collaborative learning. Pairs allow the students to work together and
independently (Accessed 25th September 2011). In addition, Cusik in Jody
Lenderman said that the pair’s arrangement is similar to desk rows, only the
students are grouped at a table for two. As in the desk row setup, the teacher
can easily be the focus of the room. On the other hand, the teacher can easily
switch that dynamic to be student based by assigning role plays or other small
group activities. Students are also required to develop social interaction
skills. This social interaction is more important in this setup than the others
as only two people are doing most of the interaction (Accessed at 5th October
2011).
2.5 The Importance of Seat Arrangements
Graham (Accessed at 5th October
2011) “the manner in which seats are arranged in the classroom
significantly impacts the quality of education. Seating arrangements have an
equally profound effect on the effectiveness of communication both between the
teacher and students and amongst the students themselves”. Hillman and Brook in
Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff .et al. (Accessed at 1st December 2011)
said that prior studies found that the seating arrangements and seating
selection directly affect students' course performance. Students who are
sitting in front of the classroom can directly establish eye contact with the
instructor while those at the back of the class are less likely to do so. Millard
and Stimpson in Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff .et al. (Accessed at 1st
December 2011) “found that even though no effects on grade from seating
location were found, increasing distance was related to decreases in self
enjoyment in the class, interest and motivation”. And Brooks and Rebeta in Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff .et al.
also found that gender a factor in seat location choice and student
performance. They found that female students are more likely than male students
to sit in the front.
Safa Zerin said that changing seating arrangement plays a vital role to
make the learners more involved in the in the class. And Jim Scrivener in Safa
Zain also said that Changing seating arrangements can help students interact in
different people. Moreover, students who are weaker have lees chance of hiding
themselves and students who are stronger have lees chance to doinate in the
class in this seating arrangement, which show a much greater sense of equality
(Scrivener, 1994. Accessed at 1st December 2011). Additionally,
Ming-Tak and Li Wai-Shing in Zafa Zerin believes that a good seating
arrangement is one which facilities specific learning taks and activities and
communicates a teacher’s beliefs learning and teaching.(pg-48,49 Accessed at 1st
December 2011).
Besides the importances of seating arrangement above, Alexander Poirier
also said in his article that seating arrangement has a number of interesting
psychological effects on the students in the classroom. They are:
1. Interaction
With
the desks arranged around the perimeter of the room, every student is given a
view of the instructor and a view of his fellow students. This shifts the focus
of the class from strictly teacher-student interaction to a teacher-student and
student-student interaction. This type of layout is ideal for courses that wish
to facilitate student-student interaction, but may cause undesired
student-student interaction during times when teacher-student interaction is
desired.
2. Participation Frequency
In
Robert Sommer's study "Personal Space," he found that students who
sit in the front and center rows of a classroom participate more than other
students. He extended this study to perimeter-style seating arrangements and
found that "students sitting directly across from the teacher were the
most frequent participants." Students who sat to the left and right of the
teacher were less likely to participate in the classroom activities, regardless
of their previous participation patterns.
3. Student Preference/Class Enjoyment
A
study by James McCorskey and Rod McVetta found that student desk arrangement
preferences vary depending on the type of course being taken. They found that
students preferred "the more interaction-restricting, traditional seating
arrangement for required courses" and "the more interaction enhancing
horseshoe ... arrangements for elective courses." It can be inferred,
then, that a student who is placed in her preferred desk arrangement will enjoy
the class more and, inversely, a student placed in the less preferred seating
arrangement will enjoy the class less.
4. Teacher Control
With
the desks arranged around the perimeter of the classroom, all eyes are on the
teacher and the teacher can clearly see each and every student. Making the
teacher the center of the classroom's focus, exposing every student to his gaze
and giving the teacher the ability to move easily throughout the room
establishes the teacher's authority. While working in this "exposed"
seating arrangement, students are less likely to slack off for fear of their
instructor's catching them. (Accessed 1st December 2011).
Based
on these theories above, it is clear enough that seating arrangement in the
classroom is important in learning processes both in physical effect or psychological
effects.
2.6 The Definition of Achievement
Conducting this
research is related to the definition of achievement. So that, we have to know
some definitions of achievement. Travers (1970: 447) in H. M. Sofyan Isnian,
S.Pd defined that achievement is the result of what an individual has learned
from some educational experiences. Additionally, De Cecco & Crawford (1977)
in H. M. Sofyan Isnian, S.Pd also defined that achievement is the expectancy of
finding satisfaction in mastering challenging and difficult performances.
Besides that, Garrison, Kingston,
and McDonald (1955-1964: 331) in H. M. Sofyan Isnian, S.Pd have defined
achievement as the progress pupils make toward the goals and objectives of the
curriculum, they then assert further about the definition that achievement may
be the one’s ability or the extent of his/her knowledge in a specific content
area. (Accessed at 2nd December 2011).
Based on the
opinions above the writer concludes that achievement is the result, the
successfulness, the extent or ability, the progress in learning educational
experiences that the individual indicate in relation with his/her educational
learning.
2.7 Factors Influencing on Achievement
As importance
element of teaching and leraning process, achievement is influenced by some
factors. Mike Taafe and Everarda G.
Cunningham in his article said that Such factors were found on achievement include
motivation, quality of teaching and social integration (Accessed at 2nd
December 2011). Additionally, Julie P. Noble (2006)
said that the psychosocial factors are
included in affecting achievement. There are some psychosocial factors on
achievement, they are: Self-concept, positive attributions, self-efficacy, and
problem-solving skills and interpersonal communications skills, family
background, high school attended (Accessed at 5th October 2011).
Besides that, Students’ participation in learning that support students’
achievement is influenced by physical
arrangement of classroom. The physical arrangement of your classroom can influence
your students’ behavior and learning (Partin,
2009:2). There is some classroom physical arrangements can be done by the
teacher, they are the placement of desks, bookshelves, pencil sharpeners, and
cabinets can influence traffic flow, student interaction, as well as noise, attention,
or disruption levels but the single most important decision influencing the
physical classroom environment is the students’ seating arrangement (Partin,
2009:3)
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