How to improve large class teaching?:
Tips and tool for better teaching
Hiroaki Sato
Vice Director and Associate Professor, Office for Educational
Planning and Research, Ehime University, Japan
Japan Association for Educational Development in Higher
Education
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I am from Matsuyama, Ehime.
Matsuyama
Castle
Dogo Hot Spa
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It is your turn. Where are you from?
Please introduce yourself to the
neighbors.
1 - Name
2 - University
3 - Area of speciality
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How are you?
1. I am very fine!
2. I want to go
back home
(Very bad).
3. Not too bad.
100%
0%
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0%
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How long have you taught in higher
education?
1. Less than 5 years
2. 6 years – 10 years
3. 11 years – 15
years
4. More than 16
years
25%
25%
25%
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3
25%
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0 / 50
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Content
1. Characteristic of large classes
2. Tips for course design
3. Tips for conveying information clearly
4. Tips for not making classes
anonymous
5. Tips for pair work/ group work
6. Tips for questions and answers
7. Tips for delivering and collecting
materials effectively
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Learning Outcome
After you finish this workshop, you
will be able to get at least one tip
among 31 tips for better large
class teaching.
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1.Characteristic of large classes
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When you say “large class”, does it
mean how many students for you?
1. 50～99
2. 100～149
3. 150～199
4. 200～299
5. 299～
20%
20%
20%
20%
20%
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0 / 50
1
2
3
4
5
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1. Characteristic of large classes
Two perspectives on research for class
size（Nakai, 2006）
① Class size effects on motivation of
teachers and students. As a result, it
affects educational effects.
② Class size does not effect on classrooms control and outcomes.
→ No clear consensus on it.
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1. Characteristic of large classes
Class-size research in North America
（Yamazi, 2007）
There is a negative correlation between
numbers of students and evaluation points for
group interaction and /or sense of trust. Less
students classes are evaluated more highly.
But numbers of students are over 100, the
class is evaluated highly.
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1. Characteristic of large classes
Class-size research in Japan（Nakai, 2006）
・ Large class-size affects negative impact for
classes.
・ Big difference is seen in “Chance for questions
and assertion” and “Promotion of learning outside
classes”
・ Topics on educational effects such as
“ Intellectual stimulation” and “ Total satisfaction”
are highly evaluated in over 100 classes.
・ Students satisfy large class more than teachers.
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1. Characteristic of large classes
Small class
Large class students is a crowd
Large class
Small
Distance between teachers and
learners
Large
Less
Responsibility of learners
More
Various
Feasible teaching method
Limited
Low impact
Relationship among learners
High impact
Easy
Interaction between teachers and
learners
Difficult
Short
Preparation time for teaching
class
Long
Visible
Reaction of learners
Invisible
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1. Characteristic of large classes
Effectiveness of teaching & learning
Small class ＞Large class
The difference of Sense of community
Challenges and Questions
• How to teach “large classes” like “small
classes”?
• How to change “crowd” to “community”
in your classes?
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2. Tips for course design
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2. Tips for course design
Tips 1. Design Structured Teaching
Plan
In large classes, it is hard for professors to
catch the reaction of learners. It is hard for
students to ask questions. It is not easy to
change teaching plan flexibly. It is better to
design structured teaching plan.
Model of structured teaching plan
Introduction/ 2-3 Main topics/ Summary
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2. Tips for course design
Tips 2. Draw attention first
Large class students are various in terms of interest,
motivation and ability. Before starting to teach main
topics, you need to draw attention first to explain the
following things（Hashimoto and Suzuki, p.158）.
1 - Reason why you pick up the topics
2 - Evidence of how the topics are important and
valuable
3 - Connection between the topics and learner’s
merits
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2. Tips for course design
Tips 2. Draw attention first
AIDMA (Samuel Roland Hall)
• Attention “What is this?”
• Interest “It might be interesting.”
• Desire “I want to know.”
• Memory “I remember it.”
• Action
“I want to learn more about it.”
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3. Tips for conveying
information clearly
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3. Tips for conveying information clearly
“If I clap my hands together at Sarusawa-Pond, a
maid came to me with a cup of tea, carps came
towards me and doves began to fly.”
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3. Tips for conveying information clearly
Tips 3. Speak with articulation and
indicate clearly
・ The more audiences, the more misunderstanding
・ If you teach large classes, you need to think
that there would be a lot of students who
misunderstood what you taught.
・ When you teach important things, you can
repeat, write, deliver in the paper and ask
them whether they understand or not.
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3. Tips for conveying information clearly
Tips 4. Conveying information strongly
and largely
・ Voice： Use of microphone
・ Action：More body language with
exaggerated gesture, Walk around classroom
（Bear Walk）
・Writing：Big letter
・ Presentation：Use of audio visual aid (Over
head camera, power point, youtube video…)
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3. Tips for conveying information clearly
Tips for Power point in large classes
（Ritsumeikan University, 2005, p.8）
1. Character-size, font and points
・ 50 points.
・ Gothic or Arial
・ Bold face
・ one sentence should be under 15 characters
and under 5 lines
2. Color
・ No bright background
・ Bright characters and dark background
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4. Tips for not making
classrooms anonymous
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4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous
What kind of problems do you have
in teaching large classes?
1. Think about that by yourself at first.
You can write memo about it.
2. Share about that with pair near
you next.
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4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous
In classroom where students are not treated
as an individuals, they feel less
responsibility for classmates or professors.
Students who think they are anonymous
tend to be lower motivated and do not work.
Students who have sense of community
tend to concentrate learning and more
active in class（Davis, 2002, p.153）
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4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous
As soon as possible, you need
to make social relationship
among
professor⇔student⇔student
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4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous
Tips 5. Indicate the location of desk to students
Tips 6. Make students sit down forward and
center in the class
Tips 7. Call students’ name
Tips 8. Arrive at classroom early and exit slowly
(Students are easy to talk with you)
Tips 9. Indicate student to submit homework to
teacher directly
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4. Tips for not making classrooms anonymous
Tips 10. Walk around with the aisle
Tips 11. Use Minute Paper and tell
student’s voice and questions
Tips 12. Talk about your private story
Tips 13. Make students introduce
themselves to the next (Ice break)
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5. Tips for pair work/
group work
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5. Tips for Pair work/ Group work
Tips 14. Use “Think, Pair & Share”
Think…Think / Write idea by myself
Pair…Share with two people
Share…Share with group or everyone
Tips 15. Do not expect that all students
do pair or group work
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6. Tips for questions and answers
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6. Tips for questions and answers
・ Questioning ＝ Making blank space in brain
・ Brain tend to fill the blank space
・ If you give students good questions,
students’ brain start to work.
・ Question and answer time is Showtime. It is
chance to involve more students to learning.
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6. Tips for questions and answers
Tips 16. Use “Open questions” and
“Closed questions”
Tips 17. Use “Non-Appointed questions”
and “Appointed questions”
Tips 18. Use “Relay questions” and
“Return questions”
Guess what each questions mean
with pairs.
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6. Tips for questions and answers
Tips 19. Take enough time for waiting students’
answers
Tips 20. Collect answers from all students
Tips 21. Appoint student fairly and impartially
Tips 22. Give positive feedback to answers
Tips 23. Make all students to applause the
students who answered questions (Sharing
emotions)
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Have you heard about the word
“clicker”?
10
1.Yes
2.No
0 / 50
50%
1
50%
2
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Clicker
Students push the
button with
wireless
transmitters.
Teachers catch
them with receivers.
http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-5819187-2.html?tag=ne.gall.pg
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Easy clicker
１．Communication Card
２．Number Card
３．Paper and Pen
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7. Tips for delivering and
collecting materials
effectively
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7. Tips for delivering and collecting materials effectively
Tips24. Deliver the bundled materials in the
first day（course packet）
Tips25. Put the materials on line and tell
students to print out them
Tips26. Bring envelopes and tell students to
put homework into them by ID numbers
Tips27. Select leaders in each group in the
first class and ask them to collect homework
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7. Tips for delivering and collecting materials effectively
Tips28. Set some deadlines for reports
Tips29. Write assessment of evaluation or
deadline of task in syllabus
Tips30. Carry out mini-test in the beginning
of classes or give homework. Tell students to
check the result each other.（peer evaluation）
Tips31. Assess the student by rubric
assessment sheets
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Rubric Assessment
Bad（Ｃ）
So-so（Ｂ）
Good（Ａ）
Voice
発表全体を通して、教室全体に声が届
かず、端では内容がよく聞き取れ
ない。
教室全体に声が届いているが、時々、
内容が聞き取れないことがある。
教室全体に声が届いており、最初から
最後まで、内容がよく聞き取れる。
Eye
Contact
発表全体を通して、聴衆を見ていない
ことが多い。
発表中に、聴衆を見ていないことが
時々ある。
発表全体を通して、聴衆を見ている。
わかりやすい順序で内容が構成されて
おらず、聞き手が理解に苦しむ。
ポイントが不明瞭である。
内容の順序については、改善の余地が
若干あり、聞き手が理解しにくい
部分がある。ポイントもやや不明
瞭である。
わかりやすい順序で内容が構成されて
おり、聞き手が理解しやすい。ポイ
ントも強調されている。
やる気が表現されていない。淡々と発
表をこなしているように見える。
やる気がないわけではないが、人を動
かすほどの熱意にまでは表現され
ていない。
やる気、人を動かす熱意も十分表現さ
れている。
メンバー間でのコミュニケーションがとれ
ておらず一人に任せきりにしてい
る、もしくは一人が勝手に発表を
進めているように見える。
メンバー間でのコミュニケーションがまあ
まあとれており、協力して発表を進
めているように見える。発表に対
する熱意が感じられないメンバー
がいる。
メンバー間でのコミュニケーションが十
分にとれており、協力して発表を
進めているように見える。発表に
対するメンバー全員の熱意が感じ
られる。
質問を正確に理解していないために、
応答が的を射ていない。応答が攻
撃的であり、質問者や聞き手に不
愉快な思いをさせている。
質問を正確に理解しているが、応答が
的を射ていない。応答は誠意を
持ったものになっており、やりとり
が建設的である。
質問を正確に理解しており、応答が的
を射ている。応答は誠意を持った
ものになっており、やりとりが建設
的である。
発表時間は規定時間を過ぎた。もしくは
大幅に早い時間で終了した。
発表時間は、規定時間内であったが、
若干早い時間で終了した。
発表時間は、規定時間内であり、ぎりぎ
りまで有効に時間を使っていた。
Content
Passion
Team
Work
Q and A
Time
manage
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Reflection time
What did you learn from this
workshop? You can write anything
that you want to change in your
teaching.
Sample
• Putting pair work at least one time in my
math classes.
• Using microphone in my classes.
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Learning Outcome
After you finish this workshop, you
will be able to get at least one tip
among 31 tips for better large
class teaching.
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Thank you very much.
sato.hiroaki.mk@ehime-u.ac.jp
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