ENABLING HIGH QUALITY
TEACHING AND LEARNING
FOR LARGE CLASSES
Kirti Garg, Vasudeva Varma
International Institute of Information technology,
Hyderabad
Goal
• Negating the effect of large class size
• Achieving learning objectives
Learning How to Handle Large
Classrooms “Effectively”
Students
Large Classroom
Teachers
Administrators
The Elephant: “Large Class”
• What is a large class?
• How large is a large class?
• Why are classes large?
• What are the features of a large class?
• What are the administrative challenges?
• What are the learning challenges?
The three blind men
• Administrators: Issues and viewpoint
• Teachers: Issues and viewpoint
• Students: Issues and viewpoint
• Not mutually exclusive
• Dependencies between admin and learning issues
Features of Large Classes
• Diversity (learning abilities, prior knowledge, learning
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styles, expectations, goals)
Dynamics of a large class are different
Student and faculty usually hold negative perception
Offers opportunities for enriched learning
No conclusive evidence that class size negatively affect
learning
Splitting the class or increasing resources does not work
Pedagogical changes are required to achieve quality
learning
A lot of attention to be paid to administrative issues
Learning challenges exist irrespective of
class size; magnitude differs
Careful design of the learning environment that
includes content, pedagogy and assessment; bounded
by a framework of structure; and guided by welldefined managerial and technical processes.
Learning Related Challenges
• Ensuring every one gets to know the basics
• Managing interaction in class and outside class
• Personalization of learning
• Choice of pedagogy
• Traditional lectures may not be effective – passive learning
• Alternative pedagogies introduce administrative issues
• Designing meaningful assessments
Administrative Issues
• Dealing with volume of grading
• Grading load
• plagiarism
• Reliable grading scheme
• Establishing Communication
• Support Staff and Tutor management
• Discipline
• Attendance
• Feedback exchange
• Organizing practical activities
Solutions
• Modifying Pedagogy
• Engaging Students
• Using discussions
• Motivating Students
• Personalized Learning
• Careful Course Organization
• Designing valid, reliable and manageable Assessment
• Effective grading
• Dealing with plagiarism
• Taking attendance
• Effective use of Teaching Assistants and support staff
• Using Technology
Solutions: Modified Pedagogies
• Lectures with Active Learning
• Breaking up the conventional lecture with questions and
discussion
• Solving a small practical problem that requires application of
concepts taught in class
• Quiz on material from previous class
• Asking students to consolidate the learning at end of the class
• In-class exercises that may require working in pairs
• Lecture with pauses, where the pauses are utilized by students to
consolidate thoughts or make notes
Solutions: Modified Pedagogies
• Collaborative Learning
• Temporary groups in classes
• Semester wide group work
• Activity wise groups
• Roleplays
• Should be in sync with the lectures and actually support
the learning objectives of the course
• Assessment of collaborative work is challenging
Solutions: Engaging Students
• Asking questions
• Encouraging students to ask questions
• Making classes discussion oriented
• Demonstrations and Roleplays
• Weight to class participation in grading
• Small in-class exercises
• moving around in class
• Collaborative, active learning
Solutions: Using Discussions
• Effective for engagement.
• Benefit from diversity
• Invoking discussions
• Centered on project work or in-class exercises
• Case Study discussions
• Centered around applications or applicability of a concept or
procedure, comparison of methods and techniques
• Boundary conditions
• Asking wrong or very difficult questions
• Make discussions part of class participation
Solution: Motivating Students
• Will bring attention and engagement
• To motivate
• Use Problem solving mode
• Discuss ‘why’ before ‘how’ and ‘what’
• Use assessments to motivate
• Building analogies with real world
• Give prompt feedback
Solution: Personalized Learning
• Creating an illusion of a small class
• To personalize:
• Learn at least some student names, correct pronunciation
• Move around in class and maintain eye contact
• Distribute or collect papers/ material along with TAs.
• Spend some time in clarifying doubts of students
• Provide personalized feedbacks on assessments
• Provide feedback mechanisms (emails, drop boxes, course
portal)
Solution: Careful course Organization
• Large classes require more organization and more
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preparation for proper administration
Discuss course structure and other modalities in very
beginning with students and support staff
Establish ground rules for communication, dealing with
plagiarism, assessment policies
Set expectations from the students
Establish a chain of command
Early work distribution among TAs
Regular meeting with TA and support staff
Regular lab /tutorial sessions/ office hours
Solution; Developing valid and reliable
assessment that is also manageable
• Good assessments are aligned with the learning
objectives, integrated with the pedagogy, and not a
burden on the faculty and students
• Good assessments provide feedback and enrich
learning
• Can be subjective or Objective. Objective easy to
administer, but give incomplete view of competency
• Large classes need a strategic mix
Solution: Designing Assessments
• Cover depth as well breadth of curriculum
• Develop exams that demonstrate competency. Example:
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application oriented exams
Add short essay questions with limitations on length
Ask students to answer questions using diagrams or
flow charts
MCQs with brief explanations
Give guidelines for quality submissions
Rely on multiple instruments
Inform students about the plagiarism policy
Include questions that support reflection
Solution: Effective Grading mechanisms
• Should take less time and resources, but give
• Goes in hand with assessment design
• Should be reliable
• Use in class peer evaluations
• Instantaneous feedback
• Use group assignments
• Take help from technology
• Transparency - share assessment criteria with students
Solution: Dealing with Plagiarism
• Train TAs or use software tools for detection
• Educate students about the consequences
• Strict evaluation of very first assessments and penalties
for plagiarism
• Make submissions public but not the marks
• Encourage and if possible reward early submissions
• Set up tutorial sessions to help weak students
Solution: Taking Attendance
• Fixed seating arrangements, mark only absents,
delegate task to TA
• Randomized attendance
• Use in-class quizzes to mark attendance
Solution: Use Technology
• Share class notes or slides
• Simulations to demonstrate and engage
• Public Addressing systems for reachability
• Email, content management systems, learning
management system, document sharing systems for
communication including feedback
• Automated or semi-automated grading systems
• Computer based tutors for practice
Solution: Effective Use of TAs
• For grading
• For conducting lab/tutorial/review sessions
• For attendance
• For technology management
• For feedback from students
Conclusions
• Increased class size brings variations, administrative
issues and need for pedagogical changes
• Basic learning principles and guidelines for effective
teaching remain same, the implementation changes
• administrative issues cannot be ignored
• Requires careful design of complete learning
environment, one issue cant be handled in isolation