describe the condition of students classroom ? (class 12)
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Answer:
Student learning is influenced most directly by classroom conditions which are a result of state, district and school conditions, as well as individual teacher preferences, capacities and motivations. Summarized in this section is evidence to suggest that at least eight areas of classroom policies and practices warrant the attention of leaders aiming to improve student learning. These policies and practices include opportunity to learn, class size, teaching loads, teaching subjects in which teachers have formal preparation, homework practices, classroom student grouping practices and curriculum and instruction.
Class size
By now, there is little debate in the research community over the contributions to student learning of smaller elementary school class sizes. Research on the matter is voluminous and continuing to grow at a fast rate. This body of evidence includes individual empirical studies, as well as good quality reviews of research.
Class size research suggests that reductions from a typical 22 to 30 student class, to an approximately 15 student class have the potential to significantly increase student achievement, provided that suitable changes are made in teacher practices which take advantage of fewer students. Evidence about class size effects not only identifies optimum sizes, it also suggests that the greatest benefits of reducing class size are found in the first two years of schooling when accompanied by appropriate adaptations to instruction (e.g., Finn, 2001). These benefits are most beneficial for students who are socially and economically disadvantaged. The effects realized by smaller classes in the primary grades appear to be maintained even three or four years later.
Among the explanations for small class effects are improved teacher morale, more time spent by teachers on individual instruction and less on classroom management, along with fewer disruptions and fewer discipline problems. Other explanations for small class size effects include greater engagement by students in instruction, more opportunities for better teaching to take place, reduced grade retention, reduced dropout rates in secondary schools and increased aspirations among students to attend college.
There are significant constraints or hurdles to be addressed if the impressive effects of smaller class sizes are to be realized on a large scale. As the California experience illustrates so painfully, smaller classes require additional qualified teachers and more safe playground areas and classroom space. Without considerable increases in education funding, smaller primary classes also mean larger classes in the later grades.
Formulas for calculating class size also have to be made explicit. By including non-teaching staff such as librarians into the student-teacher ratio, an inaccurate picture of the number of students is depicted by as much as six or seven students per classroom. The more accurate calculation required to realize the benefits reported in the class-size research entails counting the actual number of students in each classroom (Finn and Achilles, 1999).
Teaching loads
Evidence concerning teaching loads suggests that it is important to consider both the total numbers of students and subjects taught by teachers as well as the diversity of student needs. The total number of students per teacher over the course of an academic year is significant, especially in junior and senior high schools where, as a consequence of subject specialization, teachers typically see many different groups of students over the course of a week. This view is based on the premise that effective instruction depends on a deep understanding of the cognitive resources brought to class by individual students, along with opportunities to both assess and monitor their learning progress. The chances of meeting either of these conditions for effective instruction diminish with increased student diversity and total numbers of students taught. How districts communicate with schools and introduce, support and monitor changes in teaching loads has an impact on how those changes are received and implemented.
Evidence about teaching load argues for reductions in the typical numbers of students taught by senior teachers, in a semester or year, from a typical 125 to 200 to something fewer than 90. Beyond the research evidence, at least one major “whole school reform” initiative in the United States and several parts of Canada, The Coalition of Essential Schools (e.g., Sizer, 1992a, 1992b), advocates holding total numbers of secondary school students taught per teacher to about 90 as a central principle of its program. Additional evidence indicates that reductions in teaching loads may be achieved through the use of teaching assistants. For teachers to be able to contribute to the efforts of sustained development, it is important that they be able to devote their energies to the priority of teaching.
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