Teaching Large Classes

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Teaching Large Classes

• Ron Eaglin

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Large Class Issues

• Managing the classroom
• Managing the workload
• Creating an effective learning environment
• Assessing the students learning (our job)

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Objectives of Teaching

• How can you increase the effectiveness of
  LEARNING in this environment?
• How can you manage the load of such a large
  number of students?

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Where Does Learning Occur?

• Cramming the night before for the exam
• Reviewing the results of an exam
• Follow-up materials that reinforces
• Chapter questions/terms
• Faculty/student interaction
• Student/student interaction

• Lectures
• Class discussion
• Homework problems
• Case studies
• Reading textbooks
• Library research
• Group projects
• Individual projects
• Faculty office hours

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The Classroom

• Classroom time is gold do not waste it (most
  faculty do).
• Understand just how effective lecture is with
  students (and in large classrooms you are not
  going to be able to engage all the students).

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The Classroom

• Taking attendance not! Instead give a short (1
  or 2 question quiz) that students take at the end
  of class.
• Use these quizzes to double check attendance.
• I only check attendance on students who are
  borderline (and I let them know).

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The Classroom

• You can engage students by having prepared
  questions and a list of students in the class.
• Give random questions to students from the list
  (randomly selected).

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The Classroom

• Make the lecture relevant
• The 2 Phase Assignment Give students an
  assignment on material before the material is
  covered. On the day the assignment is due cover
  the material and let the students redo the
  assignment.
• This accomplishes self learning, and student see
  much more relevance to the materials once they
  have worked with it.

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The Classroom

• Good lectures move fast
• Real learning takes place outside the classroom
• When you show a student how to do something, you
  have a student who now knows how to watch you do
  something.

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Learning Outside the Classroom

• So what do you have available to you to assist in
  facilitating learning outside the classroom?

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Available Tools

• Email
• Forums
• Chat
• Video tape
• Radio
• Projects
• Interaction

• Course content
• Group projects
• Quizzes/Surveys
• Assignments
• WebCT calendar
• Real guests
• CD-ROM

• Scavenger hunts
• Virtual guests
• Streaming audio/video
• Live Video conferencing
• Course materials
• online

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Managing the Workload

• Step 1 Establish policies and procedures for
  students (examples) AND ENFORCE THEM!
• Students should only send you personal e-mails on
  issues concerning their grade or personal
  evaluation.
• Create bulletin board divisions BBs you will
  read (and answer) and BBs you will not read.
• Policy for office hours Questions on BB first,
  then office visit.

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Managing the Workload

• Tame high maintenance students
• Students who desire attention are most common,
  give them tasks such as
• Find all students having problems with this part
  of the text and have all of them meet me in my
  office at 4 PM for a discussion.
• Find one extra resource for this assignment from
  the library and bring it to me to cover

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Managing the Workload

• High Maintenance Students
• Make sure these students follow your procedures
  and rules send them away to do this if they
  have not.
• These students are also usually looking for a
  shortcut, this can be tamed.

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Managing the Workload

• Learn the ability to cut and paste and learn
  how to EFFECTIVELY use the management tools of
  WebCT.
• A little bit of learning on your part can save
  you lots of time.

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Excel and WebCT
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Download Process
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In Excel
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In Excel
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In Excel
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In Excel
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Upload and Download

• Ability to transfer records from WebCT to Excel
  (and vice versa) will save time.
• Why record transfer to Excel?
• Learn how to work with Comma Delimited Files (CSV
  or TXT).

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Beyond paper

• Electronically turning in assignments

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Beyond Paper
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Quizzing and Testing

• Moving beyond Scantron
• Use of WebCT allows for richer testing and still
  simplistic grading by adding Short Answer,
  Matching, and Formula Based Calculated Questions.
• Issues Security, Accessibility

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Testing Issues

• Security
• Use formula based numeric questions
• Use randomized (different order)
• Use question Sets (randomized groups of
  questions)
• Require students to take exam from specific
  computer lab (and have GTA available)

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Accessibility

• Have a testing window (ex. 4 hour time block for
  a 2 hour test)
• There are plenty of labs on campus and lots of
  points of access.

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Managing the Workload

• Learn from those who work efficiently such as
  how to manage lots of email.

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Learning Environment

• The best learning environment is one where the
  student is rewarded for learning.
• You define what learning is but it is more than
  just course materials
• Teamwork, Research Ability, Critical Thinking, .

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Rewarding Learning

• What is the primary reward (student perspective)?
• Grade
• What are other rewards?
• Job related skills
• Satisfaction
• More?

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Summary

• Large classes can be effective learning
  environments.
• You must learn to manage the classroom.
• You must learn to manage the workload.
• Share ideas that you can try