Large Lecture Classes Having left the confronting atmosphere of
home schooling or typically small high school classes.
Large Lecture Classes
Having left the confronting atmosphere of home schooling or typically
small high school classes, college freshmen’s find it difficult to
adapt to large lecture classes. There classes are varying in size from
50 to 200.
In my fall class, Chemistry 1301, Professor Dr. Young teaches
approximately 70 students every morning. Typically, classes like
Chemistry 1301 at Baylor University contain 70 to 100 students.
Numerous problems arise in these outsized lecture classes. First,
large lecture classes prevent students from asking questions, about
matters they do not understand. Students are inhibited from asking
“dumb” questions. They are left thus prevented from understanding the
material and cannot further develop ideas about the material being
taught. In my case, asking questions has become very difficult,
because I feel that my inquiry is irrelevant and unimportant to the
subject a hand. Asking a question has become a rarity in typically
large lecture classes.
Furthermore, the professor goes too fast to take notes. Because of the
large student body count, professors do not spend enough time
explaining the material. When I can’t take notes, I can’t understand
nor retain the subject. Note taking is a crucial aspect of a student’s
development learning curve. Class notes can serve as an important tool
for reviewing for exams and distilling key concepts. As for me, it is
very complicated to comprehend the material when the professor goes
too quickly to obtain notes. This in turn, prevents me to understand
the material properly.
Furthermore, large lecture classes lead to impersonal, distant
relationship between students and professors. The number correlation
between students and professors should be close, so that students can
ask for advice and relate to the professor’s demands of the student.
In addition, in a large lecture students it is very difficult for a
professor to keep in contact or communicate with the other students.
Professors do not take the time to meet with the students; rather
students must meet with the professor. With a large student body
classroom, it is difficult for a student to talk to the teacher
personally and share his thoughts outside the classroom. Large lecture
classrooms prevent professors to work with students.
Finally, professors cannot determine students learning difficulties
until it’s too late. This in turn, stops the progress of a student’s
learning curve. The student’s production of knowledge cannot be
determine and evaluated by the professor. Evaluation by the professor
is fundamental it helps the student to keep up with his studies and
gives the professor the change to explain a student’s strengths and
weakness. In addition, knowing a student’s learning difficulties; the
In the article Should Colleges Really Eliminate the College Lecture? by Christine Gross-Loh, Loh discusses the relevance of traditional college lectures and how it could become obsolete in the near future. She explains how a “flipped classroom” could be more beneficial in terms of academics and show improvements in students learning abilities.
For some students, the time they have in the classroom is not enough for them to grasp the topic. While teachers usually offer a period for students to see them for extra help, some students do not have time for this. Most students have commitments outside of the classroom, such as m...
Many men knew that if women were educated, they would not depend on the men. For centuries, only men were educated. In the 1800, women started to come out of their house and reached for the education in colleges. Most people were antagonistic to having women go to college and having the same education as men. They thought that women should just take care of their husband and kids. The society thought that coed colleges were more barbaric, because they thought that men and women could not work together. The women’s colleges became a light for the women in 1800’s. Women learned to stand up for their rights by getting educated in college.
In countries who have high academic achievement rates, they recognize that students must be engaged in what they are learning in order to do well (Robinson, 2013). As Robinson (2013) states in his lecture, “the system has to engage them, their curiosity, their individually, and their creativity. That’s how you get them to learn.” In order to accomplish this, policy must require classes to become smaller so that individual support can be provided to each student. This will invoke a sense a belonging which will help students feel more responsible for their own education. Research also supports that fostering relationships between students and school faculty leads to higher attendance rates, greater academic achievements (Colby,
Due to the effects of higher enrolment, teaching methods are now directed towards suiting the masses, thus everything has become less personal, as well as, less educationally in depth. Teaching techniques consist of multiple choice tests, rather than written answer questions which require critical analysis, as Jacobs states “So many papers to mark, relative to numbers and qualities of mentors to mark them, changed the nature of test papers. Some came to consist of “True or False?” and “Which of the following is correct?” types of questions” (Jacobs 49). While teachers also no longer engage in one on one conversations with students, but merely in a lecture hall among masses and everyone is seen as just a student number. Jacobs states a complaint from a student “who claimed they were shortchanged in education. They had expected more personal rapport with teachers” (Jacobs 47). Universities are too much focused on the cost benefit analysis, of the problem of increased enrolment, with the mind set of “quantity trumps quality” (Jacobs 49). The benefit of student education and learning is not being put first, but rather the expansion of the university to benefit financial issues. Taylor states “individualism and the expansion of instrumental reason, have often been accounted for as by-products
Students are more willing to learn if the relationships between the students and the teachers are on the same level. This type of teaching helps the students learn how to be respectful, understanding and being able to compromise outside of the college campus. It also teaches students self-motivation and time management. When teacher are extremely aggressive on their class requirement students tend to confine and hold back and do just what they were required to. Students don’t go fair and beyond what they are able to achieve. According to author, Mano Singham, in his essay “Moving Away From the Authoritarian Classroom” he states “I could not make students care about the work, be creative and original, be considerate of others, or write and speak well. All I could do was force them to do was very specific things” (450), Singham is referring to the strict and legalistic syllabus he used to provide his students. This type of authoritarian teaching is extremely difficult on students. It restrains the student’s possibilities and outcomes. When teaches share responsibilities and authorities with the students it prepares the students to be part of a community and a work
In the article “Student Come to College Thinking They’ve Mastered Writing” by Berrett, Dan. He explains that Freshmen college student believes that their skill that they have learned is enough to satisfy the college standard of writing. According to a survey presented by faculty members, most students feel well prepared when it comes to writing in the College, and about 15 percent freshman would need some kind of tutoring. In that same survey, students also say that social media do not help them to be better writers, but instead the opposite, they feel as if social media has nothing to do with academic purposes. Some faculty members have instead suggested that teachers should require students to do some kind of writing in social media such as Facebook or Twitter for academic purposes that could help students improve their writing skill in social media and feel more comfortable.
Per the assessment results, there are three discrete principles that need to be addressed based on my personal, distinct habits. As I make a transition from high school to college, the weaknesses that need to be improved are interpreted as my note-taking, textbook and time management abilities. Primarily, note-taking is the worst mannerism found in my results. As a student, I always attempt to write down every single word in a presentation, or lecture. My note-taking habits need to be terminated because I am not enhancing my skills or learning any of the information, I am just regurgitating it. In high school, note-taking is not a big deal; however, in college note-taking is the consequent basis of learning. To amplify my skills in the area of note-taking, I need to be an active listener, so I can retain the information better and review it later. I should summarize the notes and analyze them on a daily basis.
My practicum classroom was a 1st grade class and it was a secular school. I would definably use a behavioral chart at this grade/age as I have used one for this grade/age and I have had great success using them. For the ED student (this is hypothetical- the only ED student in this class is also classified as LD). he does not listen to the teacher; does not sit in his seat; cannot keep his hands to himself; and cannot follow directions when told the first time. To me, since he cannot follow the classroom rules, I do feel as if he needs a behavioral management plan, especially since he cannot keep his hands to himself.
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 traditional approach has some benefits. To begin with, in the traditional classroom setting students tend to be more alert. Staying alert makes it easier for students to focus on their tasks at hand. Secondly, the students have a better opportunity to succeed because they have direct co...
Imagine sitting in a class, completely bored out of your mind. This is not difficult considering everyone has taken a class like this somewhere along the road of their education. Not every class can be exciting and we should know that. Now imagine every class is of this level, with no “break”, or elective, classes incorporated into your day. Although this may not apply to all private schools, there are many that focus on specific topics. So even though the...
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
Yet, the damage doesn’t stop there, in classrooms where the students haven’t fallen asleep the students usually develop a dispirited, and less engaging nature towards learning. The students are convinced that the suitable mode of learning is through the utterances of a teacher which, undoubtedly, leads to an excessive reliance on professors. Reliance on professors is not necessarily a detriment, but when it prevents students from seeking knowledge independently it transforms them into superficial learners who lack depth of understanding.
The transition from high school to university can be challenging for many students. Students quickly notice differences between the academic expectations of high school compared to those of universities. High school is heavily structured, students’ attendance and participation are regularly monitored, and teachers are in daily contact with them and provide regular feedback. On the contrary, university students are responsible for organising their course schedules. They are not mandated to attend lectures regularly and professors do not monitor their attendance in the majority of the courses. Additionally, assignments and tests are the only source of feedback. Students experience a higher level of discretion and freedom in universities. However, the freedom given to students can have negative impacts on their academic success. Many students attend the lectures sporadically and some do not attend them at all and merely do the assigned work. Moreover, students who attend lectures regularly and come to lectures prepared are more likely to succeed and do well in the course than students who do not. The lectures provide the opportunity to further explore and discuss ideas as well as ask questions and clear up any ambiguities about that specific idea. Therefore, universities should promote regular attendance by making students realize their financial, academic and social responsibilities as university students.