ABSTRACT
Hasibuan, Margaretha. 2008. The Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University.Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
There are two main reasons why the researcher conducts this research. The first reason is that seating arrangement in the class has a possibility to affect the students and lecturers in teaching and learning process. The students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement can influence students’ and lecturers’ behaviour which then leads the students’ behaviour in the teaching and learning process. The second reason is that the researcher wants to improve and maximize the seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class, so that the students and lecturers are comfortable in following the teaching and learning process which is inspired by Alexandra Ramsden research about the seating arrangements.
This research attempts to answer two research questions. The research questions are (1) What are the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University? (2) What are the students’ and lecturers’ suggestions about the teaching and learning process in Public Speaking I using the traditional seating arrangement?
In order to help the researcher to answer those problems, some theories are employed. First is the definition of various seating arrangements. Second is the definition of perception, perceptual process and factors which influence perception. Third is the nature of Public Speaking I class.
The researcher used descriptive research. The descriptive research was done by distributing the questionnaires to the students and conducting interview with the lecturers and students of Public Speaking I class.
The research findings of this data showed that most of the students argued that traditional seating arrangement was good, but not ideal for Public Speaking I class. The students were accustomed to this arrangement because they had been experiencing this seating since the first semester. The students could understand lecturer’s explanation well although some students who sat in the back row had a small problem when they sat there because if they sat in the back row there would be many distractions there. However, some of the students thought that they were not really comfortable with traditional seating arrangement when they had to do group work activities. They had to move heavy chairs or tables to gather with their friends in the group. It could waste time and cause bad sound. Afterwards they did not sit face to face, so that it would be difficult for them to interact with their friends in one group.
There are some suggestions that can be proposed by the researcher. The suggestions are for English Education Study Program, the students and lecturers of Public Speaking I and for the other researchers who would like to conduct further research on the seating arrangement.
ABSTRAK
Hasibuan, Margaretha. 2008. The Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University
Ada dua alasan mengapa penelitian ini dilakukan. Alasan pertama adalah pengaturan tempat duduk dapat mempengaruhi para mahasiswa dan dosen dalam proses belajar mengajar di kelas. Hal ini terkait dengan persepsi mahasiswa dan dosen pada pengaturan tempat duduk dapat mempengaruhi perilaku mahasiswa dan dosen yang kemudian dapat berpengaruh pada perilaku mereka pada proses belajar mengajar. Alasan kedua adalah peneliti ingin meningkatkan dan membenahi pengaturan tempat duduk di kelas Public Speaking I, sehingga para mahasiswa dan dosen merasa nyaman dan termotivasi dalam mengikuti proses belajar mengajar. Alasan tersebut terinspirasi oleh peneliti Alexandra Ramsden tentang pengaturan tempat duduk.
Penilitian ini mencoba untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan, yaitu (1) Bagaimana persepsi para mahasiswa dan dosen tentang pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional? (2) Apakah masukan dari para mahasiswa dan dosen mengenai proses belajar mengajar di kelasPublic Speaking Imenggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional?
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian diatas, peniliti menerapkan penelitian yang bersifat deskripsi dengan menyebarkan kuesioner kepada mahasiswa Public Speaking Iclass dan melakukan wawancara dengan beberapa mahasisiwa dan dosen Public speaking I.
Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh, kebanyakan mahasiswa berpersepsi bahwa pengaturan tempat duduk traditional baik untuk kelas Public Speaking I karena kebanyakan mahasiswa telah terbiasa dengan pengaturan tempat duduk tersebut, mereka telah menggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional dari semester pertama. Mahasiswa dapat mengerti penjelasan dari dosen dengan baik walaupun beberapa mahasiwa yang duduk di belakang menemui gangguan-gangguan yang mengganggu konsetrasi mereka. Dalam kerja kelompok, kebanyakan mahasiswa tidak nyaman menggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk traditional. Mereka harus memindahkan meja dan kursi yang berat untuk berkumpul dengan teman-teman satu kelompok. Ini dapat menghabiskan waktu dan menyebabkan suara yang tidak enak didengar. Selain itu, mereka tidak merasa nyaman karena mereka tidak duduk berhadap-hadapan sehingga menyulitkan mereka untuk dapat berkomunikasi dan berinteraksi dengan teman-teman lain dalam satu kelompok.
Ada beberapa saran yang dapat diberikan peneliti. Saran-saran tersebut ditujukan untuk prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris , para mahasiswa dan dosen pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, serta untuk peneliti yang ingin melaksanakan penelitian lebih lanjut.
THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan 041214068
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan 041214068
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2008
A Thesis On
THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
Prepared and Presented by
Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan
Students Number: 041214068
Approved by:
Sponsor
A Thesis on
THE STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENT
IN PUBLIC SPEAKING I CLASS AT SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
By
MARGARETHA SINTA SEPTIANI HASIBUAN
Student Number: 041214068
Defended before the Board of Examiners On October 22, 2008
And Declared Acceptable
Board of Examiners
Chairperson : A. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. ______________
Secretary : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. ______________
Member : Drs. Concilianus Laos Mbato, M.A. ______________
Member : G. Punto Aji, M.Hum. ______________
Member : F.X. Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd. ______________
Yogyakarta, October 22, 2008
Faculty of Teachers Training and Education Sanata Dharma University
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that this thesis, which I wrote, does not contain the work or parts of
the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the references, as a
scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, October 13, 2008
The Writer
Margaretha Sinta Septiani Hasibuan
"Greatest Love Of All"
I believe the children are our are future Teach them well and let them lead the way Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be
Everybody searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone to fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be So I learned to depend on me
I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve Learning to love yourself It is the greatest love of all
I believe the children are our future Teach them well and let them lead the way Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be
And if by chance, that special place That you've been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place Find your strength in love
This thesis is dedicated to:
All of the children
around the world who have brilliant dreams
My beloved parents and sisters
ACKNOWLEDEGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Lord, Jesus
because of His blessing I could finish this thesis. I realize that God is invisible, but I
could feel His blessing and guidance everytime I wrote word by word in this thesis.
I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my sponsor,Drs. Concilianus Laos Mbato, M.A. for his feedback, suggestions, correction, support and time. I would also like to express my gratitude toMs. Siskaand Ms. Dianne. First, because of their willingness, I could distribute the questionnaires to their classes and second,
they provided time to answer my questions in the interview. I really appreciate their
help. I also would like to express my special gratitude to Public Speaking I students
of 2006 for being my participants, giving me suggestions and information which I
really need.
I dedicate this thesis to my parents, Demister Hasibuan, S.E. and Pawarti, S.H. , my elder sister, Kak Novi, and my younger sister, Dik Yoan. They are so important in my life. Because of their support and encouragement, I could finish my
thesis.
I would also like to express my gratitude to my beloved boyfriend, Andrias Haris, for supporting me and giving me encouragement when I am really desperate.
I would like to give my gratitude toDias, Festi, Vonny, Henny , Valent and Novifor their support, data and advice and encouragement to finish my thesis. I also
thank all my friends in PBI 2004. Although we often compete in the class, we are still
friends. All of you are my inspiration to finish my thesis as soon as possible.
I would also like to express my gratitude to all of my friends who helped me
in finishing my thesis that I could not mention them one by one.
Margaretha Sinta
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE……….. i
APPROVAL PAGES……….. ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY……….. iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……….... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS……… viii
LIST OF TABLES……….. xi
LIST OF FIGURE……….. xii
ABSTRACT………. xiii
ABSTRAK………. xiv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ……….. 1
B. Problem Identification ……….. 6
C. Problem Limitation ……….. 6
D. Problem Formulation ……… 7
E. Objectives of the Study ………. 8
F. Benefits of the Study ………. 8
G. Definition of the Terms ………. 9
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW A. Theoretical Description ………. 12
1. Seating Arrangements ……….. 12
2. Public Speaking in English Language Education Context ………….. 22
3. Perception and Perception Process ……….. 28
B. Theoretical Framework ………. 35
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Method ……….. 38
C. Setting ……… 41
D. Research Instrument ………. 41
E. Data Gathering Procedures ……… 42
F. Data Analysis Procedures ……….. 43
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS RESULTS A. The Students’ Perceptions on Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I Class ……… 44
1. The Description of the Students’ Perceptions while a Lecturer was Giving a lecture Based on the Questionnaires Distributed ………… 44
a. Close-ended questions ……… 44
b. Open-ended questions ……… 46
c. The students’ Perceptions based on the Interview ………. 50
2. The Description of the Students’ Perceptions When They Had to Work in the Group and Group Performance (Debate) Based on the Questionnaire Distributed ……… 52
a. Close-ended questions ……… 52
b. Open-ended questions ……… 54
c. Description of the Students’ perceptions based on the interview .. 57
3. Discussion ……….. 59
B. The Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I Class Based on the interview ………. 63
1. Discussion ……… 66
C. Students’ Suggestions for Teaching and Learning Process Using the Traditional Seating Arrangement ………... 68
a. Students’ Suggestions Gathered from the Open-ended Questionnaire ……….. 69
b. Description of Students’ Suggestions Based on the Interview …... 72
D. Lecturers’ Suggestions for Teaching and Learning Process Using the Traditional Seating Arrangement Based on the Interview …………. 73
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions ……… 75
B. Suggestions ……… 78
1. For English Education Study Program ………. 78
2. For the Lecturers who teach Public speaking I at Sanata Dharma University ……… 79
3. For the students who join Public Speaking I Class ……….. 79
4. For future researchers ……….. 80
REFERENCES………. 81
APPENDICES... 83
APPENDIX 1:The Questionnaire sheet ……….. 84
APPENDIX 2:The Interview Lists for the Public Speaking I Lecturers …. 87 APPENDIX 3:The Questionnaire Result of the use Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I Class ……… 88
APPENDIX 4:The Questionnaire Results of the Use of Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I class ………… 90
APPENDIX 5:The Interview Results with the Lecturers ……….... 100
APPENDIX 6:The Interview Results with the Students ………. 103
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1. Questionnaire Result of the Students’ Perceptions on the Traditional
Seating Arrangement when the Lecturer was Giving a Lecture
(close-ended questions) ……….. 45
Table 4.2. Questionnaire Result of the Students’ Perceptions When the Students Had
to Work in Group Using the Traditional Seating Arrangement
(close-ended questions) ……….. 53
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1. Traditional Seating Arrangement ……… 13
Figure 2.2. Modified Traditional Seating Arrangement ……… 14
Figure 2.3. Cluster Seating Arrangement ……….. 17
Figure 2. 4. Table Seating Arrangement ……… 18
Figure 2.5. Circle Seating Arrangement ……… 19
Figure 2.6. Pairs Seating Arrangement ……….. 21
Figure 2.7 Horsehoe Seating Arrangement ……… 22
Figure 2.8. Factors that Influence Perception ……… 31
Figure 2.9. Perceptual Process ……….. 33
ABSTRACT
Hasibuan, Margaretha. 2008. The Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University.Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
There are two main reasons why the researcher conducts this research. The first reason is that seating arrangement in the class has a possibility to affect the students and lecturers in teaching and learning process. The students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement can influence students’ and lecturers’ behaviour which then leads the students’ behaviour in the teaching and learning process. The second reason is that the researcher wants to improve and maximize the seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class, so that the students and lecturers are comfortable in following the teaching and learning process which is inspired by Alexandra Ramsden research about the seating arrangements.
This research attempts to answer two research questions. The research questions are (1) What are the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University? (2) What are the students’ and lecturers’ suggestions about the teaching and learning process in Public Speaking I using the traditional seating arrangement?
In order to help the researcher to answer those problems, some theories are employed. First is the definition of various seating arrangements. Second is the definition of perception, perceptual process and factors which influence perception. Third is the nature of Public Speaking I class.
The researcher used descriptive research. The descriptive research was done by distributing the questionnaires to the students and conducting interview with the lecturers and students of Public Speaking I class.
The research findings of this data showed that most of the students argued that traditional seating arrangement was good, but not ideal for Public Speaking I class. The students were accustomed to this arrangement because they had been experiencing this seating since the first semester. The students could understand lecturer’s explanation well although some students who sat in the back row had a small problem when they sat there because if they sat in the back row there would be many distractions there. However, some of the students thought that they were not really comfortable with traditional seating arrangement when they had to do group work activities. They had to move heavy chairs or tables to gather with their friends in the group. It could waste time and cause bad sound. Afterwards they did not sit face to face, so that it would be difficult for them to interact with their friends in one group.
There are some suggestions that can be proposed by the researcher. The suggestions are for English Education Study Program, the students and lecturers of Public Speaking I and for the other researchers who would like to conduct further research on the seating arrangement.
ABSTRAK
Hasibuan, Margaretha. 2008. The Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions on the Traditional Seating Arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University
Ada dua alasan mengapa penelitian ini dilakukan. Alasan pertama adalah pengaturan tempat duduk dapat mempengaruhi para mahasiswa dan dosen dalam proses belajar mengajar di kelas. Hal ini terkait dengan persepsi mahasiswa dan dosen pada pengaturan tempat duduk dapat mempengaruhi perilaku mahasiswa dan dosen yang kemudian dapat berpengaruh pada perilaku mereka pada proses belajar mengajar. Alasan kedua adalah peneliti ingin meningkatkan dan membenahi pengaturan tempat duduk di kelas Public Speaking I, sehingga para mahasiswa dan dosen merasa nyaman dan termotivasi dalam mengikuti proses belajar mengajar. Alasan tersebut terinspirasi oleh peneliti Alexandra Ramsden tentang pengaturan tempat duduk.
Penilitian ini mencoba untuk menjawab dua pertanyaan, yaitu (1) Bagaimana persepsi para mahasiswa dan dosen tentang pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional? (2) Apakah masukan dari para mahasiswa dan dosen mengenai proses belajar mengajar di kelasPublic Speaking Imenggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional?
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian diatas, peniliti menerapkan penelitian yang bersifat deskripsi dengan menyebarkan kuesioner kepada mahasiswa Public Speaking Iclass dan melakukan wawancara dengan beberapa mahasisiwa dan dosen Public speaking I.
Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh, kebanyakan mahasiswa berpersepsi bahwa pengaturan tempat duduk traditional baik untuk kelas Public Speaking I karena kebanyakan mahasiswa telah terbiasa dengan pengaturan tempat duduk tersebut, mereka telah menggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk tradisional dari semester pertama. Mahasiswa dapat mengerti penjelasan dari dosen dengan baik walaupun beberapa mahasiwa yang duduk di belakang menemui gangguan-gangguan yang mengganggu konsetrasi mereka. Dalam kerja kelompok, kebanyakan mahasiswa tidak nyaman menggunakan pengaturan tempat duduk traditional. Mereka harus memindahkan meja dan kursi yang berat untuk berkumpul dengan teman-teman satu kelompok. Ini dapat menghabiskan waktu dan menyebabkan suara yang tidak enak didengar. Selain itu, mereka tidak merasa nyaman karena mereka tidak duduk berhadap-hadapan sehingga menyulitkan mereka untuk dapat berkomunikasi dan berinteraksi dengan teman-teman lain dalam satu kelompok.
Ada beberapa saran yang dapat diberikan peneliti. Saran-saran tersebut ditujukan untuk prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris , para mahasiswa dan dosen pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, serta untuk peneliti yang ingin melaksanakan penelitian lebih lanjut.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides background information related to the subject matter to
be explored and analyzed, presents the motivation why the researcher intended to do
the research on the subject matter, and the general aims of doing the research.
A. Background of the Study
Seating arrangement may play an important role in teaching and learning
activities. The arrangement of seating which is comfortable can support and motivate
the students to learn harder and seriously in the class. The most beneficial seating
arrangement can be determined by the type of learning activities that lecturer plans to
focus on the teaching and learning process in the classroom. Seating arrangement is
one way to control the classroom;it can promote some activities and communication.
The seating arrangement of the classroom is an important aspect to be considered as a
lecturer. Different seating arrangements allow for different types of learning activities
and classroom management that the lecturer wants.
The seating arrangement is a main part in a lecturer’s plan for classroom
management. The considerations in arranging the physical environment of the room
are settled so that teaching and learning can work efficiently. The lecturer needs to be
able to walk around the room without the students have to move their desks.
Lecturers need to consider that the students who sit in the front row of the classroom
tend to interact more frequently with the lecturer and the number of behavioral
problems tends to increase when the students sit farther from the teacher. The best
arrangement depends on the situation of the class and the activities itself.
According to Nicole Cusick (1999: 2), there are six types of seating
arrangement; such as desk rows or traditional seating arrangement, circle or
semicircle, clusters or modular, table rows, horseshoe, and pairs. The example of desk
row or traditional seating arrangement is in Sanata Dharma University. English
Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma University consists of nine base rooms;
there are I/K.03, I/K.10, I/K.11, I/K.12, I/K.13, I/K.15, II/K.31, II/K.32, II/K.33. All
of them still use traditional seating arrangement with traditional wooden tables and
chairs except the room in I/K.11 which is more modern because the form or style of
the chairs and tables are not traditional, the table and chair are in one part. The
position of seating arrangement and the form of chairs and tables in this university
still keeps the old tradition with the traditional tables and chairs consisting of many
rows, so there will be the students who sit in the front, middle and back row. The
lecturer stands in the front of the room and all of the students’ desks face the lecturer.
“Since all of the students are facing forward and the lecturer is in the front of the
classroom, he or she is the primary source of knowledge” (Nicole Cusick, 1999:2).
The seating arrangement in traditional seating can encourage the students to focus on
blackboard, overhead projector, screen and other instructional aids in teaching
process.
Adams and Biddle (1970: 50) discovered the existence of an “action zone” in
the classroom especially in the traditional seating arrangement. This action zone
included the students who sit in the middle and front row seats. These students
receive more opportunity to talk or interact with their lecturer than others; this is
because lecturers tend to stand in front, where their attention is focused on the
students in immediate view. In any case, students who sit in this section of the
classroom receive more teachers’ attention.
According to Ramsden (1999: 2) which is not really different with Adam and
Biddle’s opinion, in traditional seating, the students who sit in the center or front of
the classroom tend to interact more frequently with the teacher and the number of
behavioral problems tends to increase as the students sit farther from the teacher. It
can happen because the space between the students who sit in the front and the
teacher is very close, so the teacher can observe the students easier than the students
who sit in the back.
Alexandra Ramsden ( 1999: 2) conducted research on seating arrangement.
Her findings were with the traditional seating arrangement; it is easy for the teacher
to give lectures, whole group instruction, and tests because there is less opportunity
for the students to do behavioral distractions. The objective of these activities is to
This arrangement is not appropriate for the group discussion and the teaching process
tends to be one way. It is good that the students can face forward the teacher directly,
but we do not know whether this type of seating arrangement can encourage and
motivate the students in teaching and learning process considering that there are
students who sit in the front, middle and back which can make the teacher difficult to
control all of the students.
The lecturer has to remember that decisions on classroom arrangement should
take into account the attractiveness and effectiveness of the course to the students. If
the students want to interact but the arrangement inhibits interaction, or if students
do not want to interact but the seating is arranged so that interaction demands are
high, there will be many opportunities for the students themselves to develop
negative affect which can influence the teaching and learning activities in the class.
From the explanation above, it can be said that the seating arrangement can
influence the activities in the classroom. This study is going to do the research on
Public Speaking I class. Public Speaking I focuses more on spoken language and
cooperative learning. In Public Speaking I class, most of the time in the class is used
to do group activities like role-play, information gap and debate. So, the seating
arrangement in this class must be comfortable for the student to do group work
including to move their chairs and tables easily. There is not a special room for
speaking, reading and writing. The special room is designed in listening class. Based
on the researcher’s experiences, the seating arrangement which is traditional
class but not in Public Speaking I class because in Public Speaking I class the
activities tend to be done in groups work. The seating arrangement should be the
arrangement which is comfortable for the students to interact with their friends
including the chairs which are easy to be moved. Most of the classrooms at Sanata
Dharma University are big classes which consist of many chairs and tables in
traditional arrangement. This kind of class can be a big problem for the subjects
which need group work task.
According to Gary D. Borich (1996: 78) “in speaking class, group work
should entail 60-80 percent of the time to a cooperative activity; the remainder is
being devoted to whole class discussion.” In Public Speaking I class, the lecturer has
to provide opportunities for students to speak by using group work or pair work. In
this class the lecturers should limit their talk, so it will give the opportunity for the
students to increase the amount of time speaking in target language during lessons.
So, the seating arrangement in speaking class must be comfortable and easy for the
students to interact with the other students in pair work or group work. Traditional
seating arrangement is not appropriate for the Public Speaking I class because this
arrangement only gives restricted interaction among the students.
This research is intended to explore the perceptions and suggestions of fourth
semester students in Public speaking I class and lectures of Public Speaking I on the
traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma University. This study would like
to address two questions. Firstly, the researcher intends to find what the students’ and
at Sanata Dharma University are. Secondly, the researcher intends to know what the
students’ and lecturers’ suggestions for the teaching and learning activities using the
traditional seating arrangement at Sanata University especially in Public Speaking I
class are.
B. Problem Identification
Seating arrangements are very important when we think about classroom
management. The way a class should be arranged clearly depends on the type of
students, the activities in the class and the philosophies of the lectures itself. Sanata
Dharma is one of the universities which still uses desk row or traditional seating
arrangement, so there will be students who sit in the front, middle and back. Some
arguments state that the seating arrangement is important to support students’
learning, lecturers’ teaching process and activities in the class. This research, then, is
attempted to observe two major variables exposed here namely: fourth semester
students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of Public Speaking I on the
traditional/conventional seating arrangement especially in Public speaking I class.
Public Speaking I is chosen because most of the activities in this subject are group
work activities and the possible suggestions to improve and maximize the use of the
traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class.
C. Problem Limitation
This study only focuses on the effort to investigate the students’ and lecturers’
of Public Speaking I perceptions and suggestions on the traditional seating
also limited to the fourth semester students of English Education Study Program in
the academic year of 2006 and some lecturers of Public Speaking I class who teach in
the fourth semester. The fourth semester students of Sanata Dharma University are
chosen because they still have Public Speaking I class in this semester and they are
more experienced with the conventional or traditional seating arrangement than the
students in the lower semester. Most of the students in the fourth semester have
experienced studying in English Study Program base rooms (I/K.03, I/K.10, I/K.11,
I/K.12, I/K13, I/K.15, II/K.31, II/K.32, II/K.33). The researcher chooses Public
Speaking I class because in Public Speaking class most of the activities are group
work where the students need comfortable class to gather in group. So, it is better to
know whether the traditional seating arrangement could influence and support the
activities in Public Speaking.
D. Problem Formulation
The problems of the research were formulated in order to show exactly what
questions to be answered. Based on the background, problem identification, and
problem limitation, the research problems were formulated as follows:
1. What are the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating
arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University?
2. What are the students’ and lecturers’ suggestions about the teaching and
learning activities using the traditional seating arrangement in the Public
E. Objectives of the Study
In relation to the research problems previously stated, the research objectives
of this study are:
1. To find the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional seating
arrangement in Public Speaking I at Sanata Dharma University.
2. To find the students’ and lectures’ suggestions about teaching and learning
activities using the traditional seating arrangement in the Public Speaking I
class.
F. Benefits of the Study
The benefits of this study are set as follows:
1. The English Education Study Program
It is hoped that based on the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions and
suggestions on the traditional seating arrangement, English Education Study Program
Department can improve and maximize the use of seating arrangement which can
make the students and lecturers comfortable in the class and support teaching and
learning activities in the class and if possible the university can provide a special
room for Public Speaking I class.
2. Lecturers who teach Public Speaking I class, especially at Sanata Dharma
University
It is expected that English lecturers may use the result of this research as the
inputs to encourage the students to study well and seriously in the class with the
will give suggestions for the lecturers to arrange their own classroom and future
students based on the needs which can support teaching and learning process.
3. Students who join Public Speaking I class
It is expected that the students are more encouraged when they follow
teaching and learning process because the seating arrangement may play an important
role in creating atmosphere which can make the students feel comfortable in the class.
4. Future Researchers
It is hoped that observers, experts and people who are interested in classroom
management especially seating arrangement may be inspired by the outcome of this
research to conduct further studies in a wider scope.
G. Definition of Terms
In this study, the researcher uses the terms perception, traditional seating
arrangement and Public Speaking I because those terms become the main points of
this research that is the students’ and lectures’ perceptions on the traditional seating
arrangement in Public Speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University.
1. Perception
According to Altman, et al (1985: 85) perception defined as “the way how
people select and group the stimuli so that they can interpret the stimuli
meaningfully.” In other words, perception is how the people give meaning to their
environment by interpreting the stimuli. “The effect of knowledge and experience are
in themselves liable to produce selective perception and the funneling of attention to
acquired” ( Vernon, 1971: 217). In this study, the word ‘perception’ is related to the
seating arrangement in the teaching and learning activities. Then the researcher would
like to focus the study on the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on the traditional
seating arrangement in Public speaking I class at Sanata Dharma University.
2. Traditional seating arrangement
In this study, traditional seating arrangement is the seating arrangement in all
classes at Sanata Dharma University. Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 2) points out that
“desk rows are a traditional classroom seating arrangement of several rows of desks
facing the teacher.” The student’s desks do not touch each other but are arranged in
rows and columns. In this study, the researcher would like to emphasize that what she
focuses on this study is the traditional seating arrangement at Sanata Dharma
University.
There are advantages and disadvantages using the traditional seating
arrangement. According to Don Clark (2001: 1) and Ramsden (1999: 2), the
traditional seating arrangement is best used for short lectures. The teacher is often
difficult to interact with all of the students especially with the students who sit in the
back rows. This arrangement is not appropriate for the group discussion and the
teaching process tends to be one way because the teacher only gives the lecture and
seldom interacts with the students.
3. Public Speaking I
In this study, Public Speaking I is one of the compulsory courses offered in
communicate in the target language. Speaking is "the process of building and sharing
meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts"
(Chaney, 1998: 13). Speaking is one of skills of the second language learning and
teaching. For many years, English teacher just teach speaking as a repetition of drills
or memorization of dialogues. However, in this era of globalization requires that the
goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because,
only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
The main concern of this study is the students’ and lecturers’ perceptions on
the conventional or traditional seating arrangement in Public Speaking I class at
Sanata Dharma University. In order to conduct this study, the researcher is going to
discuss some literature reviews which provide the background related to this research.
Hence, the researcher is going to first review the nature of various kinds seating
arrangement. Second is the nature of Public Speaking I. Then, the researcher will
review the theories of perception. After reviewing the background theories, the
researcher will then elaborate the theories to describe the steps that the researcher will
conduct in order to gather the data needed.
A. Theoretical Description
Here, the researcher will review the nature of seating arrangements in
educational context, the perception theories and the nature of speaking in order to
specify the area that the researcher is going to discuss.
1. Seating Arrangements
a. Traditional Seating arrangement
There are many kinds of seating arrangements which are used in classroom.
One of seating arrangements which is used mostly in classroom in Indonesia is
conventional or traditional seating arrangement. Although this seating arrangement
is old fashioned and still keeps old tradition, it still dominates the seating arrangement
in the world. A recent survey of classrooms on a university campus found over 90
percent of the classrooms to have this arrangement (Cusick, 1999: 2).
According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 2), “conventional seating
arrangement is a traditional classroom seating arrangement which consists of several
rows of desks facing the teacher.” So, the seating arrangements will consist of rows
and columns. In this type of seating the teacher only can move through the rows.
“Because the students only face to one direction toward their teacher, the teacher
becomes the primary source of the knowledge” (Cusick, 1999: 2).
x
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Figure 2Modified traditional seating (Don Clark, 2001:1)
Some studies also said that seating location or position can influence students’
behavior and students’ achievement in the class. According to Adams and Biddle
(1970: 50) most classrooms contain what they call “an “action zone”, an area of the
classroom where the teacher spends most of his time on large proportion of his
interaction with the students.” In most classrooms, this action zone includes the
students who sit in the first row, middle row and the center of aisle. The students who
are in action zone are much more active in the classroom than the others who sit in
the back. In many cases, the students who sit in the front usually dominate discussion
and get a large proportion of the teacher‘s attention. Students who sit at the back of
the room seldom interact with their teacher because they are out from teacher’s
control, so they are much less active in the class discussion.
There are advantages and disadvantages using traditional or conventional
arrangement is best used for short lectures, communication tends to be one way and
trainer cannot see the learners in the back.” Cusick (1999:2) and Don Clark (2001:1)
state that “whole group instruction, lectures, and independent seatwork are ideal when
the desks are in rows.” Because the desks are in rows and the students are separated,
the opportunity for the distractions can be minimized. The main teaching goal using
traditional seating arrangement is lecturing and whole group instruction. The
objective of these activities is to have the students focus and concentrate on the lesson
or lecture, with a minimal amount of distraction. This arrangement is not appropriate
for the group discussion because the students are difficult to gather with their own
group remembering that they have to move their desks and chairs.
The learning environment should be designed according to learning objectives
and desired outcomes. In fact, the lecturer has to make the students feel comfortable
in following teaching and learning process. The lecturer also has to think what kinds
of seating arrangement which is appropriate with the class activities. For example is
in the Public Speaking I class, the lecturer has to make the seating arrangement
comfortable for the discussion and group work. However, this traditional seating
arrangement is probably the best for preventing cheating when there is a test in the
class.
English Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma consists of nine base
rooms. There are I/K.03, I/K.10, I/K.11, I/K.12, I/K.13, I/K.15, II/K.31, II/K.32,
the arrangement stated by Don Clark (Figure 1). The arrangements of the other rooms
are modified traditional seating arrangement (Figure 2).
b. Clusters
According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999:2), “clusters seating arrangement
consists of four or five desks pushed together so every desk is facing another one.
The fifth desk, if needed, will be put on the end of the group of four.” The classroom
will have clusters scattered around, so each cluster will be far enough apart from each
other, the students’ chairs will not hit each other. In this class, the teacher is free to
walk around the room without touching students’ desks or chairs and can work with
each group. The students need to be able to work together. There will be different
levels of students at each group so that they can help each other. Clusters are very
usual in the situations where there are many group works. The desks which are
gathered into one make it easy for all students in the cluster to see each other and to
discuss the tasks given. In this situation, “the philosophy of the teacher is more
collaborative learning “(Ramsden,1999:2). This arrangement gives the students the
major authority on activities in the class. The teacher has duties to guide and help the
students if they find some difficulties. This arrangement also allows for students to do
Figure 3Cluster Seating Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 2)
There are also disadvantages of using cluster seating arrangement. Clusters
are not very good during test or quizzes because students can easily cheat each other.
The Clusters can also be a disadvantage to the teacher when giving a direct
instruction lesson because students may not focus on the teacher. Students may have
their back to the teacher and not be focused to the front of the room.
“This arrangement is usually found in elementary schools and universities
because there is more cooperative learning” (Ramsden, 1999: 2). The other
disadvantage is the students will use most of their time by talking with their friends
because they sit close each other. The students will waste their time and the teacher
will spend most of their time making the students to be quiet.
c.Table Rows
According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 3), “table rows consist of long tables
that are placed in rows that are perpendicular to the front and back of the room.” The
students sit next and across from each other. This seating arrangement is usually O O
O O O O O 0 O O
O O O O O O
O O O O
0 0 0 0
found in science labs and writing class. It is a good arrangement for group work and
large group projects. “The philosophy of the table rows seating arrangement is
probably collaborative learning” (Ramsden 1999: 3). The teachers lets the students to
work together with their friends. During writing class, it is easy for students to face
their friends and share their work. In science labs it is good to have a large table
where everyone can get the item and participate in the class.
Figure 4Table Rows Seating Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 3)
The disadvantage of this seating arrangement is there are students who are at
the end of the tables in the back of the room that will not be able to see while the
teacher is giving a lecture. Also, it is difficult for the teacher to see all of the students
and observe their behavior. It gives many opportunities for the students to chat with
their friends and it is very bad in a test situation. None of the students are facing the
front of the room when sitting at the table row arrangement. It is difficult to have
class discussions because the students will not hear each other without moving and x
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
looking around to see who is talking. Table rows are good for situations where there
is seldom any direct instruction and students work together to solve the problems .
d. Semi-circle
According to Alexandra Ramsden (1999: 4), “Semi-circle seating arrangement
is when all the desks touch each other facing the front of the room in a semi-circle
shape.” The teacher can easily see each student. “The philosophies of the teacher
using this arrangement can be direct instruction and collaborative learning (Ramsden
1999:4). Because all of the students can see each other they can have discussions
together. The students can give ideas and opinions in the group discussion and the
seating arrangement could support the activity. Also, because the students can see to
the board easily, direct instruction from the teacher could be very common. The
teacher could control all of the students well. The teacher could easily walk around
the room and monitor everybody’s work and behaviour. The students will also be
able to work together doing the activities.
Figure 5Semi-circle Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 4) O O
O X
O O
O O
O O
O O
The semi-circle seating arrangement could be bad because the teacher will be
difficult meeting with each of the student. This is because the seats are very close to
each other. Also, the semi-circle cover almost the entire classroom so there is not
much space for activities outside the desk area. Semi- circle desk arrangement can be
used in all grade classrooms and for all educational philosophies (Ramsden, 1999:4).
This is because the teacher can have classroom discussions and all of the students can
see and hear each other well. The teacher gives the authority to the students. In this
arrangement the teacher can control the class by giving the students step by step
instructions. All of the students face the front of the room and have their own space to
work. The students can work easily together without much movement because they
are sitting next to each other which can make them work together.
e. Pairs
According to Don Clark (2000:1), “pairs seating arrangement is when two
student’s desks are together and placed away from other pairs.” This arrangement
makes the teacher is able to walk around the classroom and monitor all of the
students. The teacher needs to decide which students can be paired together based on
their ability, it is hoped that the students in the pair seating arrangement could help
each other. “The teacher philosophy is probably a mix between adult run and
collaborative learning” (Ramsden 1999:5). Pairs seating arrangement allow the
Figure 6Pair Seating Arrangement (Alexandra Ramsden, 1999: 5)
The students face the teacher. In this situation, the teacher can easily monitor
during the students do the test. They can do activities and learn cooperatively. The
disadvantage of pair seating arrangements is that there are students who will be in the
back and the corners of the room.
This arrangement does not allow for much class discussion because the
students do not face each other and it is difficult to hear and see who is talking. It is
necessary for the teacher to make sure all of the students can have a partner and work
together. It is important that the teacher chooses the pairs so there is not anyone who
does not get a pair. “Pair seating arrangement is found more in fourth, fifth or sixth
grades where students take more responsibility for their actions and behaviors
(Ramsden, 1999:5).
f. Horsehoe seating arrangement
According to S. Holtrop (1997:1), “horseshoe is a variation on the bicameral
(two sides) arrangement.” The advantage of this seating arrangement is this seating x
O O O O
O O
O O O O
arrangement can encourage participation by allowing eye contact between the teacher
and all of the students. Here, the teacher can observe students one by one freely; the
teacher is able to move closer to each student because there is much space in the
middle of the seating; this seating arrangement is very good when the students are
involved in large group discussion.
Figure 7Horse hoe Seating Arrangement (Holtrop, 1997: 1)
2. Public Speaking in English Language Education Context
Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of
verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998: 13).
Speaking is one of skills of second language learning and teaching. For many years,
English teacher just teach speaking as a repetition of drills or memorization of
dialogues. However, this globalization era requires that the goal of teaching speaking
can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules
appropriately in each communicative circumstance.
Public Speaking tends to apply cooperative learning. In cooperative learning,
students usually work in pairs or group; they share information and help each other.
In groups, the students can do role-play and debate. In cooperative classroom the
students and the lecturer work together to pursue goals and objectives. In
Cooperative learning, the students are more motivated and confident in giving their
opinions or idea. In cooperative learning models, “a group learning activity is
dependent on the socially structured exchange of information between learners”.
(Oxford 1997, as stated in Brown, 2001: 47).
Speaking is really different with writing or reading. Speaking happens in real
time, usually the person you are talking to is waiting for you to speak right then. If we
communicate there must be coherence among the speakers. Speaking is not only can
be done face to face, speaking can be done without facing the person we are talking
to, conversation in telephone is also called speaking. Second, when you speak, you
cannot edit and revise what you have said, as you can if you are writing
According to Gary D. Borich (1996:78) “in speaking class, group work should
entail 60-80 percent of the time to a cooperative activity, the remainder is being
devoted to whole class discussion and debriefing.” In speaking class, the teacher’s
roles are to see that each group remains on track, to guide each group and to provide
this class, the students should be given the opportunities to speak up; they can
communicate their own ideas and feelings in the group.
According to Hayriye Kayi (2006: 1), the activities that can be done in
speaking class which give the opportunities for student to communicate in target
language are:
a. Discussion
Discussion can be held for various reasons. The students may give a
conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find solutions in their groups discussion.
Before the discussion, it is important that the purpose of the discussion activity is
determined by the teacher. In this way, the discussion goals are relevant to this
purpose, so that students do not spend their time chatting with each other. For
example, students can become involved in agree or disagree discussions. In this type
of discussions, the teacher can form groups of students, 4 or 5 in each group, and
provide controversial sentences like “people learn best when they read vs. people
learn best when they practice”. Then each group works on their topic for a given time
period, and presents their opinions in front of the class. At the end, the class decides
on the group who gives the best idea. This activity encourages critical thinking and
quick decision making, and students learn how to express their own opinion in polite
ways while disagreeing with the others. For efficient group discussions, it is always
better not to form large groups, because quiet students may not contribute in large
groups. The group members can be either determined by the teacher or the students
activity so that students can work with various people and learn to be open to
different ideas. The last, in class or group discussions, whatever the purpose is, the
students should always be encouraged to ask questions, paraphrase ideas, express
support, check for clarification.
b. Role Play
The other way to make the students speak is by doing role play. The students
play in various social roles and context. The teacher gives the instruction to the
student who they are and what they think or feel. Then, the teacher can tell the
student that "You are a man named David, you go to the doctor and tell him what
happened last night, and…" (Harmer, 1984: 23).
c. Simulations.
Simulations are very similar to role plays. The thing that makes simulations
different with role-plays is that they are more elaborate. In simulations, students can
bring items to the class to create a real environment. For instance, if a student is
acting as a singer, she brings a microphone to sing. Role plays and simulations have
many advantages. First, because they are entertaining, they motivate the students.
Second, as Harmer (1984: 23) suggests, they increase the self-confidence of hesitant
students, because in role play and simulation activities, they will have a different role
and do not have to speak for themselves, which means they do not have to take the
d. Information Gap
In this activity, students have to work in pairs. One student will have the
information that other partner does not have and the partners will share their
information. Information gap activities have many purposes such as solving a
problem or collecting information. Also, each partner plays an important role
because the task cannot be completed if the partners do not provide the information
the other friends need. These activities are effective because everybody has the
opportunity to talk extensively in the target language.
e. Story telling
Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody, or
they may create their own stories to tell their classmates. Story telling encourages
creative thinking. It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning,
development, and ending, including the characters and setting. Students also can tell
jokes in the story telling.
Since 80 % activities in the speaking class is group work, the seating
arrangement should support the activities in the class. But, traditional seating
arrangement at Sanata Dharma University except in K I/11 is not appropriate for the
group work .The students are difficult to interact with their friends in group work
because the students have to move the their chairs or gather in cluster, the teacher is
also difficult to interact with the students.
Public Speaking I course in fourth semester aims to increase students’ fluency
students could share their own ideas and opinions, it does not matter if there is a
mistake in grammar, and the students just need to be confident with their own ideas.
In the class, they should do many practices in speaking if they want to succeed in
Public Speaking I class. By the end of the course it is hoped that the students will be
able to describe, explain, analyze debate and express ideas and opinions on a range of
topic in formal and informal settings. As well as being able to express their ideas and
opinions, students will be able respond appropriately to the ideas and opinions of
others. The objectives of Public Speaking are the students will be able to express
themselves fluently in both everyday and formal situations. They should be able to
state their preference and opinions, to argue and differ, to analyze and question and to
have the confidence to communicate in wide social range.
According to the Syllabus of Public Speaking I (KPE 207), there are many
topics which are learnt in Public Speaking I. First topic is Public Speaking; in this
meeting the students are encouraged to discuss tips of delivering a message. The
second topic is discussion. In the discussion the students have to lead a group
discussion based on the topics given and their own topic in turns. Next topic is
interview. Interview is divided into two topics, first is reporting an interview. In the
first subtopic, the students have to interview their peers on a given topic and report it
to the class. The second subtopic, the students have to do role play based on a given
role of applicant and employer. The fourth topic is about meeting. Topic about
meeting is also divided into two subtopics. Those subtopics are making meeting
to lead and participate in a meeting to decide on a certain matter in turns. The next
topic is about debate. In the debate, the students have to conduct a debate on a topic
of their choice. And then the last topic is about survey and report. This topic also is
divided into two subtopics. The first is preparing and conducting a survey, the
objective is the students prepare and conduct a survey on a topic of their choice. The
second subtopic is reporting a survey; the objective is students report the result of
their survey in front of the class.
3. Perception and Perception Process
After reviewing the nature of conventional or traditional seating arrangement
in education fields, the researcher will review the process of perception, the factors
which influence the perception, the application of this theory and the nature of the
perception itself in order to make people more understand.
Robbins (1993:132) stated that perception can be defined “as a process by
which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment.” So, what someone perceives can be really different
from objective reality. For example, it is possible that all employees in a company
may have the opinion that the company is a great place to work, favorable working
conditions, interesting job assignments, good pay, an understanding and responsible
management, but as most of us know, it is very unusual to find such agreement.
Osland (2001:214) points out that perception are “the process by which
individuals select, organize, and evaluate stimuli from the external environment to
defined as “the way how people select and group the stimuli so that they can interpret
the stimuli meaningfully.” In other words, perception is how the people give meaning
to their environment
It can be concluded from Robbin, Osland and Altman, et al that perception is
the process in which people think and give meaning about something based on their
experience and sense of impressions by selecting and grouping the stimuli. How
people perceive the world is a product of memory, imagination, hearsay, and fantasy
as what we actually perceive through our senses.
According to Robbins (1993:133), there are three factors which influence
someone’s perception:
a. The perceiver
When individuals looks at a target and attempts to interpret what he or she sees,
that interpretation is influenced by personal characteristic of the individual perceiver.
The more relevant personal characteristic affecting perception are attitudes, motives,
interests, past experience and expectations. People can see same thing, but they
interpret it differently, it is caused because they hold divergent attitudes each other.
Unsatisfied needs or motives stimulate individuals and may cause a strong influence
on their perceptions. Interest can also influence someone’s perception. Someone’s
perception is different with other people. What one person notices in a situation can
differ from what others perceive. Someone past experience influences the perceivers
act to nullify an object’s interest. Finally, expectations can distort one’s perceptions
in that he/she will see what he/she expect to see.
b. The target
Characteristic in the target that is being observed can affect what is perceived.
Motion, sound, size, and other attributes of a target shape the way someone sees it.
What someone sees is depends on how he/she separates a figure from its general
background. Persons, objects, or events that are similar to each other also tend to be
grouped together. The greater the similarity, the greater the probability people tend to
perceive them as a common group.
c. The Situation
The situation affects someone’s perception. The time at which an object or
event is seen can influence attention, as can location, light, heat, or any number of
Figure 8 Factors that Influence Perception (Stephen P. Robbins, 1993:133)
Osland (1993:214) states the perceptual patterns are neither innate nor
absolute. They are selective, learned, culturally determined, consistent and
innacurrate.
a. Perception is selective. At any one time there are too many stimuli in the
environment for us to observe. Therefore, we screen out most of what we
see, hear, taste, and feel. We screen out the overload and allow only
selected information through our perceptual screen to our conscious mind. Perception
Factors in the target
Novelty
Motion
Sounds
Size
Background
Proximity Factors in the situation
Time
Work setting
Social setting
Factors in the perceiver
Attitudes
Motives
Interest
Experience
b. Perceptual patterns are learned. We are not born seeing the world in one
particular way. Our experience teaches us to perceive the world in certain
ways.
c. Perception is culturally determined. We learn to see the world in a certain
way based on our cultural background.
d. Perception tends to remain consistent. Once we see something in a
particular way, we continue to see it that way.
e. Perception is inaccurate. We see things that do not exist and do not see
things that do exist. Our background, values, interests, and culture act as
filters and lead us to distort, block, and even create what we choose to see
and hear. We perceive what we expect to perceive. We perceive things
according to what we have been trained to see, according to our cultural
map.
Krech (1948:81) points out two major determinants of perception; they are
structural factors of perceptions and functional factors involved in perception.
According to Krech (1948:81), structural factors are “those factors deriving solely
from the nature of the physical stimuli and the neural effects they evoke in the
nervous system of the individual.” It means the perception is determined by the
physiological events which occur in the nervous system of the individual in direct
reaction to the simulation by the physical object. Meanwhile, functional factors of
perceptual organization are those which derive primarily from the needs, moods, past
qualities of the stimuli also help determine which stimuli, of the welter of stimuli
impinging on our sense organs, will be selected out our perceptions (Krech, 1948:92).
The structural factors involved in the creation and presentation of propaganda and
educational materials are sometimes quite important in determining what perceptions
will experience.
Figure 9Altman, et al (1985:85) shows perceptual process.
The perception of human’s mind is begun from stimuli. Stimuli are forms of
physical energy, such as light, heat, sound and movement that strikes sensory
receptors. The sensory receptors are the sensory organs of body such as ears, eyes,
nose, skin which has duty to convey message to the brain. The selected stimulus is
going to form information. The brain will organize and interpret. The interpretation of
the information is called sensation, the translation of external energy. After
interpreting the information, the brain translates the information into meanings. The
result of the meaningful translation of the information is called perception and then
the behavioral perception exists.
There are four important factors which could affect someone to have
perception on something (Altman et.al, 1985:86), they are: Stimuli Sensor’s
selection of stimuli
Perception organization and interpretation of
stimuli
a. Selection of stimuli
Everyone selects certain stimuli, each stimuli is different from each other.
Altman et. Al also says that people have different threshold level in selecting stimuli.
For example is people can listen to the radio or watch television when they are
studying, whereas others cannot or a girl who is listening to the radio will keep
listening to the radio although there are many distractions, such as baby is crying and
someone is watching TV.
b. Organization of stimuli
The selected stimuli should be organized in order to be meaningful. Altman Et
al. (1985:87) stated that “the perceptual organization of information could help us
categorize sensory inputs.” The categorization makes the complexity of the
information becomes simpler so that the person can interpret the stimuli as
meaningful information.
c. The situation
Each person has different expectation about a situation happens around him or
her. The expectation about a situation affects the perception. Altman Et al. (1985:89)
stated that “The expectation toward a situation may affect what she or he perceived.
Student’s expectation of the situation when the students have to study using
traditional seating arrangement may influence their perception toward the seating
arrangement. The students’ past experience on the use of the traditional seating
