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[07start]

As a grad student I taught a few classes; all had around 60 or 70 students. I am now beginning as an Assistant Prof at a big school, but the class size is more like 12 to 20. I'm used to prepared lectures to larger classes, any advice on changing teaching style for much smaller class size?

Thanks,,,,,,

[tattletale_heart]

Much less lecture, much more discussion.  Rely more on readings (or research or "homework") for the delivery of facts and use classes to delve more deeply into issues.

What is your area?

[larryc]

The key to great class discussions is a weekly quiz to make sure everyone has done the reading to discuss. Student leaders are good too. Have the leaders meet you half-an-hour before class and review their questions.

[geogeek]

Readings and in-class discussions work well in classes this size, as do in-class debates.  I'm not sure what level course you're teaching, or which subject, but I've found the following works well for upper-level courses:  pick a controversial topic.  Assign several individuals an article that argues a particular perspective, which the individual must read and then summarize in an oral presentation for the rest of the class.  After a couple of presentations, the discussion and debate heats up. I usually follow up with a written assignment, in which students argue a particular stance based on the articles discussed (copies of articles are available to the whole class).  The feedback from students is generally positive, as they like to strut their stuff and show off what they've learned.

[patchouli]

Ah, this is the ideal class size for a seminar or analysis-intensive class.  If students can get a chance to learn each others' names and know a bit about each student, you'll have a lot of comfortable and thoughtful interaction in terms of class discussion.

Besides the routine introductory getting-to-know-each-other exercises, having students do very small group analysis activities and present their findings to the class often helps, at least part of every class meeting.  I often do a mini-lecture, then let students follow that with individual or group class activity and responses.  Then we get back together as a whole class for discussion.

With a class this size, organizing some major assignment like a collaborative group presentation about halfway through the semester or quarter, when students really know each other, can be a great learning experience activity and can really get the students interacting with each other.  It also allows them a much deeper grasp of the material. 

By the end of the semester they are like family and often sad to leave the group they have come to know.  Enjoy it.  Maybe even meet at some small out-of-the-way places on campus for coffee and class and revel in the intimacy and deeper learning of it all while it is still going on.  This size of class can be a great thing.

[fiona]

This has been discussed in previous threads, but be aware that the best students often HATE group work (as I did).

The best students in the group wind up having to do the work, and there are always slackers. Also, if you're in a big school, students have trouble finding time to meet and plan. Most students now also work and go to school.

Individual presentations are much better, I've found, because the students have a stake in what they're doing, and they can do their best.

The Fiona

[geogeek]

I agree with what Fiona said.  Sorry -- The Fiona.  Group projects can cause a lot of resentment. 

One way to get the students to work together and to avoid such problems is to design a class research project to which each student contributes a data set to a larger class data pool.  I'm in a science, so in my case, I assign each student (sometimes pairs of students) a sample set to analyze.  The data set is discussed in class, relevant papers are read, etc.  The students then write individual reports based on the data collected by the class as a whole.  The project is perceived as a group effort, although students are graded only on their individual contributions.  There is also a lot of pressure on individuals to produce so as to not let their classmates down.  This has worked well enough in some instances for the class to decide to present their results at a conference.

[trabb]

If you think group work is valuable and you're worried that the good students will resent it, make a significant portion of the group assignment grade a group evaluation.  The students who did the work will have no hesitation in ratting out the slackers.

[didymus]

The writing classes I teach are 15-20 students, and I've tried most of the things that have already been suggested here.  For what it's worth:

I agree that grading group projects can get ugly.  An, even when there's no obvious resentment, I know that it's just impossible for everyone to contribute equally, which means that even well-intentioned weaker students may be marginalized by stronger, more competitive personalities (and these are not always the better students).  If you take away the grade, but keep the group work, you can still have collaboration, but it has to happen in class (don't count on anyone doing anything outside of class if you aren't going to give them a grade for it).  Planning for this kind of class is much less intensive than planning to lecture for an entire class: all you really need is some kind of material for them to work with, some guidelines, and a question or two to get them started. 

About debates: I know that many students like them; they get excited by the competition, and the obvious demonstration of emotion is a welcome change for those who can't hear the emotion in the subtler written arguments they read for homework.  I think that it can feel like a "useful" form of academic discourse--when someone clearly "wins," it feels like something has been accomplished.  But again, I think that the winners more often prevail on the strength of their personalities and the loudness of their voices; if you're trying to teach reasoned argument (and I'm not just speaking to writing teachers here), then I think debates are counter-productive.

I like presentations.  When they go well, I think everyone learns.  But sometimes they don't; and when they don't, in large numbers, the effects in lost time and general lassitude can be devastating.  I haven't figured out the secret, but now I don't have classes do presentations until I've had a chance to gauge the general ethos of the group, and can feel sure that it's the kind of thing that will work with them.

[patchouli]

I like what geogeek said about class presentations and individual responses in his science classes; I also like what trabb said about group projects in terms of individuals and peer evaluations:

If you think group work is valuable and you're worried that the good students will resent it, make a significant portion of the group assignment grade a group evaluation.  The students who did the work will have no hesitation in ratting out the slackers.

The group project my classes do every semester is half of a unit; the other half is an individual grade.  These two halves are on the same topic, so students get a chance to work both in groups and individually on the same issue.  The final group grade for each student is, as Trabb suggests, based partly on student evaluations of each others' contributions, and is adjusted accordingly.  But before that, I have been keeping track throughout the unit of class group activities in terms of attendance and work; those who contribute less, eventually earn less.  There are always a few who do not earn what the rest of the group members do, and most of those students are quite honest and upfront about doing less than their best.

Students sometimes grouse about group work before the presentations.  We have a full class devoted to lecture, discussion, and practice on aspects of group dynamics and interactions.  We discuss this well before we jump into the topics the groups will be working on.  I fully understandand and sympathize with students' concerns about outside commitments and work hard to make sure that they have sufficient class time for their research; the rest is done at home and by email, and a few groups choose to meet outside of class.  By a huge margin (over 95%) the students insist on keeping the group project, according to end-of-the-semester anonymous evaluations.  They seem to learn so much more and have become experts, in a sense, on their topic.

To combat tight schedules, I keep the groups smaller (ideally 4-6) and also allow a section of each class during that unit for groups to work and research together on their laptops or in the library.  I constantly interact with them and talk about their research and plans.  They are always excited and sometimes nervous.  One semester I had a group voluntarily create a video parody of a Jerry Springer Show but on a serious topic, school violence, and each group member took a role: Jerry as MC, victims of school violence, parents, school psychologist, reporter.  They are not required to to this, but they wanted to, and it was really creative, funny, and insightful.  I urge them to discover and bring in their own strengths in each group (theatre majors, art majors, bio majors, etc.) in order to make their group and presentation unique.

These things have worked for my classes, but it depends on the subject taught, the level of the course, and the maturity of students.  The students in the class above are usually sophomores, and a very few are freshman, and some are upper division or graduates.  I tried the above on a developmental class I used to teach, twice, and it did not work well at all and I would not do it there again.

[autie13]

Ah, this is the ideal class size for a seminar or analysis-intensive class.  If students can get a chance to learn each others' names and know a bit about each student, you'll have a lot of comfortable and thoughtful interaction in terms of class discussion.

So true.  Students are much more comfortable when they can make friends in class- it makes them look forward to coming and less hesitant about participating in discussion.

If possible you should arrange seating so that you are in a circle- so everyone can see each other- otherwise it's too lecture-ish-- have fun with it!

[betterslac]

About debates: I know that many students like them; they get excited by the competition, and the obvious demonstration of emotion is a welcome change for those who can't hear the emotion in the subtler written arguments they read for homework.  I think that it can feel like a "useful" form of academic discourse--when someone clearly "wins," it feels like something has been accomplished.  But again, I think that the winners more often prevail on the strength of their personalities and the loudness of their voices; if you're trying to teach reasoned argument (and I'm not just speaking to writing teachers here), then I think debates are counter-productive.

I second this. Students almost always like debates, but they also almost always produce more heat than light.

[cc_alan]

As a grad student I taught a few classes; all had around 60 or 70 students. I am now beginning as an Assistant Prof at a big school, but the class size is more like 12 to 20. I'm used to prepared lectures to larger classes, any advice on changing teaching style for much smaller class size?

Thanks,,,,,,

It can depend upon the subject. What is it?

Alan