Large Class Pedagogy

In this useful and practical book, Elisa Carbone offers a wealth of sound advice on how to deal with a large class, from the first day to end of term evaluations. Full of examples taken from many different disciplines, Teaching Large Classes will be an ideal companion for any teacher facing the challenge of the large introductory class.

I highly recommend this edited collection. It is a timely intervention when universities around the world are facing changes akin to the newspaper industry a decade ago. The authors remind us of the potential power of the lecture and that there does not need to be a trade off between the size of the class and the quality of the delivery... Professor James Arvanitakis 2012 recipient of the Prime Minister?s Teaching and Learning Award, University of Western Sydney, Australia This is the first book of its kind that considers the complex issues of large classes. As such, it makes a very important contribution and provides a deep insight into large class pedagogy from a conceptual and practical perspective. Dr Mandia Menits Massey University, New Zealand If the thought of teaching large classes fills you with dread; if you think that pedagogic innovation is impossible in the face of burgeoning student numbers; or if you simply wish to understand more about the dynamics of this increasingly common environment in Higher Education, then this is the book for you. Written by highly experienced academics, it is a valuable (and long overdue!) resource for supporting good practice in the large class context. Dr Jenny Hadingham University of Rochester, New York

The debate over whether class size matters for teaching and learning is one of the most enduring, and aggressive, in education research. Teachers often insist that small classes benefit their work. But many experts argue that evidence from research shows class size has little impact on pupil outcomes, so does not matter, and this dominant view has informed policymaking internationally. Here, the lead researchers on the world’s biggest study into class size effects present a counter-argument. Through detailed analysis of the complex relations involved in the classroom they reveal the mechanisms that support teachers’ experience, and conclude that class size matters very much indeed. Drawing on 20 years of systematic classroom observations, surveys of practitioners, detailed case studies and extensive reviews of research, Peter Blatchford and Anthony Russell contend that common ways of researching the impact of class size are limited and sometimes misguided. While class size may have no direct effect on pupil outcomes, it has, they say, significant force through interconnections with classroom processes. In describing these connections, the book opens up the everyday world of the classroom and shows that the influence of class size is everywhere. It impacts on teaching, grouping practices and classroom management, the quality of peer relations, tasks given to pupils, and on the time teachers have for marking, assessments and understanding the strengths and challenges for individual pupils. From their analysis, the authors develop a new social pedagogical model of how class size influences work, and identify policy conclusions and implications for teachers and schools.

In this useful and practical book, Elisa Carbone offers a wealth of sound advice on how to deal with a large class, from the first day to end of term evaluations. Full of examples taken from many different disciplines, Teaching Large Classes will be an ideal companion for any teacher facing the challenge of the large introductory class.

This guide combines theory on teaching methodology with advice on good teaching practice in order to help teachers face the challenge of larger numbers of students in their classrooms. It includes a number of case studies which explore innovative teaching methods.

Large classes have become a fact of life in colleges and universities across America; even as academic funding has decreased, class enrollments have continued to rise. Although students, teachers, and administrators are often concerned by the potentially negative impact of uneven teacher-to-student ratios, large classes also offer many potential advantages that are less recognized and not always maximized. In Engaging Large Classes, the authors demonstrate that large classes can be just as stimulating and rewarding as smaller classes. Written by experienced teachers of large classes across a wide range of disciplines and institutions, this book provides faculty members and administrators with instructional strategies and advice on how to enhance large class settings. This book summarizes many of the core issues related to successfully teaching large classes, including An honest review of the advantages and disadvantages of large classes Advice on how to design, plan, manage, and fairly assess large classes The universality of large-class issues across disciplines, from classroom management to working with teaching assistants Strategies for using classroom technology, active learning, and collaborative learning Seventeen detailed examples of large classes from a range of higher education institutions The authors not only present an overview of research on teaching large classes, they also equip readers with helpful insight into the mechanics of large-class pedagogy. This book has the potential to change the way academia views the reality of teaching large classes.

I highly recommend this edited collection. It is a timely intervention when universities around the world are facing changes akin to the newspaper industry a decade ago. The authors remind us of the potential power of the lecture and that there does not need to be a trade off between the size of the class and the quality of the delivery... Professor James Arvanitakis 2012 recipient of the Prime Minister?s Teaching and Learning Award, University of Western Sydney, Australia This is the first book of its kind that considers the complex issues of large classes. As such, it makes a very important contribution and provides a deep insight into large class pedagogy from a conceptual and practical perspective. Dr Mandia Menits Massey University, New Zealand If the thought of teaching large classes fills you with dread; if you think that pedagogic innovation is impossible in the face of burgeoning student numbers; or if you simply wish to understand more about the dynamics of this increasingly common environment in Higher Education, then this is the book for you. Written by highly experienced academics, it is a valuable (and long overdue!) resource for supporting good practice in the large class context. Dr Jenny Hadingham University of Rochester, New York