Problem in classroom
Firstly, Noisy classroom is one of the reasons that cause lower performances of student in class. According to David, W (2008), the days of total silence in the classroom seem to have almost disappeared. Nowadays, it is impossible to find nice, calm and silent environment in classroom. Although increasing levels of classroom noise reduced the understanding of all learning in class, but it will distract student attention and focus in classroom, leading to undesirable outcomes for Lecturer and student. According to Lauren Tyree, (1999), too much noise in the classroom means that students experience difficulty hearing their Lecturers. This contributes to poor understanding, decreased attention and performance, and reduced motivation. Moreover, it takes more time repeating instructions and information and it cause less material being covered. Furthermore, it can lead the students become increasingly stressed and dissatisfied. If student became so stressful, the student might be lead to the health problem like fever, unconscious, high blood pressure, asthma, and allergies. Student normally beings exposed to various types of noise including external, environmental noise and noise generated within the classroom. It may come from desk and table movement, adjacent classrooms and hallways, exterior traffic noise and poor acoustic design, for example ineffective sound barriers and hard surfaces, resulting in excessive echo or reverberation.
The others impact of noise on children’s learning and achievements like lesson interruption and learned helplessness. According to Lauren Tyree, (1999), in lesson interruption, teachers drowned out by noise outside the classroom or from the class members, they often find they must stop in their tracks to address the problem. As a result, lessons previously proceeding as planned must be interrupted for several moments with each interruption, which can quickly add up to a significant amount of lost time. Moreover, the teacher's energy has been redirected toward eradicating the noisy interruptions. While In learned helplessness, the possible loss of hearing and a noticeable lag in reading comprehension, students who suffer too much noise in their learning environments can start to lose their ability to persist through difficult lessons and tasks. The persistent interruption of high levels of noise does nothing to encourage peace or patience while learning new subjects. Students may want stable, quiet atmospheres for healthy absorption of academic material. In the absence of this condition, frustrated students develop shorter attention spans to cope with possible and likely interjections of noise.
Secondly, classroom’s lighting and temperature will affect student achievement. According to Denise Young, (2002), classroom’s lighting and temperature should be comfortable and conducive to student learning. This is because some students need more light than others and some may want it to be warmer or cooler than others. Warm classrooms tend to lead students to be more sleepy, inattentive, and consequently bored and disruptive. For lecturer such conditions may lead to increased lecturer stress and reduced classroom effectiveness. These conditions also can relate to health problem that may causes absenteeism among the lecturer and students.
In ventilation and heating, a lack of appropriate ventilation or heating leads to less than optimal educational performance. Hot, humid classrooms affect concentration on the task in hand and impair student's learning. Even though, relatively little research has systematically studied how classroom temperature, humidity, air quality and ventilation affect the students and their lecturers. According to Karl W, Julie D, and Nick p, (2008) on ventilation and heating draws mainly on adult studies, often in work environments. In the case of humidity there may be health risks as well. For teachers such circumstances may lead to increased teacher stress and reduced classroom effectiveness. Moreover, poorly controlled classroom ventilation may lead to raised carbon dioxide levels which in turn are associated with a reduction in concentration and the ability to focus on mental tasks. Both students and lecturers show health related effects when room temperature, humidity and ventilation are inadequately controlled. This may be associated with missed schooling on the part of students and increase lecturer absenteeism.
In lighting, glare arising from reflective surfaces may be disabling, and even when just uncomfortable it may have negative effects on students and lecturer activity. The contrast between objects and the background on which they lie may have negative effects on students and lecturer activity if levels of contrast are too low and lighting levels are inadequate. Moreover, poorly managed classroom lighting may exacerbate the negative effects of poorly corrected students and lecturer eyesight and thus affect access to text and other learning resources. Greater exposure to natural light is positively associated with enhanced students’ performance, while having a view from the classroom positively impacts on students and lecturer wellbeing. According to Karl W, Julie D, and Nick p, (2008) that light colour and its perceived warmth may be associated with positive individual moods and a sense of wellbeing. Furthermore, the low levels of exposure to natural light may negatively interact with individual circadian rhythms and are associated with reduced concentration, disturbed sleep and depressed mental and social activity. This may lead to missed class for students or absenteeism among lecturer.
Thirdly, in classroom design, the poor design in teaching and study space causes lower performances of students; it may problem from the size and flexibility of the teaching and study space, and internal acoustics and minimization of external noise. The overall size of the teaching space is critical to teaching outcomes, from both a teaching and student perspective. According to Wendy S and Venise C, (2004) being in a cramped space that is too small for the way teachers want to use the space and for the number of students was a major criticism of inadequate classroom spaces. The space shape and height are also important, if no balance on space shape and height, give difficulty for teachers and students because small narrow spaces can affect students’ ability to see the board and hear the teacher, and the teacher cannot monitor the activity at the rear of the room. In arrange of chair and desk, if no space the teachers has difficulty to move around the class. Moreover, the noise levels appear greater in smaller classrooms, this is because desks are closer together among each students. They may tend to talk and play more rather than hear the learning in class.
Lastly, dirty, smelly and messy environment in class can also affect the students’ performance. It is a well-known fact that students learn better when they’re in a clean environment. If classroom not clean, dirty and smelly, it gives uncomfortable learning environment for students. A dirty class makes it hard to concentrate on schoolwork, hear the learning in class and the students also cannot concentrate it might causes the student’s grades be low than expected. No students can enjoys being in a dirty environment. The dirty and smelly environment may also come from the air conditioner and smelly from outside class. According to Elizabeth, J & Ken, T (1999), classroom conditions improved by air conditioning but it also can distract students attention in class especially when talk about smell. The most important it may cause such harmful effects as decreased the student’s performance in class, and conditions favorable to disease like skin disease and allergies. It also decreases feelings of comfort, activity and productivity of the students, and they may be absenteeism in class. Furthermore, the smelly may also come from outside the class, especially the class near the cafeteria. The cooking smell from cafeteria can causes students loss focus when learning in class. Sometimes, certain students cannot stand the food smell, they might vomit, migraine, and fainting in class.
Family Problem
Firstly, family divorce can have an impact on the lecturer and student classroom performance. According to Marcy and Sylvan Schaffer, (1987), marital conflicts may involve continuing trouble between parents or may extend to separation or divorce. The disruption caused by such fighting and family dissolution may affect a student's school performance. Moreover, students may also be ashamed of their parents' situation. They may attempt to hide it from their friends by absents from coming to the class. For the lecturer, family divorces can causes them stress, and depression, they cannot focus and pay attention to their students. The learning process will not be done; the lecturer might ask the student to do their own job. Sometimes, this problem cause them became hot temper during in class if their student do not achieve their expectation or disobey.
Secondly, the children will feel unsatisfied or angry with their parent, if their parent always nagged or criticizes what they do. Sometimes parents have a hard time realizing that their child are growing up and already becoming more independent. Moreover, the students frustrated with their family will became rude and disagree with everything types of discussion happen in class. Sometimes, their show their unsatisfied and agree by fight with their friend in class.
Lastly, family has financial problem also can affect the student’s performance in the class. Nowadays, many student face financial problem where they have difficulty in paying college fees. According to Anne (2009), some of the students did not get any loan or scholarship, so they have to depend on their parents. However, for students who came from poor background are forced to work to gain extra money to pay their fee but some students are not able to balance between works and study caused their will feel stress and give up to continue the studies.
Student behavior problem
Firstly, the incivility among of student can cause lower performance of students. Nowadays, we always hear lecturer lamenting the misbehavior of students in their classes. According to Jennifer L. & Robertson, H (2008) there is many types of classroom incivility such as annoyances, classroom terrorism, intimidation of the instructor, and threats or attacks on a person or person’s psyche. These incivility choice from arriving to class late, dominating classroom time with personal agendas, threatening to go to the head of department with complaints, to threats of physical violence or even physical attacks. These types of incivility can disrupt the learning process in the classroom. When students engage in annoying behavior like talking on their cell phones, not only do they miss valuable learning time, they also may obstruct with the learning of those around them. Engaging in classroom discussion allows students to connect with course content in meaningful and relevant ways. When students engage in classroom terrorism, however, they may make other students less likely to participate in class discussions. This can result in less productive dialogue and thereby less learning.
Secondly, the students become overly dependent on lecturer also can cause lower performance of the students. According to Mynard, J & Robin, S (2002), dependent students cannot make decisions about their learning, do not know their own strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, they think that the lecturer is wholly responsible for their learning and do not know the best way to learn something new. They also do not set learning goal, they will only work when extrinsic motivators such as grades or rewards are offered and do not reflect on how well they are learning and the reasons. Most lecturers say dependent learners will not succeed with their studies. If students are to achieve maximum success and cope with a world which is ever changing, they need assistance in acquiring skills which will help them to be more independent. Sometimes, students who don't know how to learn are too embarrassed to ask for help from their friend, their only depended on lecturer. If their still cannot understand, their keep quiet and pretend understand the learning. They assume wrongly either that they're the only ones harboring this deficiency or that they ought to be smart enough to overcome it on their own. According to David, L (2010), the dependent students will also contribute unhappy feelings. We cannot underestimate the unhappy feeling when it relates to lower performance or fail in the subject. If their grades are low, and especially if they're forced to delay graduation or drop out, they feel demoralized and ashamed. Plans for further education are scrapped and their career aspirations are abandoned.
Thirdly, the disciple problem in class like defiant, rowdy, or distracting of others, passing notes with other students in class, making wisecracks, asking silly question, making fun of others, disobeying authority, bossing, bullying, fighting, making unnecessary noise, making exaggerated and gesture, throwing objects, moving around without permission, talking aloud, making criticism, and whispering can cause lower performance in class. The classroom disturbances are annoying to students and lecturer. Disturbances students make it difficult for lecture to teach. Students who cannot focus or pay attention during learning season in class will disturb other students. According to Abhijit Naik (2000), students tend to be naughty, and at times this naughty behavior on their part can disrupt the momentum of the entire class. In such a situation, if the lecturers try to yell at them, it will disturb other students.
Fourthly, students are bored, inattentive, or unmotivated in class. There is always a time in any class when students do not feel like to study and learn. They may find the topic uninteresting and they will feel bored at end they might fall to sleeps. According to Ash Tan (2009), if the lecturers teach in the class, some of the students might fall to sleeps and bored. Here are 4 reasons from the point of view of a student that feel bored and sleepy in class. Firstly, lecturer does not interact with the students in the class. Some lecturer mistakenly show more attention to the blackboard or the slideshow of their teaching instead of attention to the students who are actually in the class. Secondly, the students find the subject too boring. Some of the most boring subjects like history are often taught by boring lecturer might causes students falls to sleeps. The history subject should not be read to students, the lecturer needs to teach it in fun way so the students feel interesting and not feel bored and sleepy. Thirdly, some lecture possesses the most beautiful singing voices which could even turn bed time stories to lullabies. These lecturers speak in a monotonous voice and the words coming out of their mouths are more like chants for a sleep spell. Lastly, when action is not taken against a sleeping student, other students would surely tag along the ride to dreamland. Since the lecturer is ignorant of this problem, it then becomes a mutual understanding between the lecturer and students that sleeping is permitted in class, often seen as win-win situation between both parties.
Fifthly, shyness and silence students also can cause lower performance in class. Shy and silence students may lack of self-confidence. Shy students are often strong people; they can do what others can't be alone. Lecturer can have a negative or positive effect on shy students. Lecturers who interpret shy behavior as willful or spiteful may punish the student for remaining silent; it is more likely to cause emotional harm to the students than to help them to develop. According to Michelle Wilkinson, (2010) shyness can affects student ability to communicate with other people and so being shy is bound to have an impact on their performance in class. Being shy also can make it difficult for the students to contribute in classroom discussions.
Lastly, genders issues also can cause lower performance of the students. The difference gender think differently, when students who actively participate in discussion, it will engage in debate and verbal sparring especially female students. According to Columbia University (2010), female students are less likely to raise their hands immediately in response to initial questions than male students and they less likely to blurt out answers or demand the teacher's attention. Moreover, when they contribute an idea or comments, they don’t really like to receive feedback, whether criticism and their comments credited from other students. When biases are happening in class, it makes some students especially female, feel inadequate. They come to doubt their own abilities and skills.
Lecturer behavior problem
Firstly, lecturers who absents during class session. Normally, attention has been focused on the student’s attendance in schools but according to Finlayson, M (2009), the same attention needs to be focused on the attendance of lecturers who are charged with the responsibility of teaching these students. Higher Lecturer absenteeism leads to lower student performance. Usually, Lecturer’s absences during in given year, including sick leave, bereavement leave, and personal leave. This absenteeism, cause lecturers often need to reteach material, restore order, and rebuild relationships with students again. It seems reasonable to determine that a student may not view school attendance as important if their lecturer is absent from class regularly. Students in a classroom eventually lose the desire to learn when the Lecturer is frequently absent in class.
Secondly, clashes subject among student not big deal by the lecturer. The students need to arrange and solve this problem by themselves. The lecturer not really cares about this problem causes the students miss some of the classes. When the students attend the class, they already miss a lot of topic and having difficulty to understand it.
Thirdly, hot-tempered lecturer also can cause lower performance of the students. Lecturers who are difficult to control their anger can cause them to act outside the limitations and probably can injury the students. The students react with this anger, became afraid, cannot focus on study and sometime they became rude and possible will happen a fight among the students and the lecturer. Moreover, lecturers who are bad temper are more disposed to health problem like stress, depression, high blood pressure, stomach problem, illness, ulcers, and stroke. These problems cause the lecturer absent from going to class.
Fourthly, the lecturer has not enough knowledge and experienced in teaching skill. Sometimes, these types of lecturer feel nervous during teaching lesson. They cannot contribute more effort and the knowledge and information given to the students also limited. These causes the students cannot understand well what they try to say and the students might feel bored during class. The lecturer also cannot control the student’s behavior during class, they sometimes ignore this problem and students may become rude to that lecturer.
Fifthly, lecturer has high expectation beyond the student capability. The lecturer has tendencies to treat students differently based on how likely they think and they can get what they expect from their students but sometimes it give negative impact to the students. Sometimes, if some of the students cannot achieve the lecturer expectation, the lecturer became biased to that student. According to Good & Brophy (1987), the students who experience this negatively biased teacher behavior are likely to set lower goals, attribute their failures to low ability, and have lower perceptions of their own self-efficacy, and set performance goals rather than learning goals.
Lastly, lecture to focusing most of their attention on classroom management issues rather than on teaching. Sometimes, the lecturer teaches out of topic what they supposed to teach. Even though, it helps the students to pay attention and focus in class rather than sleep and feel bored, but the lecturer not realize when they teach different sometimes it end up until class finish. The students will not learn an important thing about their subject.
Literature review
In the literature review we will study on what the other think about the classroom problems, namely problems in classroom environment, family matters, student behavior and Lecturer behavior that lower the student performances.
The impact on the student seating arrangement and design can affect the students’ academic because the students can see clearly the learning process in class (Catherine Hoffman Kaser, 2005). In MacAulay, (1990), the classroom should be set up to set the stage for the teacher to address the academic, social, and emotional needs of students. The standards for determining what three-dimensional layout is most suitable to fullfil these functions include ways to maximize the teacher’s ability to see and be seen by all the students; facilitate ease of movement throughout the classroom; minimize distractions so that students are best able to dynamically involve in academics; provide each student and the teacher with their own personal space; and ensuring that each student can see presentations, learning process and materials posted in the classroom.
Classroom management is not only discipline, it also contribute other interruptions and disruptions that also can causes the lower performance of the students (Brian, K 2010; and Kratochwill, T 2012). Creating an environment is important where students feel comfortable and it necessary to have a class that functions effectively. This is because the student ability of understand the learning in class will affect their performance later. To ensure the students will feel comfortable and understand the lesson in class, the lectures need identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the student so that the lecture can accommodate to the differences and needs of the students.
Family problems come in all shapes and sizes that will affect the students’ performance either problem in mental health problems such as depression, anxiety or phobias, illness, communication problems, domestic violence, anger, divorce, intolerance of differences, financial difficulties or excesses, step families teen issues, and favoring or disfavoring family members (Counselling California, 2012). According to Word Press (2012), separation and divorce will interrupt the stability and predictability that children need. Other than the death of an immediate family member, divorce is the most stressful event that can affect a family. This is because children may feel a great loss as well as anxiety, anger, and sadness that they will be abandoned or losing their parents’ love. Moreover, during the divorce, the student performance will drop where there think it will not important anymore and it became often worsens.
Classroom management, often called classroom discipline, that being so importance for teachers for nearly 40 years, but the teachers acknowledged that the help with classroom management and instructional skills are needed because their concerns about student safety and their desire for the strategies to deal with students’ negative and disruptive behaviors (Kratochwill,T 2012; and Gruwell, E and Esquith, R 2007). The bad behavior of the students while in class will interrupt the learning lesson in class where it affects other student. That why the teacher that has enough experience on teaching can handle this problem where the student will feel afraid to make noisy or interrupt other students. However, for the lecture who first time teaching and never have experiences problem like this, they will feel burden and not know how to control their students. The students also will take advantages by became rude, interrupt other student, make noisy and not pay attention with the learning lesson in class. In addition, classroom management problem are the reason why first-year teachers quit from job or job burnout.
Research Methodology
Research design
The objectives of the research are to investigate which one of the classroom environment problems caused more effect on lowering the student’s performances. This section presents an overview of the methods to use in the research. This research will be using deductive approach to gathering more information from difference type methods. Deduction is the process of stating a known fact, opinion, or assumption and then perceptive from specific comments to arrive at a conclusion. The research methodology requires gathering relevant data collection to obtain the opinion, explanation and reach at a more complete understanding on the issues about classroom environment problem that lowers the student performances.
Population
There are 500 students in the population of INTI International College, Sarawak that include local students from difference races such as Chinese, Malay, Iban, Bidayuh, Kenyah, and Indian; and international students from China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Taiwan, and others. INTI offer many types of programmed like Diploma in Business Administration, Diploma in Hotel Management, Diploma in Computers Studies, Diploma in Culinary Art, TAFE Diploma in Accounting, Cambridge A-Level, and Degree in Business Administration and Master in Business Administration. Details of programmed a show in table 1:
Table 1: Programme available in INTI International College
