CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT CREATING LESSON STAGES, DIFFERENT SEATING ARRANGEMENT AND DIFFERENT STUDENTS GROUPING

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

CREATING LESSON STAGES, DIFFERENT SEATING ARRANGEMENT

AND DIFFERENT STUDENTS GROUPING

LECTURER:

SYAIFULLAH, M.PD

By 

JHONPITER NDRURU                                 1688203028

        

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A.    Background

Classroom management refers to the ways in which student behavior, movement and interaction during a lesson organized and controlled by the teacher. Classroom management is one of the important aspect in teaching English. Classroom management that use by the teacher can influence the teaching English. So, the teacher are challenged should be able to manage the classroom, including creating and maintaining of the opinion learning condition.

The teacher as namely classroom manager who has strategies roles in planning for the activities that conducted in the classroom, the teacher who will implement the planned activities by the subject and object of learners, the teacher determining and decision taked of the strategies who will be used by the variety of the classroom activities and the teacher will be determine the alternative solution to solve problems and challange emerging.

Classroom management is a challanging aspect for the teacher especially the classroom management in the large class. Every teacher likes to arrange his or her classroom layout for the largest student benefit. Students need to focus and see what is going on in the classroom at any given time. Their seating arrangement can help or hinder a students learning. Although no perfect arrangement exists for all situations, a classroom layout may need to change based on what a student needs are and how the class material is being presented, and the effective teacher may choose to implement different strategies for different outcomes.

B. Purpose

a.       To know how to creating lesson stages

b.      To know how to arrange student seating

c.       To know different ways of grouping students

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A.  Creating Lesson Stages

There is no effecient lesson without planning. Even if your lesson topics come a textbook and the text dictates a certain theme try to personalize the lesson as much as possible so that we hold the students attention for the entire lesson. Assuming our class is 45 minutes long, we will need to have enough prepared to fill that time without becoming repetitive or redudant.  The following six steps have been a real treasure teaching tools.

These six stages in successful lesson planning

1.    Lead-in

This is where we will introduce our topic to the class.  Before putting your students directly to sleep by beginning a long lecture, it is best to complete a warm-up type exercise. If you plan on introducing a new lesson, take this as a good time to set the scene of the lesson. You can set the scene in a few ways: by asking your students to think about a certain topic, brainstorm on the whiteboard, play a game or review material from an older lesson. This will spark their interest right away. More importantly, it will help to get students thinking in the right direction, focus their attention, and prepare them for the lesson ahead. Regardless of the amount of time available for the lesson, this part of your lesson plan should only last for 5-10 minutes.

2.      Elicitation

Elicitation is bassicly extracting information. At this step you want to test the students current knowledge on the topic.

 

 

 

3.      Presentation

In this step you will be presenting the main topic. The presentation part of the lesson is where the new material is well, you guessed it, presented. You can present the new material in various ways: a written text, a song, a dialogue on tape, etc. In order to help students actually digest the new material rather than just swallow it, this portion of the lesson must be paired with clear explanations of the grammar, along with examples. It is highly recommended to show several clear and concise examples, in context. Before moving on to part 3 of the lesson, make sure students have some understanding of the material they just learned, as well as an understanding of its meaning and proper use.

4.      Controlled practice

After presenting your lesson and teaching new vocabullary, you would want the students to put into practice everything they have studied. The practice stage of the lesson is where the student gets involved. The goal of the practice stage is that students use the material you presented in context. This is where the teacher provides activities/exercises for students. The teacher's role in this part of the lesson is to manage students and encourage them to use the new language by working in groups or pairs. The activities or exercises you'll want to prepare for this stage may vary: a short role-play, games, fill-in-the-blanks, guided dialogue, information gaps, and problem-solving activities are all some great ideas. The practice should focus on oral, reading and written skills. Upon termination, the teacher can collect these activities to grade and return or review the answers in class together. This part of the lesson will take up the bulk of class time. It will serve to ensure students have a solid grasp on the material you had just presented. It's best to use a large range of practice activities to keep students intrigued and excited. Below are some helpful websites to add to your arsenal of teaching tools.

5.      Feer practice

Once again you will be testing the students’ knowledge on the lesson just taught; however’ with the step you can be more flexible. 

 

6.      Review and follow up

Toward the end of the lesson it’s good to do a quick review to tie up the lesson and the same time check of the students’ was able to grasp all the concept taught.

Finally, the production part of the lesson. This is the fun part. This is the part of the lesson where the teacher should have minimal to no involvement. It gives students the chance to use their newly learned material freely and openly. The production activity can be done in a group, in pairs, or individually depending on what it is. As a group, they can gather to solve a solution to a problem, or they can pair off to act out a role-playing activity. In the end, the student should be able to achieve the goal's lesson: to express an understanding of language by using the new material in context, with minimal, if any, teacher interference. A good way to ensure that your lesson worked is to finish your lesson with a plenary that will recap the lesson objective. This short final stage is crucial to measure the acquisition of language by students and it will also help you to prepare your next lesson.

B.  Different Seating Arrangement

The physical setup of chairs, tables, and presentation in a classroom can significantly influence learning. Every teacher likes to arrange his or her classroom layout for the largest student benefit. Students need to focus and see what is going on in the classroom at any given time. Their seating arrangement can help or hinder a students learning. Although no perfect arrangement exists for all situations, a classroom layout may need to change based on what a student needs are and how the class material is being presented. 
It is important for an instructor to establish a classroom structure from the very first session and adapt accordingly to facilitate lectures, promote discussions, encourage group activities, or solve any behavioral problems. Keeping a classroom motivated and in order is more than trying different teaching styles and methods. By simply rearranging how the desks in the room are setup, you can not only get better control of your class but create an open and friendly classroom environment. 

Instructors can consider ways to modify seating arrangements and match arrangements with the demands of classroom activities in order to help maximize student learning. There are generally three overall classroom desk arrangement layouts with slight variations to each to accommodate different size rooms, number of students in the class and also assist in the classes function: 

Ø  Traditional Classroom (Large or Small)56T-0]SXZY

Ø  U-Shaped Layout

Ø  Circle or Half Circle Arrangements

Each layout has a different purpose and may require an adjustment to teaching method and classroom control. It will be up to the instructor to decide which layout works best for them and their students. 

1.    Traditional Classroom

In a traditional class all the desks are facing the chalkboard and teachers desk. This classroom layout is very effective if your lesson often uses projectors, slides and a chalkboard. The layout is suitable for teacher centered classes such as lectures, it encourages focus on the educator and content and is easy to implement with large classes. 
The problem with this layout is that the teacher is very far away from students sitting in the back rows. Students sitting in the last rows are more likely to be distracted, lose focus and converse with others. Students can easily become disengaged during the lesson. This layout is not useful for classes designed for conversation and interaction and not easy for the instructor to observe students in the mid and back rows.
The traditional lecture setup typically consists of rows of fixed seating. Students face the instructor with their backs to one another. This classroom seating arrangement is historically common in colleges and universities, minimizing student-student communication and largely supporting a “sage on the stage” learning environment. The highest communication interactions between professors and students typically occurs with students in the first row or along the middle of the classroom. Students in back rows are more likely to be less engaged.

a.       Large Classroom

·      Advantages: Rows of tables with chairs face the front of a room and each person has a space for writing or using a computer. This set-up lends itself to Q&A session with the facilitator rather than interactive discussion between participants.

·      Disadvantages: Hard for instructor to move into the audience, separating him/her from the students. Student participation seems to drop off towards the back of the room unless sound reinforcement is used. 

·      Action Zone: At the front of the room. Students are focused on the instructor

·      Seating: Similar to a school arrangement with participants seated behind a row of desks or tables.

·      Tables: Arranged in rows, either butted together side by side or standing alone.

b.      Small Classroom

·           Advantages: Every participant has a good view of the front of the room. This allows the instructor a great deal of control over the students. Provides surface for note taking or reference materials.

·           Disadvantages: Hard for instructor to move into the audience, separating him/her from the students. Student participation seems to drop off towards the back of the room unless sound reinforcement is used.

2.    U-Shaped Layout

For smaller classes that want more interaction between the student and educator, a U-Shaped layout is a better option. A U-Shaped desk arrangement encourages discussion and makes it easy for the teacher to observe students and provide one on one help. 
Classroom size and number of students can make it difficult to use, for you may not be able to fit a U-Shape pattern in a small room with a large number of students. The layout spreads children out considerably so that it can be hard to address them all and makes group work harder because the desks can’t easily be moved around. 

·         Advantages: Easy to see and hear everyone in the group. Front of room commands the group’s attention. Unity is created by ganging all the tables together. Openness gives trainees a sense of freedom and encourages participation. Best set up to view audio visual presentations. Works well with role-playing and other physical activities. 

·         Disadvantages: Requires more space than any other configuration. Due to space and learning requirements, the maximum amount of participants should not exceed 24. 

·         Action Zone: Center and at the open end of the “U”.

·         Tables: Rectangular tables set in a “U’ configuration. Pie shapes are commonly used at the corners to complete the shape and eliminate the hard edges. Trainer’s table is at the opening of the “U”.

Variations of U-Shaped

a.       Horseshoe or Semicircle

The horseshoe or semi-circle offers a modified roundtable setup, where all participants face each other while the instructor can move about the room. The horseshoe encourages discussion between students and with the instructor, although this setup tends to encourage more engagement between the instructor and students directly opposite, with slightly lesser amounts for students immediately adjacent to the instructor. A horseshoe setup can be particularly effective when the instructor wishes to project and discuss course-related material in the front of the class.

b.      Double Horseshoe

This seating arrangement involves an inner and outer horseshoe, and similar to the conventional horseshoe, invites greater discussion than the traditional format. It is more limited by the backs of students within the inner circle facing students in the outer circle. However, students may also more easily interact with those nearest to them or turn around and face students behind them for group work.

c.       Pods (Groups, Pairs)

The pod or pair arrangement can be designed with rectangular, circular or trapezoidal tables, or individual desks. With regards to stations, instructors can place several tables together to form student groups (e.g. 3 - 4 students), or pairs. This arrangement can be especially advantageous when students will work in groups or pairs with their classmates for a large portion of class time. More generally, this arrangement communicates a learning community where students are expected to work with one another. 

3.    Circle or Half Circle Arrangements

Desks or chairs arranged in a circle or half circle promote community and encourage all students to participate. Everyone sits in the front row. It also allows the instructor to see everyone from an equal distance and communicate easier with students. 

·         Advantages: Involves everyone in the group. There is no table in the middle, therefore people are unobstructed and can speak directly to each other. Creates equality among the group, with no designated “leader” position. 

·         Disadvantages: Some people feel uncomfortable or exposed in this type of arrangement. Can only handle small groups of people. Not conducive to visual aids or AV presentations. 

·         Action Zone: Center of the circle.

·         Group Involvement: High. Aims to involve all participants in group interaction. 

·         Seating: Chairs arranged in complete circle. 

·         Tables: None in this configuration. 

·         Maximum of people: No more than 20 participants.

Circle and Table: Combines informal, open characteristics of a circle, yet gives trainees a table for books and note taking. The table may also remove the sense of vulnerability. Variations with Circle of Chairs:

a.       Broken Circle: Possesses all of the advantages of the circle but allows visual aids to be used effectively. Also identifies a leader position to pressure involvement of participants if needed.

b.      Roundtable: Many seminar-course room arrangements may consist of instructor and students sitting around a single large table. This seating arrangement can also be formed using individual desks. Students and instructors all face one another in this setup, which can support whole-class as well as pair-wise dialogue.

C.  Different Students Grouping

It is important to mention that the way in which students are organized vary depending on the kind of activity.

Students can work as:

1.    Whole class teaching

Is the most common teacher students interaction in many cultures

·       Adventages

1.    It reinforces a sense of belonging among the group members

2.    It creates en enganging atmosphere

3.    The teacher as a controller: explanation and interactions

4.    General understanding of students progress

5.    Whole class working under teacher authority make students feel secure

·       Disadventages

1.    It’s not very effective if the teacher wants to encourage individual contribution and discussion

2.    There’s not enough chance of speaking for everyone

3.    Emberrasment infront of mates

4.    It privileges the transmission of knowledge from teacher to student rather than having students discover things

5.    Difficulties in organizing communicative language teaching or task based sequences

2.    Students on their own or solo work

·       Adventages

1.    Teacher can respon to individual students

2.    It can develop learner autonomy and promote skills of self- reliance and investigation

3.    It allows them thinking time

·      Disadventages

1.    Sense of belonging and cooperation or not encourages

2.    It means much more though and materials preparation than whole-class teaching involves.

3.    It makes more time interacting with individual students than with the whole group

3.Pairwork

·      Adventages

1.    Bigger amount of speaking time

2.    Students work and interact independently without the guidance of teacher: learner independence

3.    The teacher has time to work with all the pairs

4.    Shy learners will have chance time to talk

5.    Students shere responsibility

·      Disadventages

1.    Pairwork is frequently very noisy

2.    Students often talk about something else, often in their L1

3.    Some students’ prever to relate with the teacher rather than with other learners who have the same linguistic level.

4.    The choice of partners can be problematic because there are may be students who are not keen on with some students.

4.    Groupwork

·      Adventages

1.    It increases the amount of talking

2.    Personal relationship are less problematic and there are varied opinions

3.    It encourages cooperation and it is more private than work in front of the whole class

4.    Students can choose their level of participant

5.    It promotes learner autonomy

·      Disadventages

1.    it is likely to be noisy and some teacher feel the lose control

2.    some students prefer to be the focus of the teacher’s attention

3.    group roles may become fossilised

4.    group usually demand more time and the beginning and ending of groupwork activities can be chaotic.

5.    Class to class

One last grouping should be mentioned, and that is when we are able to join two classes so that they can interact with each other. Where different level classes are concerned, higher level students often feel positive about being able to help students from other classes, just as lower-level students can feel motivated by being able to engange with people whose language is better than theirs. Class-to-class interactions are good for survey (where students can work with students they do not normally interact with in their English classes), discussion, lecturer and presentation. This grouping can be time consuming to organize, but at their best, can often give students a huge sense of satisfiction.

CHAPTER III

CLOSING

A.  Conclusion

So, in conclusion, it can be said that, classroom management is not only controlling students’ disruptive behaviors and maintaining discipline; it also entails the other factors that establish a productive working environment in a language classroom. Seating arrangement is one of the most important aspects of classroom management which is connected to the other aspects of it. In a language classroom, seating arrangement is important to create a positive learning environment. There are different types of seating arrangement for different type of classroom. All type of seating arrangement has some positive and negative sides. All of them are not suitable for all classes. Some are good for some classroom contexts whereas some are not. So, it needs to be analyzed before setting up any type of seating arrangement. From my internship experience, I have noticed that, it is very difficult to manage the young learners in the class if the seating arrangement is not properly set up. So, it needs to be seriously taken care of by the teachers

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