Observation – Navigating Large Classes
For my second and third teaching observations, I chose to focus on teaching behaviours instead of content. In particular, I was interested in observing my mentor’s handling of a large class. I find this to be particularly challenging within the context of employing active learning techniques. While the Instructional Skills Workshop did provide me with some suggestions for how to teach in large classes, I felt that I did not have a useful set of tools to employ within a large class to ensure learner engagement.
My observation involved two in-class sessions, as well as surveying the online “flex” component of the course. The most interesting approaches I found that my mentor uses in their class (which I will discuss further below) are:
- Providing an online space for course resources and content “quizzing”
- Incorporation of a “field trip”
- Providing a course outline with areas for learners to fill in key content
- Implementation of i-clickers (both independently and in a way in which learners can revise their answers)
- Worksheets for active learning
- Course tutors to increase learner-instructor engagement
The Online Space:
Flex spaces for learning can be challenging. I use one myself when I teach, however, my class is only ever 20 learners at a time. With hundreds of learners in a content-heavy course, maintenance and support of a flex space can be time-intensive. My understanding is that developing an effective space for learners to access course materials and engage with practice “quizzes” for participation was indeed a lofty endeavour. However, after several semesters of making changes and adding to this space, it apparently runs quite smoothly. Beyond just the course materials and “quizzes” for learners to assess their own understanding of the readings, the component of the online space that I valued the most was a forum in which learners could ask questions of their peers. This space was regularly monitored by course guides/TAs, but it provided additional engagement among learners beyond class time.
Field Trips:
150 students on a field trip sounds like a nightmare. And it probably would be. In this course, learners are separated into a number of groups of approximately 30 individuals to attend a class trip. Field trips are led by course TAs as well as my course mentor. On this trip, learners have the opportunity to meet other learners and have a smaller space in which to ask questions of course guides. Further, the field trip is structured around a worksheet that learners complete to guide their learning. While just one component of the overall course, I believe field trips offer an excellent opportunity for experiential learning and also facilitate active learning.
Course Outlines:
In reflecting on my own experience as a learner, course outlines are nothing new. I certainly had them in my own courses, and I found them fairly useful. In the context of a large class, I think they can be a useful tool in bringing learners back to the content or the overall message of the class. Further, I think that course outlines serve a very important purpose in keeping learners active in the lesson through adding to their own outline the information that they find useful. However, what I believe my mentor does especially well, is that in addition to a basic outline, they also provide the learning objectives of the classs, as well as how these objectives fit within the broader course outcomes. This is an effective way to remind learners of what is required of them to succeed in the course and gives them their own marker for success.
i-Clickers:
Once again, i-Clickers are nothing new or revolutionary (though they are certainly new since my undergraduate degree). I appreciate this technology (or similar technologies) immensely because it allows learners in a large class to participate without the anxiety that might be associated with speaking out in a large class. My mentor regularly polls the learners in their class and counts this towards a participation mark. In observing my mentor, I realized that i-Clickers can be used beyond just polling learners. My mentor will often have learners vote on a question, and before showing them the answer, they will have learners discuss their responses with those around them, and then they are given a chance to “re-vote”. This is a very interesting tool for a number of reasons. First, it allows for peer-peer learning. Second, it promotes discussion. Third, it allows learners to think, do, reflect, adapt (hello Kolb’s!). This way of implementing i-Clickers has perhaps been one of the most useful methodologies I have seen for encouraging discussion and participation in a large classroom.
Worksheets:
While not used in every lesson, my mentor regularly incorporates handouts in their class. When teaching small classes, I also use worksheets regularly and they have been repeatedly identified by my learners as useful for their learning. What becomes evident in a large class especially is how the incorporation of worksheets will dictate class time spent on lecturing. For example, in the courses in which I have watched my mentor include a worksheet, time allotted to the worksheet was nearly the entire class, save 5 minutes for an introduction to the activity, and 5-10 minutes for a wrap-up. While I will use worksheets daily in a 3 hour class, this would be difficult in a large class where learners attend only 3 hours of class a week. However, it is clear that even in these classes, learners appreciate the opportunity to apply their knowledge to a new problem. One issue that does arise, is the availability of the instructor to answer questions in such a large class.
Course Tutors:
To maximize communication between my mentor in the class, they employ not only course TAs, but course guides (previous undergraduate students who have done well in the course) to help monitor class work, hand out supplies, and answer questions. In a large class this is extremely useful, as the more challenging questions can be directed to the course instructor, while questions around clarity etc. can be addressed by the course aides. I believe that having this “extension” of the instructor is particularly important in large classes where it is impossible to interact one-on-one with all learners.
On the whole, I have valued the opportunity to observe my mentor in a large class setting, and to synthesize what I believe to be some of the most important tools to navigating large classes while incorporating active learning techniques.