This is an interesting website on student involvement/participation in large classes. It is from the Penn State Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. It goes through a series of frequently asked questions about the topic. Topics include the definition of “student participation”, how to overcome the anonymity of large classes, how to encourage students to participate, and how to get students actively involved and interested in class. An excellent overall summary and a definitely a must read for instructors that teach large sections.
http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/Large_Class_FAQ_Student_Involvement.pdf
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5 comments:
This was a great resource. The largest class I ever taught was 75. Beyond the first two rows, it was tough to get people involved. A lot of schools have Centers for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and I've often found them go be great resources for the types of things you're looking for.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-44,GGLD:en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=center+excellence+teaching+learning&spell=1
Hi Ken, this is Joe (TA)
I agree with Kevin, this is an excellent resource. A large part of the document is devoted to examples of how PSU faculty members use student participation activities. That lets me know that these aren't only recommendations based on research, they are based on large-scale implementation of processes. Do you think these recommendations would work in smaller classes? Would you implement these processes using clickers?
I believe that a lot of these ideas and recommendations could be used in small classes (less than 25). Taking students pictures and scheduling mandatory office hours are good ideas regardless of the number of students. Others include arriving early/staying late in class, using simple games, and having students work in small groups also apply (and several I have used in my classes no matter the size). The clickers could easily be used for simple games (such as Jeopardy) to encourage students to participate in class.
Hi Ken,
An interesting article. My lectures are usually double sections so I range around 48-50 students. When I taught at the high school, I would know everyone's name so I could call on them and interact. But now, I never learn more than a third of the names in 16 weeks. People in the front seem more willing to participate because you, the lecturer are right there.
Ken
Interesting site. I don't teach more than 26 students but I still found this information useful and found ideas that I can use in my class. In any classroom you have there is bound to be some students that don't want to participate for whatever the reason is. This web site gives many great example and ideas for the instructor to get all teh students involved.
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