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Thursday, February 18, 2010

HOW TO TEACH LARGE CLASSES?

HOW TO TEACH LARGE CLASSES?
1. “The majority of issues raised were focused at the operational and strategies level. There is a
Stronger need for greater focus on policy and systematic change”.

2. “Evaluation of large classes – can this be included in next workshop?”

3. “Important for teachers to maintain a range of assessment (eg. University of Western Sydney
Has a policy – no more than 50% in one final exam)”.

4. “I am going to use this ‘burning issues’ technique in tutorials where some students complain about not getting questions aired”.

5. Want to know how to improve communication between colleagues; for eg. Some people take
Innovative ideas and use them in inappropriate ways. How does one communicate the “spirit” and
The “letter” of educational literature?”

6. “There needs to be an explicit clarification of the assumption that large enrollment = large classes = large 50 minute lectures and that this happens interactively”.

7. The discussion were largely theoretical (especially around assessment).

8. “Face-to-face teaching is only part of the reality of teaching large classes. We have students (>500) but they are largely remote and do not fit your definition of a large class!” – need to address the Distance Education problems before or for the next workshop”.
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9. “Need to provide succession management/mentoring/documentation – this was discussed in subgroup and unanimously seen as important and useful”.

10. “Can a web-site be set up to enable future networking amongst us, sharing of research and practice etc?”

11. “Attendance policies for large classes?”

12. “Using technology effectively to enhance learning. Don’t let technology drive choice of material and teaching techniques”.

13. Need to address “students’ perceptions of issues experienced in large classes in terms of their experiences of the curriculum, assessment, what helps/hinders etc”.

14. “Migrating good practice in large classes from teachers who are doing an exemplary job in their class to the whole institution?”

15. “Building in support mechanisms at a) the university level and 2) the government level (funding etc.) especially as far as supporting large class teaching is concerned”.

16. “Reconciliation of pressures to put “it all on the web” (teaching materials). Is web-material simply being used to reduce printing costs or is there a pedagogical reason for it? Need facilities available to staff in terms of computer technologies and support. Educational support staff to advice on a) integrating learning outcomes and technology, b) curriculum design and technology, c) assessment structures, d) appropriate designs for web-based teaching & e) appropriate writing skills for web based materials”.

17. “I wish to examine assessment practices in terms what levels of learning are being assessed, eg. Analysis, synthesis etc. Need to address the different levels of the taxonomy in relations to assessment with large classes”.

18. “How to best communicate ground rules to students in large lectures. They don’t seem to read what we give them; they don’t seem to listen and don’t seem to take notes. HELP!”

19. “Need a real assessment of workload of academics teaching large classes. All day people have said “it only adds 30 minutes” but a lot of 30mions add up! If we want change we need facts about the demands on lecturers”.

20. “Need to address best practice for group work. 35% of my assessment is group-based and students can do very well on it and fail the exam suggesting they are being carried by the rest of group”.

21. “What is innovative teaching practice? What mechanisms can be introduced to encourage teaching staff to think ‘outside the box’, think creatively about their discipline? Also, a report on best practice may be appropriate in one particular discipline but not another unless adapted. Workshop has provided ideas to reflect upon in our teaching practices”.

22. “Wet versus dry labs in science- using computer simulations of experiments may save money, but what about the need to learn practical skills versus teaching concepts? Many science departments are reducing the number of practical as a necessary cost-cutting exercise. Is this reducing the quality of the students as effective practitioners?”

23. “Issues of OH&S in both labs and field, related to the need for adequate supervision.”

24. “Effective field training with large classes (and few teaching staff). How can field experiences be 'real' models for practical science rather than "bus tours?"

25. “How to ‘tease out’ the distinguishing issues and strategies for each discipline –eg. “What makes teaching science to large groups unique?”

26. “How to manage ‘upwards’ dissemination strategies to elicit support for large class teaching and ‘get it on the agenda’ of higher levels of management eg. Heads of Schools, Deans, VC’s etc.”

Key issues
(No.) of responses
Managing and supporting students. For eg:
• Attendance policies
• Disseminating helpful advice and coping strategies to students
• Need for teachers to understand students’ perceptions
• How to communicate ground rules
• Best practice for group work – how to get full participation from more
Students.
5
Government, university or faculty support. For eg:
• Government, Institutional and Faculty policies on large classes
• Need for assessment of workloads on teachers in large classes
• How to manage ‘upwards’ dissemination
4
Using technology to enhance T&L. For eg:
• Support and training for staff using teaching technology
• On-line assessment
• Educational support staff to advise more on 1) technology and curriculum
Design and 2) good practice in web-based teaching.
3
Assessment. For eg:
• How to encourage higher level thinking (analysis, synthesis)
• Identify and disseminate a range of manageable assessment methods and
Innovative ideas for use in large classes (x2)
3
Running practical activities. For eg:
• Providing students in large classes with a chance to practice skills
(Managing the ‘real thing’, not computer simulations).
• Managing large groups on field trips (or off-campus activities)
• OH&S issues; need for adequate supervision of students
3
Communication between colleagues. For eg:
• Effectively disseminating innovative ideas/case studies to university-wide
Staff members
• Accessing/motivating busy teachers and those who need to find out about
Innovative teaching ideas
• Getting teachers to ‘think outside the square’
3
Succession management and session staff. For eg:
• Training and mentoring new staff
• Maintaining continuity despite high staff turnovers
2

Evaluation of large classes
1

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