Classroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 1 Classroom physkal arrangement and student ...

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Classroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 1
Running h.ad: CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT AND STUDENT BEHAVIOUR
Therb
Classroom physkal arrangement and student behavlour
Supervising Advisor: Dr. D. Klassen
Advlsor: Or. J. Epp
Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Facutty of Education
By: John Alexander Waman
@ 1999 John Alexander Waman
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Classroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 2
Lakehead University
Ethics Advisary Cornmittee
RESEARCHER'S AGREEMENT FORM
RESEARCHER@): John Alexander Warman DEP ARTM ENT: Education
PROJ ECT TITLE: Ttassroom ~hvskaali ranaement and student behaviour
fi
Please lndlcate what information is belng sent by placing an X in the
approprlate box.
Purpose of research
Process for obtainlng informeci consent including sample cover
letters to portlcipants. Please note speciflc guidelines for research
with children,
Research Inshiment(s) e.g., questionnaires, structured interview
format, experimental procedures.
& Procedures for lnsurhg confldentiality
Means of discussing riskslbenefits wlth participants.
Process of dissemination of research tesufts to participants.
Does this project require ethical clearance for a major granthg agency?
If yes, name of the agency:
t am famillar with the current Ethical Review Guidelines of the Social Sciences
and Humanlies Research Council of Canada and agree to comply with these
guidelines in carrying out this proposed research.
Signature of Researcher Date
Signature of Supervisor (Requked for Graduate Students) Date
Signature of Chalr/Direc?or Date .
Note: Please submit seven copies of Mis form dong with seven copies of the
cornplete propos41t o: Ethics Adviso~yC ornmittee, clo Research Ottice.
ii
Classroorn Arrangement and Student Behaviour 3
LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
--
M.EQ . THESIS PROPOSAL APPROVAL FORM
Candidate's Nome: John Alexander Warrnan
Areu of Specialization: Curriculum
The undersigned members of the Supervislng Cornmittee certlfy that they have
read the proposd for a Thesis entitled:
t~Classrooma hvsfcal artanslement and student behaviour."
and have authorized the candidate to proceed wmi the Thesls as proposed.
Signature of the Advisor
Slgnature of the Cornmittee Member
Clossroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 4
ABSTRACt
The following study examines how the physical arrangement of classcoorns affects
student behaviour. as measured by student off-task 'Inapproprlatet and
'disruptivel behaviour, delned as al1 types of behavlount h& are contrary to
stated or mplied classroom rules or procedures (Emmer et. al., 1981a ). This study
was conducted using primafy classrooms, Rom Grade 1 to Grade 3, so as to vfew
as many forms of physical clasaoom arrangement as posslbie. The study was
conducted wlhin a specitied board in Ontario ln 7 schools which opted to
partake in the study. The study is qualitative In design uslng two main Case
Study fonats: Situational Analysis and Muitisi't8 study, using structured
obsewatfons of clossrooms and Informol interviews with classroorn teachers.
Observation and interview questions wefe constructed using measurernent tools
from Emmer et. al. (1 9810) Classroom Management improvement Study, (CMIS).
The occumuîated data from each of the 7 primary obserfvations, secondary
obsecvations and teacher interview questionnaires were analyzed and added
to the findings and resuîts s8cffon of this study.
The case studles showed a definite felationship between classroom physical
arrangement and student off-task behavloun. if learning and teachlng
materials are easlîy accessible by students independently, the teacher con see
and hear al1 students, the hatflc fiows smoomly. and there are oreas for high and
low actlvtty then the counts of off-task behavlour decreased.
Clasroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 5
TABLE OF CONEN'IS
Content Paae
Abstract iv
Introduction
Methodology
Presentation
Case Study #1
Case Study #2
Case Study 13
Case Study 14
Case Study #5
Case Study #6
Case Study #7
Findings
Resutts and Discussion
Summary and Concludlng Statements
Appendix A
Ethics Guidelines for Research in Mucation
I CIassroorn Arrangement and Student Behavlour 6
Appendix 8 74-77
Questionnaire for Primary Observations and Interviews
Anecdotal Observation Sheet for Secondary Observation
Appendk C
CMtS Meosurement look
Appendix O
Interview Questlonnoire Responses
Appendix E
Anecdotal Observation Responses
Tables
7 Roles of the Teacher (Woo!folk, 1990)
How to ModMy Me Classoom Environment (Gordon, 1974)
Classroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 7
1
INTR00UCTlON
1
Clortioom A ~ W I I W ~an~d O(l-Taok khaviWt
Several shidies have explored the experlences of teachers related to
classroom management (Hoy 1993, and Evertson 1983). However, Hnle has been
written concetnlng experiences that elmentory school teachers' have related
i to physically arranglng the learnlng environment (Emmer 1981a , Eveftson 1983).
I
!
Emrner et. al. (1 981 a) brlefly exumined thls aspect of claSsIoom management In
their Classroom Management mprovement Study (hereafiet referred to as CMIS)
and took the position that the physical arrangement of the learnlng
environment is an important consideration for teachers to take into account
l
l when student off-tasic behavbur is a concern. Gordon (1974) stoted that
i
"teachers con prevent many unacceptable behavlours of students with relative
ease just by modifylng the clasaoom environment" (p.156). Thls involves
organWng classrooms so as to accommodate the dynarnics of the dudents.
1
Martin and Sugarman (1 993) argued that, if teachers can leam effective ways of
uorganizingt he clasîroom", 'classroorn behavlour problems will be greatty
reducedu( p. 52).
Many experlences exist wMin the classroom related to the physical
arrangement. These experiences help to distinguish speciflcally the role of
teachers as effective managers of stuctent behavbur. Emmer et. al, (1 981 a)
, argued that 'effective classroorn management can be conceptualked as that
set of teacher behavlours and activities that brlng about siudent cooperation
and involvement", in effect preventlng dlmiption (p.3): 'When classroom
management is operatlonallted, it will be done with rneasures ot student
cooperation and hvolvement; namely, by rates of on-task or engaged
behavbur and by minimizotion of disiuptive and other inappropriate behaviour
(p. 3-4).
Emmer et. al. (1 981a ) contended that reseorch literature supports the
"Inferencet hat clasaoom management effectiveness and student learning are
I
Clossroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 8
linked" (p. 4). Lortie (1975) supported this notion:
t
the teacher Is expected to ellclt work from shrdents. Students in al1
subjects and activities mut engage In directed activities whkh are
believed to produce learning. Their behaviour. in short. should be
purposeful, normatively controlled. and studied; concern wlth discipline
and control. in foct, largely revolves around the need to get work done
by immature. changeful. and divergent persons who are conflned to a
small space. (Lortie 1975. p. 151)
Similar view points were expressed by Jackson (1 968):
certainly no educational goals are more mmediate Man those that
concern the establishment and maintenance of the s?udent1as bsorption
In the task at hand. Almost al1 ottier objectives are dependent fur thelr
accornplishment upon the attalnment of thls basic condition. (Jackson
1968. p. 85)
Emmer et. al. (1981a) argued that. given the above ideas regarding teacher
roles in establishing and malntaining a weli managed classroorn, "a central
teaching function is to use activities and behaviours whlch allow the teachers
and Jtudents to work together on learning tasks for long periods of time in a
manner conduclve to tudent hvolvement in the tasks" (p.3). Teachers must
ensure that the learning environment contahs the materiab required to fuMll alms
and objectives. and that the phydcal arrangement must be deslgned to
incotporote large group, mal1g roup, and individual activities while, at the some
tirne, offering easy troffic flow for transitions and optimum observabHity for the
l
teacher (Emmer et. al. 1981a ).
Doyle (1979) provtded a similor view point:
Classroom Arrangement and Student Behaviour 9
teachers encounter classrooms as units of time to be filled wRh activities
that con be justiffecl educationally and as groups of students who Vary
wldely In aptitudes and propensities for such activifles. At a proximal levei
then, the teachers' task as defined by these situational dernands is to
gain and maintain cooperdlon In clossroorn activttles. (Doyle 1979, p. 47)
Perhaps one the most infiuentlai theory of teacher effectiveness was
developed by Kounin (1977). Kounin (1977, pp. 73-124) conceptuallzed teacher
effectlveness as the ability for teachers to acqulre skllls that aid h promotlng on-
task behaviour on the part of students. The role that the physical arrangement
plays in the process of managing a classroom effectivety is an imporîant
consideration to take lnto account, (Gordon 1974, pp. 169-1 75). For example,
present day classrooms tend to be physically arranged so that trafflc patterns
flow easlly throughoot the classroom and al1 desks are placed in such a fashlon
as to deter off-task behaviour that might hinder the learnlng process. Teachers
must do al1 that they can do to ensure that management problems ln their
classrooms are minimal, (Slavin 1990. Zia 1994, Whitford, 1993, Emmer et. al. 1981a ,
Evertson et. al., 1989).
me definition of effective clasroom management used in the CMIS
conducted by Emmer et al. (1 981a ) is not only supported by the role deflnMons
of teaching. seen above, but also by numerous resutts in research on classroom
learnlng (Good 1979, Hoy 1993, Bloom 1976. pp. 108-1 12, and Jackson 1968, pp.
39-89, 11 3 -1 56).
According to the CMIS Mere are three major phases to the process of
establishing and maintalning a well managed classoom, the fitst of which deals
dkectly and the other two which deal indirectty. wmi the physical arrangement
of me ciasstoom:
Pre-uctive hase. mis phase of clasgoom management occurs prlor to