Teaching Large Classes
Last Updated: November 2011
Table of Contents
Guidelines and Strategies
- Summary of Discussion Panel with Award Winning Faculty: "Ways to Better Engage your Students" [pdf]
Organized by the LTO. Ryerson University. March 4, 2011.
- Summary of Discussion: "Teaching Large Classes" Workshop [pdf]
Organized by the LTO. Ryerson University. February 2, 2011.
- Summary of Discussion: "Teaching Large Classes" Workshop [pdf]
Organized by the LTO. Ryerson University. November 4, 2009.
- Large Classes: A Teaching Guide
Center for Teaching Excellence. University of Maryland.
- A Survival Handbook for Teaching Large Classes
By Sallie M. Ives. Center for Teaching & Learning. University of North Carolina. 2000.
This guidebook covers many of the hurdles faced by teachers of large classes, such as dealing with a diverse classroom, combating the perceived anonymity felt by students in a large class group, managing distractions and time management.
- Teaching Large Classes
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. Penn State.
"Actively engaging students in these classes is not easy but there are a few strategies that will allow you to break up your lecture, assess your student's understanding, and engage them in learning."
- Teaching Large Classes Well: Solutions From Your Peers [pdf]
Penn State ID Newsletter. Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. Penn State. October 1992.
- Teaching Large Classes
On the Cutting Edge: Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty. Science Education Resource Center. Carleton College.
Tips from faculty on keeping students engaged, making technology work for you, and getting groups to work well.
- Preparing to Teach the
Large Lecture Course
By Barbara Gross Davis. Excerpted from Tools for Teaching. University of California at Berkeley. 1993.
- Teaching Large Classes [.mov]
By Graham Gibbs. Centre for Learning and Teaching. Dalhousie University.
- Learning Gains in Large Classes
Best practices presented by Arshad Ahmad. Center for Leadership and Learning. McMaster University. March 30, 2004
- Teaching Large Classes
University of Western Ontario
This site features best practices, presentation tips including a PowerPoint primer, and an archive of answer to "Ask An Expert" questions.
- Teaching Large Classes
Center for Excellence in Teaching. Georgia Southern University.
The information on this site was developed using the results of a faculty survey conducted in 2007. The information is divided into sections that include lecturing and interaction, active learning, assessment, and online technology.
- Beating the Numbers Game: Effective Teaching in Large Classes
By Richard M. Felder. North Carolina State University. Originally presented at the ASEE Annual Conference. 1997.
"There are ways to make large classes almost as effective as their smaller counterparts. Without turning yourself inside out, you can get students actively involved, help them develop a sense of community, and give frequent homework assignments without killing yourself or your teaching assistants."
- Strategies for Teaching Large Classes
The Office of Instructional Development. University of California at Santa Barbara.
Includes information on large classes and the perception of fairness.
- Strategies for Teaching Large Classes: Recommendations from Brown Faculty [pdf]
The Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning. Brown University. 2005.
Best practices suggested by faculty during a seminar on teaching large classes. A wide variety of topics are covered, including how to survive a bad teaching assistant, providing individualized attention to students, and fostering class participation and discussion.
- Teaching Large Math Classes: Three Instructors, One Experience [pdf]
By Veselin Jungic, Deborah Kent and Petra Menz. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education. Vol. 1(1). 2006.
From the Abstract: "This article identifies challenges involved in teaching a mathematics class with 350 or more students. It discusses issues of preparation, organization, course administration, instruction, use of technology, and student management, while offering constructive help and useful techniques for teaching large mathematics classes."
- Teaching Large Classes
The Centre for Academic Development. University of Auckland.
Tips on how to prepare for classes of a hundred students or more, including best practices from award winning faculty.
- New Faculty Resource Guide: Teaching Large Classes
The Center for Teaching Excellence. Virginia Commonwealth University.
This guide contains information on course design, syllabi, lecturing, assessment, and classroom management.
- The eTLC Resource Project: Teaching Large Classes
The Science Centre for Learning and Teaching. University of British Columbia.
A series of resources on promoting cooperation among students, active learning, feedback, class management, and the effective use of technology and teaching assistants.
- Teaching Large Classes
By Brenda Spotton Visano. CORE Newsletter. Volume 13(1). November 2003. Centre for the Support of Teaching. York University.
Tips on course preparation, administration, promoting student feedback and managing the first day of class.
Lecturing
Related Link:
Lecturing Stratigies [pdf] developed for the LTO Faculty Development Workshop.
- Lecturing Tips and Resources
Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Harvard University.
- Designing Smart Lectures: An Online Tutorial
Center for Teaching and Learning. University of Minnesota.
This tutorial includes video workshops demonstrating effective lecture techniques, as well as additional text resources on planning, delivering, and evaluating lectures.
- Lecturing Effectively in the University Classroom
Center for Teaching Excellence. University of Waterloo.
Tips are on topics such as structuring your lecture, preparing notes, keeping students engaged, and using visual aids. Additional information can be found on CTE's page on Activities for Large Classes, which discusses the relative merits of asking questions, brainstorming, and leading debates.
- Interactive Lectures
Created by Heather Macdonald and Rebecca Teed. Starting Point: Teaching Entry Level Geoscience. Carleton College.
This site describes interactive lectures, an "easy way for faculty to involve students as active participants in a lecture-based class of any size."
- The Change Up in Lectures
By Joan Middendorf & Alan Kalish. TRC Newsletter. Campus Instructional Consulting. Indiana University. 1996.
This article presents suggestions for revitalizing students' attention and get them actively involved with the material.
- Improving Lecturing Skills: Some Insights From Speech Communication
University Office for Learning Resources. Indiana University. 1989.
- Overcoming Speaking Anxiety
By Lenny Laskowski. LJL Seminars. 1996.
- The Truth Is, You Gave a Lousy Talk
By Tory DeFoe. The Chronicle of Higher Education. December 21, 2007
Classroom Management
Related Link:
Classroom Civility: Creating a Culture of Respect [pdf] compiled by Mickey Cirak, Student Conduct Officer, and Michelle Schwartz, Research Associate for the Learning & Teaching Office.
- Classroom Management
Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Harvard University.
Includes examples of how faculty members have dealt with "hot moments," or confrontations between students over sensative or controversial material.
- Limiting the Chaos
Centre for Teaching Excellence. University of Waterloo.
Tips for managing large groups of students by controlling disruptive students, applying active learning strategies, being consistent, etc.
- Encouraging Civil Behavior in Large Classes
By Mary Deane Sorcinelli. Essays on Teaching Excellence: Toward the Best in the Academy. Vol. 15(8). University of Massachusetts Amherst. 2003-2004.
How to create a constructive classroom and some solutions for dealing with misbehavior.
- Staying Afloat in a Sea of Faces: Tips for Handling Large Classes
Presented by Dick Day. Centre for Leadership in Learning. McMaster University. September, 2001.
Viewing problems from the perspectives of teachers, students, and TAs, and some proposed solutions.
Assessment
Related links:
Assessment and Evaluation
Assessment in Collaborative Learning
- Assessing Student Learning
Center for the Study of Higher Education. Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC).
This article addresses "five major challenges created by large classes," and then demonstrates how to "avoid assessment that encourages shallow learning, provide high quality, individual feedback, fairly assess a diverse mix of students, manage the volume of marking and coordinate the staff involved in marking, and avoid plagiarism." This article is also available as a PowerPoint presentation.
- Assessment in Large Classes
On the Cutting Edge: Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty. Science Education Resource Center. Carleton College.
Offering assessment strategies ranging from ConcepTest to scoring rubrics to minute papers.
- Writing Assignments for Large Classes
Campus Writing Coordinator. University of California at Irvine.
"Incorporating writing, both as a learning tool and as a way for students to communicate their knowledge, is possible" in large classes.
- Writing in Large Classes
KU Writing Center. University of Kansas.
Student Performance in Large Classes
- Large Classes and the Perception of Fairness
Office of Instructional Design. University of California at Santa Barbara.
Students can become frustrated if they feel their instructors are not monitoring cheating, using easy grading standards, misusing collaborative learning, or showing an insensitivity to diversity. This article offers a few suggestions as to how to prevent students from believing they are being treated unfairly.
- Making Lemonade: Exploring the Bright Side of Large Lecture Classes [pdf]
By Steven A. Wolfman. Computer Science Department. University of Washington. 2002.
From the abstract: "Pedagogy of large lecture classes has traditionally focused on deemphasizing the problems their size creates. This approach has yielded valuable practical advice for instructors. However, this paper argues that there are pedagogical advantages to the large lecture format and that exploiting these advantages can further improve classroom instruction. I present some advantages of large classes and anecdotes that demonstrate how to exploit these advantages"
Motivating Students
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