Classroom Management

Physical Condition in The Classroom

Group 1
Alya Namira Fadiyah (1505085122)
Istifa Putri (1505085125)
Claudia Meirossa (1505085128)
Ajeng Ratmawati (1505085140)

Class D / 2015

English Department

Faculty of Teacher Training and Education Science

Universitas Mulawarman
Introduction
Education is the most important aspect to create a better nation. According to
Guttman’s 2003, in UNESCO Publications for the World Summit on the Information Society:
Ever higher levels of education are needed to enable people to participate effectively in
society, making quality secondary-level education and vocational training opportunities more
vital than ever for personal and national development. (p. 17) To create high level of
education systems, the quality of the teachers should be in the higher level too, the teachers
should be able to manage all of the instruments in the classroom. From the way the teachers
deliver the knowledge, manage the students and also manage the classroom. First impressions
are important and really do matter. The effective teacher starts the first day of the year by
setting a standard for how the rest of the year should follow. Start the year off with a
discipline plan in place that allows students a set of expectations for behavior (Richardson &
Fallona, 2001).
The effective teacher must gain the student’s respect from the start by maintaining
control and establishing a sense of order. A good discipline plan must be incorporated the
first day of school and enforced (Charles, 2008). An effective teacher should have a
discipline plan with routines, rules, and consequences. The discipline plan can be teacher-
made or made through teacher-student collaboration. The first few weeks of school should be
spent going over procedures and rules. During the first few weeks of school, you should
spend time teaching, practicing, and re-teaching procedures so that they become routines.
This will set the scene for learning the remainder of the year. Students appreciate knowing
the teacher’s expectations (Brophy, 2006).
Teachers should treat students equitably. Fairness can be interpreted in different way.
Moral intelligence is demonstrated by being fair. An effective teacher is trustworthy and
maintains a classroom environment that is safe, predictable, and successful (Santrock, 2009).
Teachers who are perceived as unfair are not respected. As teachers, we need to be sure not to
allow prejudice or negative feelings affect the way we react to our students or their diverse
needs.
Our job as teachers is to teach all students. We must give every student the same
chance for success (Charles, 2008). All classrooms will have disruptions. It is imperative that
you deal with classroom disruptions immediately and with little interruption of your class
momentum. McGinnis, Frederick, and Edwards (1995), suggested strategies likes writing
names on the board, a stern look, or moving in proximity to the disruptive student can help
deter the offending student. If the teacher continues teaching and deals with the problem at
hand with little commotion, the class can stay on track.
The effective teacher avoids confrontations in front of students. The teacher should
remain calm and diffuse the situation as soon as possible. Confrontations are embarrassing
and uncomfortable for the teacher and the student. If the teacher is not able to get the
situation under control immediately the student should be removed from the classroom and
handled away from the other students (Emmer, 1994). A teacher with a sense of humor helps
establish a relaxed climate and is more approachable (Richardson & Fallona, 2001).  Because
a sense of humor from teacher can make the situation more relax and the atmosphere in the
class will not make the student feeling uncomfortable.
Effective teachers are selective and specific in their rules. Classroom rules should be
written in a concise, logical and positive way. Rules should be short, clearly stated and visible
in the classroom. Rules should be established at the beginning of the year and reviewed as
needed. Consequences should also be posted in the classroom. Teachers should make sure all
students understand the rules as well as the consequences. Knowing and understanding the
consequences ahead of time is paramount to improved cooperation and achievement
(McGinnis, Frederick, & Edwards, 1995).
There are definite reasons to why a teacher is effective. A study by Johnson (1980)
determined four key characteristics that correlated with teacher effectiveness: having sound
knowledge of subject matter; taking personal interest in each student; establishing a caring
and warm atmosphere; and showing enthusiasm with students. Other studies have identified
several characteristics of an effective teacher, which include enthusiastic, effective
communicator, adaptable to change, lifelong learner, competent, accepting of others, patient,
organized, hardworking, and caring (Glenn, 2001; Mujis, 2005: Malikow, 2006; Goe, 2007;
Daniel, 2010; Korthagen, 2004, Vallance 2000); Hattie 2003) defines excellent teachers,
effective teachers or expert teachers as teachers who are able to teach and at the same time
create a learning environment within the class to the point that the students enjoy learning
and love to learn under that teacher.
Teachers are basically the pillars who are responsible for the success or failure of our
educational system. As a result, any research findings that could improve the system are
worth sharing. The power of effective teachers cannot be underestimated, as proven in a
study conducted by Darling, Chung, and Freflow (2002). Darling et. al. (2002) study
concludes that teacher effectiveness was significantly related to student performance, more so
than factors such as class size. Furthermore, the effect appeared to be cumulative and
additive, in that students taught by ineffective teachers for consecutive years do significantly
worse in terms of both gains and achievement compared to peers who were assigned to
effective teachers for consecutive years. The weight of influence of effective teachers is
undeniably powerful.

Discussion
There are three important aspects of classroom management which affect teaching,
they are classroom physical conditions, classroom routine, and ground rules for working
together. In this paper, we are going to discuss about the physical conditions in the classroom.
Physical condition refers to the physical environment around the classroom which include the
lighting, temperature, ventilation system, size of the classroom, desk, floor, walls, window,
door, whiteboard, computer, etc. Physical classroom environment refers to the physical room
in which teacher and learners are the main element including its spatial elements i.e., floor,
windows, walls as well as other classroom equipments i.e., desks, chairs, rugs, chalkboards,
tack boards, easels, counters and computer equipment but not limited to these things (Fisher,
2008). Also, the teachers and the students are the most important elements in the classroom.
The physical conditions most important to learning are how students feel, physically and
emotionally, and what they see.
Earlier studies on classroom management that focusing on students’ sense of
belonging in school contexts have found that a strong sense of belonging can result in
positive outcomes, including academic motivation, a sense of efficacy, a liking for school,
and a sense of emotional well-being (Goodenow, 1993; Wentzel, 2003). A strong sense of
belonging has been associated with a desire to learn and an increase in understanding,
whereas a lack of belonging has been associated with negative academic outcomes such as
truancy and withdrawal from school. It stands for the reasons that the students or the learners
who studying in the hot and stuffy room not learn as much as if they are in the cool and
comfortable room. Further, it will be beneficial for the teachers because it will bring the
effectiveness in the learning process and it will increase the student’s achievement. Research
studies on the classroom environment have revealed that physical arrangement plays a vital
role in teaching learning process. It can affect the performance of both teachers and students
(Savage, 1999; Stewart and Evans, 1997).
 A. How Students Feel
One of physical factor that important to be concerned is the temperature of the class,
The general recommended temperature is about at 68-72 degree Fahrenheit. Humidity, that
related to physical comfort, is also the responsibility of the teacher. High temperature is not
very serious if the humidity can be kept low. Even though teachers have limited control about
the temperature and humidity  in the class, but they need to understand how to control it to
keep the students feel comfortable.
Some “warm-natured” students may complaint of being too hot while their ‘’cold-
natured’’ classmate fret about being chilly.  The students need to adjust how they will dress
to make themselves comfortable with the temperature in the class. The teachers,should make
the room as comfortable as possible for the average students, not follow the teacher’s own
comfort situation.
Ventilation is important to comfort just as temperature and humidity are, but there no
fixed, objective measurement to guide teachers in this relation. The best one can do is to
make recommended use of whatever air circulating systems are available (including doors
and windows). The sensitiveness to evidence of draft is needed from teachers (such as
sneezing), or poor circulation (such as coughing or drowsiness) and should encourage
learners to report feelings of stuffiness or draft of air.
Another important physical factor is the desk. Some schools use desks and and the
others use chair-desks. The size of the desks should convenient with students body size. A
desk is too small for a student if he has undue difficulty getting in and out of it, or sitting in it
normally. Chair desk with left or right hand tablet arms should be found to accommodate the
right handers and the “southpaws” whenever possible.
Beyond such physical factors as temperature, humidity and furniture, teachers need to
be concerned about the physical feelings of learners themselves. In here we are not discussing
psychosomatic illness, although we know that over-demanding teachers can give learners
headaches, etc. The point need to be stressed, regarding physical comfort, that occasional
physical activity divest physical and unenjoyable situation, and some freedom of movement
not only should be permitted, but encouraged. As one wise quipped, the main can absorb no
more than the seat can endure. Unless learners are frequent “offenders,” teachers should not
look too intently on the motives of learners who walk over to the wastebasket with a trash, or
too the pencil sharpener or even to the dictionary. The learners may need to get up to stretch
their muscles a bit, and are trying to find a socially approved excuse rather than declare the
real reason.
 The first is how the teacher treats the students. Effective teachers must respect them
as learners and people, and demonstrate care and commitment (Hattie, 2003). When the
students feel unwell such as feel nausea, slight headache, or other common bodily discomfort,
teachers should not keep the students in the place. Students should be permitted to have some
rests in the first-aid room or gets special treatment if it is needed. In research done by
Malikow (2006), exhibiting a caring attitude is the third most frequently cited characteristic
of an effective teacher, together with being interested in students.

B. What Learners See and Hears

Much attention has been given, in this bespectacled nation of ours, too the to the
terrifying importance of proper lighting. Both for the long-term sight-saving of learners and
for their present comfort and work efficiency proper lighting conditions are of the most
important. Contrary to popular belief, however the crucial factor in lighting is not so much
the amount of light directly transmitted from the light sources (measured in foot-candles), but
the reflection of light from the ceiling, walls, furnitures, and white boards (measured in foot-
lamberts). Too much contrast in light give a negative and harmful factors. For instance, by
watching television in the darkened room could a problem with the eye such as eye strain.
The use of blonde furniture and pastel or colorful markers in whiteboard can gained the
learners motivation and make them more interest in the classroom.
A well lighted room cast few if any shadow. Old rule said that light falling over the
left shoulder is needed to keep the right handed students from casting shadow. For the left
handed students would prefer to have the light falling over right shoulder. However, not all
teacher understand about that rules. So teacher should make sure the arrangement of light
sources and reflection surfaces combine to prevent direct glare into students eyes.
As the external factors, visual obstacle of learners is important. Thus, near-sighted
learners should have seats which is near to the whiteboard with purpose they can read from it
without any unenjoyable feelings. The teacher can easily catch the eye of the learners and
control the learners when they are doing examination. Then the teachers take advantages
from it use by writing letters on the board, as small as he would normally write them, and ask
learners to go to the corners of the classroom and try to read them.
The condition of the classroom and how teachers in dress are affecting the learning
process. If the classroom condition is boring such as dirty, has barren walls, the teacher
slovenly in dress and have bad manner in class, it can make the students feel uncomfortable.
In  contrast, when students see an attractive room, good arrangement desks, a well dressed
and good manner teacher, students will see their room as a comfortable place to learn. As
Mansor mentioned in his journal in 2012, what the teachers do in the class, their values, their
personality, their conduct in class, their manner of handling the class, all come into play
during the lesson. There is no one particular ingredient that is crucial for making an effective
teacher. It’s a combination of factors.
Important physical factors related to hearing as well as seeing. In this case, teacher
should speak loudly enough to be heard by all of the learners with normal hearing. The
teachers should move around the class to control the learners. Hattie’s (2002) remark
regarding classroom management that has made a significant impact on the scope chosen in
this study. He concludes that learning outcomes are directly related to the learning
environment within the classroom created by the teacher due to the fact that the processes of
learning that they foster are by far the more powerful.

C. Teacher-Pupil Planning
Some teachers will infer to arrange their classroom by follow their taste. This kind of
teachers see the classroom as their own; teacher as the host and the students as their guest.
The teacher want to make an efficient classroom by managing every detail in the class by
themselves. The teacher is unwilling to trust the students to help she/he arrange the classroom
as teacher’s purpose, for example teacher afraid to ask students to adjust a window shade or
venetian blind, lest it accidentally flip to the top or fall to the bottom.  
The second inference runs counter to the first. Other teachers see the entire job of
learning, even the providing of the physical setting for learning, as a kind of teacher-learner
partnership. Neither learners nor teachers are guests, but all feel at home -- or their at place of
business -- jointly owned and operated.
Another factor is the general manner help by students themselves. It is not student’s
responsibility to manage and maintain the classroom even though the students are willing to
do it. It is teacher’s responsible for the classroom’s condition and appearance. An effective
teacher is trustworthy and maintains a classroom environment that is safe, predictable, and
successful (Santrock, 2009).
Is the second inference the right one? There are some factors to find a valid answer.
Firstly, we need to recognize between the typical senior high school teachers with five
separate classes of about 45 minutes each and the junior high school teachers who works with
the same group of learners (in both core and other multi period school schedules) for two
hours or more each day. The teacher working on a single, can do little but operate on the
assumption that the learners are his guests. It is almost futile to have the same home as a
home for groups on 45 minutes shifts. Otherwise the teacher working in a long time-block
pattern can do much to develop a chemistry with his learners on matters of physical comfort
and classroom appearance.
Out of such considerations as these, each teacher has to arrive at his own decision. He
will do well, initially, to be guided by school customs as to the sharing of the responsibility
with learners. Furthermore, the teacher should discuss such matters as these with the learners,
being guided as his best judgement dictates, by advices from the learners. The teachers
should avoid, on the other hand, making a lot to do over democratic procedures in arriving at
relatively best decision. The teachers should guide the learners and make adjust the students
to take on their responsibilities in the classroom.

Conclusion

One of the instrument to deliver the basic education is school. School is the place
where the people will get the education from teaching and learning process in the formal way.
In schools or colleges there are students and teachers. In teaching and learning process, role
of the teachers is absolutely important because teacher is someone who transfer the
knowledge for the students. Besides, the teachers’ qualities to create a teaching method in
their classroom may not necessarily attractive for the students. The students have different
styles in learning process. “Learning style is sometimes defined as the characteristic
cognitive, affective, social, and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable
indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment”
(MacKeracher, 2004, p. 71). The teachers should build up the attractive environment for the
students which will make them feel comfortable during the teaching and learning process and
which will make them enjoy their time in the classroom. Physical condition refers to the
physical environment around the classroom which include the lighting, temperature,
ventilation system, size of the classroom, desk, floor, walls, window, door, whiteboard,
computer, etc. Physical classroom environment refers to the physical room in which teacher
and learners are the main element including its spatial elements i.e., floor, windows, walls as
well as other classroom equipments i.e., desks, chairs, rugs, chalkboards, tack boards, easels,
counters and computer equipment but not limited to these things (Fisher, 2008) . In addition,
the teachers should study about the classroom management and build up an attractive
environment for the students which will make the enjoy and comfortable so they can learn
easily and it will increase the student’s achievement too.

References
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Mansor, A. N., Eng, W. K., Rasul, M. S., Hamzah, M. I., & Hamid, A. H. (2012). Effective
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LaCaze, D. O., McCormick, C. M., & Meyer, L. (2012). Classroom Behavior and
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Outcomes: How 3rd Class Teachers use the Physical Classroom to Implement a
Balanced Literacy Curriculum. A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate
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MacKeracher, D. (2004). Making sense of adult learning, (2nd ed.). Canada: University of
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Stewart, S. C. and Evans, W. H. (1997). Setting the stage for success: Assessing the
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