Abstract
Students’ role in the classroom is no longer a passive one.
Indeed, students’ input on the teaching-learning process is paramount as it is
their education that is at stake. Inevitably, their perception presents
methodological challenges. The opportunity to be “heard” raises their own
awareness about their own learning experience and the teaching process. Wisdom
(2010) talks about this reciprocity, suggesting that research on students’
thinking and perception functions as a mirror that can be used by both teachers
and students to reflect upon their learning and teaching, hence enhancing their
understanding of teaching and increasing its outcome. In other words, learners’
perception and observation on the methodology and content could work in
practice and become a part of exploratory studies (Kelechi 2010; Wale 2010).The
purpose of this study is to look at students’ thinking which promised to
enhance understanding of teaching and its outcomes by providing information
about teaching as experienced by the learners (Wisdom 2010). The three
instruments used in the research were survey questionnaires, interview and
observation. The research participants were 377 randomly selected Form One
students from selected schools in Kpansia, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Data were
collected through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Results of this
research revealed that students admit their teachers have positive attitude
towards subjectand subjectteaching. This showed that teachers always tried to
cultivate an atmosphere that was cooperative rather than competitive, perceived
to be non-threatening. Students were allowed to give their views and opinions,
thereby, creating a receptive classroom atmosphere to produce maximum learning
input.
Introduction
Teachers of deferent subject are faced with great challenges
especially in the second language context. Not only those students have to deal
with the complexity of the content and style of the subject texts, they are
also confronted with linguistics and aesthetic unfamiliarity. Nonetheless, the
complexity of the subject matter is
indurate if teachers of subjectare reluctant to plan their lessons properly;
and this planning process should include considerations for students’ need and
interest. Therefore, how teachers develop their subjectlesson and present it to
the classroom can greatly affect the students’ learning process. To a great
extent, the success of any interaction in classrooms depends on the teachers’
ability to initiate and promote communication among students. The teachers are
important in designing the class lesson in such a way that it creates interest
in students. An effective teaching process and a very conducive learning
environment of the classroom are undeniably teachers’ responsibility. It means
that the enthusiasm of the teachers, which is generally translated in their
actions and decisions, is a salient determinant of students’ interest. Most
teachers have a good idea of the sort of atmosphere they would like to have in
their classrooms, and they normally do their best to set up such an atmosphere.
Throughout the teaching process of developing students’
ability to learn, teachers have a very important role to play. It is in their
capacity as a teacher that they play an important role in cultivating the love
and interest for subjectin students. Their passion for the subject, which is
naturally articulated and expressed through their methodologies and approaches,
has the power to influence the students’ interest and perception of life.
Needless to say, it is up to the teacher to create and promote a positive
environment and learning attitude for the students to feel comfortable with learning
and not to feel scared and intimidated by the complexity of the texts chosen. Teachers
have a challenging task to ensure that the students learn, let alone like the
subject.
One important aspect of teaching subject is the teacher’s
creativity in approaching certain texts or themes. Obudigha Wisdom (April, 2010), a local renowned blog writer
said that ‘in the hands of a creative, dedicated teacher, even the mundane of
language activities can come alive in the classroom with effective learning
transfer taking place’. Likewise, Festus and Kingston (2010) suggest that in
order to determine students’ receptivity to creative approach, proper planning
is required to articulate teachers’ effort to promote creativity among
students. Wale (2010), likewise, avers that teachers must be creative by
introducing variations into their lessons so that students are always kept
alert and ready to respond to many different kinds of stimulus (Wale 2010). The
responsibility to acquaint and familiarize themselves with a wide variety of
methods and activities to promote and stimulate students’ interest ultimately
lies on the teachers’ shoulders. The importance of employing different teaching
technique is further stressed by Ogoro (19 April, 2010), an English language
educator Kpansia High School, who concurs that students generally have a poor
grasp of the English language and part of the problem lies with the
conventional teaching methods employed. Teachers of other Subjects, needless to
say, have extra responsibility of being innovative and creative to ensure that
students, especially in the Second Language context, to not only understand but
also internalize subject texts.
Indeed, teachers’ willingness to include the students in the
learning-teaching process will benefit tremendously from the students’
observation and perception of their approaches. Needless to say, teachers’
reluctance to listen to their students can be damaging to the learning process.
Indeed, their willingness to listen will move the students from the margin to
the centre of the classroom activities,. As such, it is wise to look at the
teaching milieu from the students’ point of view.
Elkins (2010) asserts that if the school is serious about
making it possible for every student to learn, then teachers should
systematically use diagnostic techniques that reveal those aspects of a
student’s makeup, which bear upon his motivation and capacity to learn.
Similarly, Wisdom (2010) argues that by providing information about teaching as
experienced by learners, research on students’ thinking will result in a better
understanding of the teaching process and its eventual outcomes. This is the
functional instruction that influences students’ learning and achievement. These
factors were tailored to the students’ needs and proficiency levels and to
their reception and attitude in the learning of the subject. The real objective
of teaching and learning is to give real directions to the learning activities
that must be created because teachers need to cater for individual differences.
Therefore, by diagnosing their own technique from the students’ perspective,
the teacher will be able to evaluate the relevance of their teaching.
Student’s Perception on Teachers’ Attitude
Students’ Perception on Teachers’ Attitude reveals about the
students’ perception of their teachers’ attitude towards the teaching. This
includes teachers’ disposition towards Subject teaching, and towards the
students themselves. As perception is defined as the process of determining the
meaning of what is sensed, it implies the ability to give meaning to stimuli.
The purpose in education is to help shape teachers’ perception on what is
appropriate about teaching and on the conception of the rule in shaping their
practice. Perception in the context of this research refers to the teachers’
perception of subject teaching and what thoughts and personal opinions they
have about subject and subject teaching. This perception, consequently,
influences their teaching behaviors.
Student’s Perception on the Teacher’s Teaching Atmosphere
Teaching atmosphere refers to the mood and flow of the
classroom as the lesson begins and ends. This mood and flow, in effect,
determines students’ interest and concentration. Obudigha (2010) asserts that
teaching atmosphere in classrooms should be in the non-threatening mode –
conducive, noncompetitive, and thought-provoking -, thus allowing students to
enjoy the lesson that is going on. Students’ Perception of the teaching
atmosphere informs us not only of the nature of the lessons carried out and the
creativity of the teacher but also of the learning mood during subject teaching.
The teachers’ creativity affects the atmosphere of the
class: to what extent it is creative, interesting and enjoyable. This
creativity includes the tasks that teachers assigned and the activities that
were to be carried out. Set against the demarcation points for mean rating
scores determined from Table 2, the overall mean score of 3.79 with a standard
deviation of 0.65 for the variable teaching atmosphere was within the high
level range. Thus, the results suggest the variable teaching atmosphere was
highly conducive as perceived by the students. This is evident in the high mean
score shown. The standard deviation of 0.65 suggests that students were
homogeneous in their scores. This is an indication that most respondents agreed
that their teachers, as much as possible had tried to create a very receptive
classroom atmosphere so that students would get maximum learning input.
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