Preface
In this research I am going to investigate the effects of class size on student achievement. The debate over class size is an age-old debate in American education. The debate concentrates on whether class size is factor that could affect student performance. Currently, many moved to very large or small classes. As a student I am interested to see how the class size might affect my academic performance. The research has been contacted on March 1, 2015. I am using five sources, 3 peer reviewed journal articles, 1 newspaper article, and 1 magazine article.
Annotated Bibliography
Inquiry Question: How does class size affect student achievement?
Attwood, Rebecca. "Size Matters To Students ' Grades." Times Higher Education
"Class Size And Student Performance At A Public Research University: A Cross-Classified Model." Higher Education 51.8 (2010): 701-723. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. This article addresses issues inherent in previous studies and reviews that have questioned the influence of class size on student grades, also it points out to other researchers in this area how these issues might cause discrepancies in their research outcomes. The article relies on using statistics and data that have been conducted in prior studies since 1990. It shows that most of these studies applied two approaches, the “constructivist” approach which concludes that the class size has a significant effect on student grade because the student has a great chance to interact with the instructor in small classes (Johnson). The second approach is the “behavioral “which concludes that the class size has no impact, the primary factor in student achievement is the instructors’ behavior and skills inside the class (Johnson). Also the article indicates that the most popular outcome from theses studies was that “small classes can often result in better grades” and “increasing class size has a significant negative effect on final grades” (Johnson). The article is written by Iryna Johnson, a research in higher education at the Auburn University, which gives the article more credibility ("About Us - Staff."). Also, the article was published by Higher Education, an international journal on higher education studies, which reports studies of issues in universities and colleges (“Higher Education - Springer.”). I am going to use this source to show the two approaches that have been taken in the research of the area, and provide the evidences that have been used to support each approach. This article is great represents for the
In 1986, the Tennessee legislature commissioned the Tennessee Class Size Experiment to determine if class size made a difference in achievement for disadvantaged students. After studying 79 different schools in 42 school districts for 4 years, the researchers found that class size only had an effect on students in kindergarten through 3rd grade, and that effect was minute. The impact was only on reading, not math, and smaller classes did not help disadvantaged students. A 2002 study of New York City schools showed that smaller schools, not smaller classes, had an effect on student success.
There are numerous management theories that educators can align themselves with in order to form their professional philosophy. This essays purpose is to analyse three popular Classroom management theories and models used in Australian schools today. The Theories are Goal Centred Theory, Choice Theory and Assertive Discipline. A teacher relies heavily on their sound knowledge of pertinent theory to justify their teaching decisions; this knowledge is applied when forming classroom management plans. (Lyons, Ford and Slee, 2014)
Minority students attending elite and prestigious universities are more often faced by notions of "microaggressions" than their rich counterparts leading to conflict between both groups on campus and spilling over into the rest of U.S. society. With the definition of microaggression differing between both groups of students, the minority students believe that the universities and the traditional student body they serve cannot or fail to identify problems being felt by the minority students. This lack of communication has led to polarizing identity politics and a sense of an "us vs. them" mentality on both sides, where the conflict caused by "microaggression" has reached an all time high after the
One of the main reasons why schools are switching to block scheduling is because students receive higher test scores on standardized tests. Having only forty-five to fifty minutes of class is difficult to take a test meant for one hour and thirty minutes. With the new scheduling, students are able to take their time on tests and not rush through them. Many students have a problem focusing during tests, and with the extra time students don’t have to worry about not finishing in time. Chance W. Lewis and R. Brian Cobb, a part of the School of Education at Colorado State University, along with two others, have conducted an investigation on how block scheduling effects high school scores on the ACT. The results indicate that students with block scheduling actually have the higher scores on the ACT in mathematics and reading than students with regular schedules. This proves that students concentrate more on their academic subjects, become more producti...
Hanushek found an important discovery about classrooms shaping student achievement. His first goal was to find out if the achievement was created from students ' background or school. His method involved measuring achievement for two each student, there were two tests done. The first test was done at the beginning of the school year and the second at the end of the school year. The first test was done to see the amount of educational foundation the student had prior to learning that year. The second test was done to see the additional learning the student received that year. His findings showed that there was a large variance between students in different classrooms. The results proved to be true even if students between different classes had the same SES, age, race and family background. It was also true for students who started with the same test scores in the beginning of the year. His finding concluded that achievement difference existed between classrooms in the same school, even classrooms next door to each
There are many factors throughout the field of educational social psychology that attempt to explain why similar students perform differently within the classroom. The phenomenon known as the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) is one such example. James Davis first coined BFLPE in the field of psychology in 1966. Davis concluded from his study of male college students, that those high-achieving students that attended a college of a lower caliber tended to perform better and have a better outlook on their future careers. This indicates that it is better to be a big fish in a little pond, than a little fish in a big pond. This phenomenon has been studied extensively and has taken into consideration both high and low socioeconomic statuses (SES). The BFLPE phenomenon can also be attributed to three of the paradigms of sociology that applied to education: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The question remains, how and why are students affected by BFLPE and is there anything that can be changed within the education system to maximize the positive effects of BFLPE?
One of the biggest problems Americans face today is a US student’s underwhelming academic performance. When compared to other countries, the United States comes in 18th place in math literacy and 25th place in reading literacy. The problem is not just a standard problem throughout the country, as there is much variation between graduation and subject literacy rates, with huge differences also between schools alone. These statistics are disappointing because the US is considered one of the largest world powers. The disparities in American students academic achievement is also detrimental because they are less able to compete in the global market place. Many things have been used to explain this disparity but race has often led as the main explanation. The racial disparities in academic achievement have also led to acts of law, such as the Hispanic Education act, which focus on improving test scores in New Mexico’s minority students. While there is a correlation between race and academic performance, I believe there are other factors, like economic class, which also have a profound effect on a students’ academic achievement. If my hypothesis is correct, review of further literature should show discrepancies between students of different socioeconomic status as a major influence on a student’s academic achievement.
Although I live in a small city, the class sizes at my school are large. My larger classes have made it difficult to get the individual help I want, and I know from past experiences that I function at a higher level in a smaller classroom setting. Flagler’s smaller class sizeof 17/1 is very important to me and will benefit to my success.
This also relies on the goals and attitude of the students. There are for subcultures the collegiate, the vocational, the academic, and the rebel. The collegiate centers around Frat and sorties, dating parting, sport events, and campus fun. They don’t care about school so they do the minimum amount of work and focused on parties. This students are found mostly in big universities. Vocational students they want their degree and they do the work they need to obtain it they view everything in a practical since if they do this they’ll get a better job. These people do the minimal work only for fulfilling the assignment, but they have no time or money to party because their working to pay off college debt. They are found in community colleges. Academic student are education centered they do all their work get excited about learning, and get to know their professors. The professors like these students best because their excited about their education. The rebels enjoy work and a passive with instructors if they respect them or find the information interesting they do the work if not then they receive a low score. All students most likely have been each if these in their college experience. In thee college classroom your first two years are most likely spent in a crowded class listen to a lecture from a professor who has no idea your there and could care less if you showed up today drone on about something you
In high school, classes are usually no larger than 25 students. In many classes, it could be even less than that. In college all classes are larger than 35 students, yet most are significantly larger. In general education lecture classes, such as Psychology and management, class sizes can get up to 400 students. Students go into their classes, find a seat in the huge lecture hall, and fade into another face among the silent crowd.
The lower class student’s major issue with learning in class is a shortage of confidence based on real or apparent weakness in the home environment. These students often feel undesirable. They are very aware of the class in which they come from and of the place and position people classify them under, they often feel the urge to hide their background. Students that are categorized in this particular class frequently come to school with a lower level of academic skills and involvedness than their peers that are categorized in the midd...
Now smart students should choose what class to go to, because they can be at a higher grade level learning , while the others ones still learning their grade and they can get bettter and be like the other smart kids. No, the class size don't affect the class , but a little bit becaus ewhen other and more students come in they won't have no seat and they'll have to seat on the floor. We also have bad computers that barely can work that's why we got chrome books which are better than the old broken torn down
One of Mantsios’ realities is that class standing has a significant impact on chances for educational achievement. Mantsios defines class by family income and the effectiveness of education based on standardized tests such as the SAT. In a study for the Carnegie Council on Children, a relationship can be seen between social class and scores on standardized tests. As the family income of a student increases so do the median SAT scores. Richard De Lone came to the conclusion that the higher the student’s social class, the better the chance that he/she will get higher grades. William Sewell showed a positive correlation between class and overall educational achievement. When the top quartile was compared with the bottom quartile, he found that students from upper-class families were twice as likely to obtain training beyond high school and four times as likely to attain a post-graduate degree. Sewell’s research proved that the higher the social class a student belonged to, the greater the probability of higher educational achievement. This study relates to the conclusions of Anyon that different social classes are given different curriculums and teaching styles which very well can affect school performance as shown in De Lone’s study. As Mantsios shows how the different teaching styles discussed in Anyon effects academic performance, Kozol exposes why some
Are large lecture hall numbers in colleges pushing incoming freshman away? It does for me and many other people I talk to about college. In colleges adds, they mainly advertise if they have small class numbers. They tell us that we will be on a first name basis with out professors if we attend that college. Never have I seen the University of Iowa brag about their 300 people lecture halls. There is a reason to that, and it is quite simple. Students do not learn as well in large class sizes. According to the article “Does Class Size Matter” in the New York Times, students were asked to comment their thoughts on the question. Out of the 220 comments left by students all around the world, 99 percent of the comments that I read said that they liked being in smaller classes for a few simple reasons. One, they can pay attention to what the teacher is teaching better. Two, there are less distractions; this is beneficial to both the teacher and students. And three, the communication with the teacher is much better in a classroom with fewer students. There is more to just the students learning that gets affected by class sizes. We must step back and look at the rock of the classroom, the teacher. It does affect how students learn if the teacher is using certain methods. There are a multitude of ways to teach and sometimes it just doesn’t click with a student the way the teacher is teaching. If we had smaller classes, educators would be able to identify the students who are struggling and figure out a way to help them
Since the beginning of education there have been many forms, which have been passed on from one generation to the next. Over the years education has evolved and is now seen as the education system all over the world. Today the education system is seen to be much more complex, but it still involves notions that have been around since the beginning of success, achievement and participation. Not only do these three aspects continue to contribute to the success of educating young people who are involved in the ever changing society that we live in. Intelligence and ability does have an impact on the success of individual students and there are also other impacts that can affect the outcome on individual schools and the education system. This essay will provide a brief overview of cultural capital, hidden curriculum, class and socio economic status and discuss the affect the success, achievement and participation has on a student’s education.