Overcoming The Problem of Giving Ineffective Instructions to The Children in Kindergarten at Little Children Class.
ABSTRACT
Tugas akhir ini membahas permasalahan yang saya temui selama
melaksanakan magang di Little Children Class, yaitu saya sebagai
seorang guru baru, merasa kesulitan saat memberikan instruksi-instruksi
pembelajaran pada anak-anak TK A ketika berada di ruangan kelas.
Hal tersebut disebabkan oleh tiga hal, yaitu : saya adalah pengajar
baru yang belum berpengalaman, saya memiliki suara yang kecil saat
memberikan instruksi pada anak-anak, dan saya kurang tegas saat
memberikan instruksi. Ketidakmampuan saya dalam memberikan instuksi
secara efektif membuat suasana di kelas menjadi gaduh, anak-anak tidak
mematuhi apa yang guru instruksikan, anak-anak tidak melakukan
pekerjaannya dengan baik, anak-anak sering ngobrol dengan temantemannya selama pelajaran berlangsung, dan anak-anak kurang
menghormati saya sebagai gurunya.
Saya memberikan tiga solusi dan mengambil solusi terbaik untuk
mengatasi kekurangan dan ketidakmampuan saya saat memberikan
instruksi pada anak-anak saat kegiatan belajar mengajar di dalam kelas.
Solusi yang didapat diharapkan dapat berguna untuk mengatasi masalah
yang saya hadapi di dalam kelas.
i
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………
i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY………………………………………
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………...
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………..
iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………….. 1-5
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
D. Description of the Institution
E. Method of the Study
F. Limitation of the Study
G. Organization of the Term Paper
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS…………………………………. 6-10
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS…………………………… 11-16
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION………………………………………….17-18
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES:
A. APPENDIX
iv
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
APPENDIX
Causes
- I am a new teacher without
experience
- I have a low voice.
- I am too lenient to the children.
Problem:
Effects
I am not able to give
instructions
effectively to the
children in TK A
class at LCC.
- The children are noisy and they yell.
- The children do not obey the
teacher.
- The children do not do their work
well.
- The children do not respect to the
Potential Negative Effects:
- Some of the children will feel it is
unfair if the teacher only gets closer
with some of the other children.
- The children do not have any
respect to their teacher because of
having too close relationship the
children will.
Potential Negative Effects:
- Children will be nervous or
embarrassed.
- Children will feel uncomfortable.
Potential Negative Effects:
- The new teacher who has followed
the training will be needed more by
the school, so the senior teacher will
feel jealous and not feel so useful
anymore.
- The school has to pay the cost for
training of teachers.
Potential Positive Effects:
Potential solution
1
I have to develop
good communication
skills with the
children.
Potential
Solution
2
I have to stand
closer when giving
the instructions.
Potential
Solution
3
I should follow
training programs
related to how to
give instructions to
children.
- The children will be more active in
class activities.
- The children will not feel bored in
class.
- The teacher is easier in giving
instructions to children in class.
Potential Positive Effects:
- It is easier for the teacher to control
the children’s behaviour.
- The children will give more attention
to the lesson.
Potential Positive Effects:
- The teacher will know a lot about how
to give instructions to the children in the
classroom.
- The teacher will give valuable way to
other teachers about how to teach
children in an effective way
- The teacher can communicate to give
instructions with greater confidence.
Chosen Solution:
I have to develop good communication skills with the children.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
In this chapter, I would like to explain the reason for choosing my topic
and the definition of the topic. During my internship program in the
kindergarten at Little Children Class, I found a problem that as a new
teacher there, I was not able to make the children follow the instructions in
the classroom. Harmer states that “This issue of how to talk to students
becomes crucial when teachers are giving their students instructions. The
best activity in the world is a waste of time if the students do not
understand what it is they are supposed to do.” (4) Giving effective
instructions to children in class helps to get their attention to make them
follow the teacher’s instructions when they do their activities.
Being a teacher is not easy. It needs particular skills to manage the
classroom, including the way of giving instructions effectively to make the
children are able to follow the instructions well. If the children find it hard to
do their tasks well, the teacher may need to recheck whether his or her
instructions were complete enough or were too complicated to be
understood by the children. New teachers do not always come from a
background in education or have any experience as a teacher and do not
1
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
have the skills that are needed to manage the classroom well. That is why
many new teachers find it difficult to have good classroom management,
including giving effective instructions to children.
From January 20 until February 20, 2008, I did my internship program
as a teacher assistant at Little Children Class. Little Children Class,
henceforth (LCC), is an institution which is a kindergarten that gives
valuable lessons to the children, and it also gives English lessons twice a
week to make the children have a good quality of simple English language
to enter their next level of study.
I faced a problem when I did my internship program in the TK A Class
at LCC. It was hard to make the children finish their work well in class
because I had not understood yet how to give clear instructions to
children.
There are some factors that make the teacher not able to make the
children follow the instructions in class, such as the teacher is new, the
teacher has a soft voice, and the teacher is lenient to the children. Based
on my experience when I was doing my internship at LCC, I as a new
teacher found that there were some children who could not obey my
instruction because I was new and had no experience as a kindergarten
teacher. When I was telling a child what to do, the child usually did not
respond or do what I said, but if the senior teacher asked him to do
something, he did it. Based on this fact, I choose the difficulty of the
children to act according to the instructions given by me, as a new teacher
at LCC as the topic for my term paper.
2
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
B. Identification of the Problem
This term paper aims at providing answers to the following questions:
1. Why is it difficult for me to give effective instructions as a teacher in
the TK A class at LCC?
2. How do my ineffective instructions affect the children in TK A at
LCC?
3. How can I give effective instructions to the kindergarten children at
LCC?
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
The objectives of writing this term paper are to analyze the causes and
effects of not being able to give effective instructions, to find potential
solutions fom my ineffective instructions, and to choose the best potential
solution to give effective instructions in the TK A class at LCC.
Furthermore, there are also some benefits of the study for the
institution, the readers, and myself. It is expected that this term paper can
give some positive information for the institution and the teachers at LCC
through the potential solutions provided to help teachers give effective
instructions to the children in class, even if they are not new teachers.
The benefits for the readers who love children and want to be teachers
are, they will get information about how to deal effectively with children in
the classroom. More specifically, they will find some ways to give effective
instructions to the children.
3
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
For me, the benefit is I know more about how to make children follow
my instructions. In addition, I hope it will help me to teach the children well
if I work as a teacher in the future.
D. Description of the Institution
Little Children Class is a school for children aged 2 – 7. When LCC
began, Miss Tini Budiman supported the cost of renting a building for the
school, and she also asked Miss Lusiana to become the principal in the
LCC. LCC started on 17 July 2002 at Jl. Taman Holis Indah E1-8. At the
beginning, Little Children Class opened the school programmes of Preschool, Playgroup, and Kindergarten.
Teachers at Little Children Class try to speak English in the English
classes that are held twice a week. English language is an important
lesson in the kindergarten level of LCC, which is the aim of preparing
children for the following levels of English in the school. The LCC has
opened a programme of home-schooling and also an elementary school
from levels 1 to 3.
E. Method of the Study
I compiled the data for this term paper from my internship journal when
I did my internship programme in the TK A class at LCC. I wrote the entire
teaching and learning activities in class every day, when I was doing my
internship there. Besides, the theories for supporting my analysis of the
problem I discuss are from the Internet and library research. My internship
4
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
journal contains of the information which helps me in writing this term
paper.
F. Limitation of the Study
I will focus the analysis on me, a new teacher who finds it difficult to
make the children follow my instructions in the TK A class at Little Children
Class. The analysis is of the TK A class at LCC, which consists of twenty
children aged four years until six. The analysis was carried out from
January 2008 to February 2008.
G. Organization of the Term Paper
The term paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter One is the
Introduction, which has seven parts, namely, Background of the Study,
Identification of the Study, Objectives and Benefits of the Study,
Description of the Institution, Method of the Study, Limitation of the Study,
and Organization of the Term Paper. Chapter Two contains the analysis of
the problem, being specifically the causes and effects of the problem and
some theories that will support my data. In Chapter Three, I discuss some
possible solutions, as well as the negative and positive effects from the
potential solutions. In Chapter Four, I choose the best potential solution for
my problem. Finally, this term paper finishes with the Bibliography and the
Appendix.
5
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I would like to state the best solution for not being able
to give instructions effectively to the children in TK A class at LCC, which
is the problem I have analyzed in the previous chapters. I have analyzed
the three causes that made me, as the teacher, not have the ability to give
instructions effectively to the children. The first cause is I am a new
teacher without experience. The second cause is I have a soft voice when
speaking in class. The third cause is I am too lenient to the students. I
have also analyzed four effects from the problem. The first effect is the
children are noisy and they yell. The second effect is the children do not
obey the teacher. The third effect is the children do not do their work well.
The fourth effect is the children do not respect me as their teacher. As the
result of my analysis, I choose one solution as the best solutions for the
problem.
Before I talk further about the best solution, I will state three potential
solutions of the problem. The first potential solution of the problem is the
teacher has to develop good communication with the children in the
classroom. The second potential solution is the teacher has to stand closer
17
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
when giving the instructions. The third potential solution is the teacher
should follow training programs related to how to be a good teacher.
Now I would like to discuss the best solutions for the problem. I choose
the first as the best solution because I really believe that this solution can
help the teacher be able to give better instructions to the children in the
classroom when learning process. The solution is the teacher has to
develop good communication with children. Being a teacher is a tricky job,
as there as many different aspects to remember in our performance as
teacher. We have to communicate with both classes and individuals, and
build bonds between us and our children. We also have to know how to
plan and teach our lessons, to make children can learn well, and hopefully
have fun at the same time. The teacher needs to build and develop good
communication skills by giving example before giving instruction with
children to make sure what the teacher says is concise and easy to follow,
and therefore the children want to listen well to us. Also, when teacher
gives an instruction, keep it short and clear. When teacher offer an
explanation, teacher can make it longer but teacher still need keep it clear.
It is helpful to use many non-verbal communication such as using gesture,
body language, facial expression and eye contact to keep our children
focused on what we are saying. Besides this, the children will not be bored
and will be more active in doing their learning activities. Hopefully, my
research can help other teachers who are still new in teaching, especially
in kindergarten schools to improve their skills as teacher.
18
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Source
Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education
Limited, 1988.
Electronic Sources
Abisamra, Nada. “Lesson Plan Direct-Instruction Model.” Instructional
Procedures Educational. January 1998. 13 August 2010
Allen, Faith. “How to help kids with their homework.” How contributing writer:
2009. 26 November 2009
.
Kelly, Melissa. “Top 10 Tips for Classroom Discipline and Management.”
Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia: May 2003. 15 October 2009
.
Lambeth, Deborah. “Classroom Management Techniques.” Buzzle Staff and
Agencies: 6 April 2007. 10 October 2009
.
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Mathews, Jay. “New Teachers Rarely Learn Classroom Management.”
Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday: December 19, 2000; Page A19. 10
October 2009
.
Nik-nik. “How to steps to become a kindergarten teacher.” 2008. ehow inc.
22 August 2008
.
Whisp. “instructions.” Forum 16 Aug 2004. 15 June 2010
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Tugas akhir ini membahas permasalahan yang saya temui selama
melaksanakan magang di Little Children Class, yaitu saya sebagai
seorang guru baru, merasa kesulitan saat memberikan instruksi-instruksi
pembelajaran pada anak-anak TK A ketika berada di ruangan kelas.
Hal tersebut disebabkan oleh tiga hal, yaitu : saya adalah pengajar
baru yang belum berpengalaman, saya memiliki suara yang kecil saat
memberikan instruksi pada anak-anak, dan saya kurang tegas saat
memberikan instruksi. Ketidakmampuan saya dalam memberikan instuksi
secara efektif membuat suasana di kelas menjadi gaduh, anak-anak tidak
mematuhi apa yang guru instruksikan, anak-anak tidak melakukan
pekerjaannya dengan baik, anak-anak sering ngobrol dengan temantemannya selama pelajaran berlangsung, dan anak-anak kurang
menghormati saya sebagai gurunya.
Saya memberikan tiga solusi dan mengambil solusi terbaik untuk
mengatasi kekurangan dan ketidakmampuan saya saat memberikan
instruksi pada anak-anak saat kegiatan belajar mengajar di dalam kelas.
Solusi yang didapat diharapkan dapat berguna untuk mengatasi masalah
yang saya hadapi di dalam kelas.
i
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………
i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY………………………………………
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………...
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………..
iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………….. 1-5
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
D. Description of the Institution
E. Method of the Study
F. Limitation of the Study
G. Organization of the Term Paper
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS…………………………………. 6-10
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS…………………………… 11-16
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION………………………………………….17-18
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES:
A. APPENDIX
iv
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
APPENDIX
Causes
- I am a new teacher without
experience
- I have a low voice.
- I am too lenient to the children.
Problem:
Effects
I am not able to give
instructions
effectively to the
children in TK A
class at LCC.
- The children are noisy and they yell.
- The children do not obey the
teacher.
- The children do not do their work
well.
- The children do not respect to the
Potential Negative Effects:
- Some of the children will feel it is
unfair if the teacher only gets closer
with some of the other children.
- The children do not have any
respect to their teacher because of
having too close relationship the
children will.
Potential Negative Effects:
- Children will be nervous or
embarrassed.
- Children will feel uncomfortable.
Potential Negative Effects:
- The new teacher who has followed
the training will be needed more by
the school, so the senior teacher will
feel jealous and not feel so useful
anymore.
- The school has to pay the cost for
training of teachers.
Potential Positive Effects:
Potential solution
1
I have to develop
good communication
skills with the
children.
Potential
Solution
2
I have to stand
closer when giving
the instructions.
Potential
Solution
3
I should follow
training programs
related to how to
give instructions to
children.
- The children will be more active in
class activities.
- The children will not feel bored in
class.
- The teacher is easier in giving
instructions to children in class.
Potential Positive Effects:
- It is easier for the teacher to control
the children’s behaviour.
- The children will give more attention
to the lesson.
Potential Positive Effects:
- The teacher will know a lot about how
to give instructions to the children in the
classroom.
- The teacher will give valuable way to
other teachers about how to teach
children in an effective way
- The teacher can communicate to give
instructions with greater confidence.
Chosen Solution:
I have to develop good communication skills with the children.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
In this chapter, I would like to explain the reason for choosing my topic
and the definition of the topic. During my internship program in the
kindergarten at Little Children Class, I found a problem that as a new
teacher there, I was not able to make the children follow the instructions in
the classroom. Harmer states that “This issue of how to talk to students
becomes crucial when teachers are giving their students instructions. The
best activity in the world is a waste of time if the students do not
understand what it is they are supposed to do.” (4) Giving effective
instructions to children in class helps to get their attention to make them
follow the teacher’s instructions when they do their activities.
Being a teacher is not easy. It needs particular skills to manage the
classroom, including the way of giving instructions effectively to make the
children are able to follow the instructions well. If the children find it hard to
do their tasks well, the teacher may need to recheck whether his or her
instructions were complete enough or were too complicated to be
understood by the children. New teachers do not always come from a
background in education or have any experience as a teacher and do not
1
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
have the skills that are needed to manage the classroom well. That is why
many new teachers find it difficult to have good classroom management,
including giving effective instructions to children.
From January 20 until February 20, 2008, I did my internship program
as a teacher assistant at Little Children Class. Little Children Class,
henceforth (LCC), is an institution which is a kindergarten that gives
valuable lessons to the children, and it also gives English lessons twice a
week to make the children have a good quality of simple English language
to enter their next level of study.
I faced a problem when I did my internship program in the TK A Class
at LCC. It was hard to make the children finish their work well in class
because I had not understood yet how to give clear instructions to
children.
There are some factors that make the teacher not able to make the
children follow the instructions in class, such as the teacher is new, the
teacher has a soft voice, and the teacher is lenient to the children. Based
on my experience when I was doing my internship at LCC, I as a new
teacher found that there were some children who could not obey my
instruction because I was new and had no experience as a kindergarten
teacher. When I was telling a child what to do, the child usually did not
respond or do what I said, but if the senior teacher asked him to do
something, he did it. Based on this fact, I choose the difficulty of the
children to act according to the instructions given by me, as a new teacher
at LCC as the topic for my term paper.
2
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
B. Identification of the Problem
This term paper aims at providing answers to the following questions:
1. Why is it difficult for me to give effective instructions as a teacher in
the TK A class at LCC?
2. How do my ineffective instructions affect the children in TK A at
LCC?
3. How can I give effective instructions to the kindergarten children at
LCC?
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
The objectives of writing this term paper are to analyze the causes and
effects of not being able to give effective instructions, to find potential
solutions fom my ineffective instructions, and to choose the best potential
solution to give effective instructions in the TK A class at LCC.
Furthermore, there are also some benefits of the study for the
institution, the readers, and myself. It is expected that this term paper can
give some positive information for the institution and the teachers at LCC
through the potential solutions provided to help teachers give effective
instructions to the children in class, even if they are not new teachers.
The benefits for the readers who love children and want to be teachers
are, they will get information about how to deal effectively with children in
the classroom. More specifically, they will find some ways to give effective
instructions to the children.
3
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
For me, the benefit is I know more about how to make children follow
my instructions. In addition, I hope it will help me to teach the children well
if I work as a teacher in the future.
D. Description of the Institution
Little Children Class is a school for children aged 2 – 7. When LCC
began, Miss Tini Budiman supported the cost of renting a building for the
school, and she also asked Miss Lusiana to become the principal in the
LCC. LCC started on 17 July 2002 at Jl. Taman Holis Indah E1-8. At the
beginning, Little Children Class opened the school programmes of Preschool, Playgroup, and Kindergarten.
Teachers at Little Children Class try to speak English in the English
classes that are held twice a week. English language is an important
lesson in the kindergarten level of LCC, which is the aim of preparing
children for the following levels of English in the school. The LCC has
opened a programme of home-schooling and also an elementary school
from levels 1 to 3.
E. Method of the Study
I compiled the data for this term paper from my internship journal when
I did my internship programme in the TK A class at LCC. I wrote the entire
teaching and learning activities in class every day, when I was doing my
internship there. Besides, the theories for supporting my analysis of the
problem I discuss are from the Internet and library research. My internship
4
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
journal contains of the information which helps me in writing this term
paper.
F. Limitation of the Study
I will focus the analysis on me, a new teacher who finds it difficult to
make the children follow my instructions in the TK A class at Little Children
Class. The analysis is of the TK A class at LCC, which consists of twenty
children aged four years until six. The analysis was carried out from
January 2008 to February 2008.
G. Organization of the Term Paper
The term paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter One is the
Introduction, which has seven parts, namely, Background of the Study,
Identification of the Study, Objectives and Benefits of the Study,
Description of the Institution, Method of the Study, Limitation of the Study,
and Organization of the Term Paper. Chapter Two contains the analysis of
the problem, being specifically the causes and effects of the problem and
some theories that will support my data. In Chapter Three, I discuss some
possible solutions, as well as the negative and positive effects from the
potential solutions. In Chapter Four, I choose the best potential solution for
my problem. Finally, this term paper finishes with the Bibliography and the
Appendix.
5
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I would like to state the best solution for not being able
to give instructions effectively to the children in TK A class at LCC, which
is the problem I have analyzed in the previous chapters. I have analyzed
the three causes that made me, as the teacher, not have the ability to give
instructions effectively to the children. The first cause is I am a new
teacher without experience. The second cause is I have a soft voice when
speaking in class. The third cause is I am too lenient to the students. I
have also analyzed four effects from the problem. The first effect is the
children are noisy and they yell. The second effect is the children do not
obey the teacher. The third effect is the children do not do their work well.
The fourth effect is the children do not respect me as their teacher. As the
result of my analysis, I choose one solution as the best solutions for the
problem.
Before I talk further about the best solution, I will state three potential
solutions of the problem. The first potential solution of the problem is the
teacher has to develop good communication with the children in the
classroom. The second potential solution is the teacher has to stand closer
17
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
when giving the instructions. The third potential solution is the teacher
should follow training programs related to how to be a good teacher.
Now I would like to discuss the best solutions for the problem. I choose
the first as the best solution because I really believe that this solution can
help the teacher be able to give better instructions to the children in the
classroom when learning process. The solution is the teacher has to
develop good communication with children. Being a teacher is a tricky job,
as there as many different aspects to remember in our performance as
teacher. We have to communicate with both classes and individuals, and
build bonds between us and our children. We also have to know how to
plan and teach our lessons, to make children can learn well, and hopefully
have fun at the same time. The teacher needs to build and develop good
communication skills by giving example before giving instruction with
children to make sure what the teacher says is concise and easy to follow,
and therefore the children want to listen well to us. Also, when teacher
gives an instruction, keep it short and clear. When teacher offer an
explanation, teacher can make it longer but teacher still need keep it clear.
It is helpful to use many non-verbal communication such as using gesture,
body language, facial expression and eye contact to keep our children
focused on what we are saying. Besides this, the children will not be bored
and will be more active in doing their learning activities. Hopefully, my
research can help other teachers who are still new in teaching, especially
in kindergarten schools to improve their skills as teacher.
18
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Source
Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education
Limited, 1988.
Electronic Sources
Abisamra, Nada. “Lesson Plan Direct-Instruction Model.” Instructional
Procedures Educational. January 1998. 13 August 2010
Allen, Faith. “How to help kids with their homework.” How contributing writer:
2009. 26 November 2009
.
Kelly, Melissa. “Top 10 Tips for Classroom Discipline and Management.”
Baulkham Hills, NSW, Australia: May 2003. 15 October 2009
.
Lambeth, Deborah. “Classroom Management Techniques.” Buzzle Staff and
Agencies: 6 April 2007. 10 October 2009
.
Universitas Kristen Maranatha
Mathews, Jay. “New Teachers Rarely Learn Classroom Management.”
Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday: December 19, 2000; Page A19. 10
October 2009
.
Nik-nik. “How to steps to become a kindergarten teacher.” 2008. ehow inc.
22 August 2008
.
Whisp. “instructions.” Forum 16 Aug 2004. 15 June 2010
Universitas Kristen Maranatha