Here in the US, we are fortunate in having small classes in most language programs. A class of 25-30 is usually considered very large. In non-language classes, though, the class size can be much larger. Lecture classes for first year university students can have 100-200 students. The challenge in all large classes is how to design content and delivery so that they appeal to different people. Students may have more or less prior knowledge (a big part of learning). They probably have multiple learning styles. They may be more or less tired.
Breaking a large group into smaller ones is one way to cope. Even in a large lecture, students can work in pairs or groups of four to answer a specific question or perform a specific task. You can give them a signal to use when their group is ready, such as a colored card to hold up.
Colored cards can help create a sense of interaction in general in a large group. Give each person 2-3 cards of different colors (for example, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 blue). Answers to questions can be coded by color - if you agree, hold up the red card. Disagree, the blue card. Or, answer a - use the red card; answer b - the blue card; etc. Learners are more actively participating, and the teacher can see trends in the large group.
There is a more high-tech option that is increasingly used in the US: electronic response devices. These small hand-held devices use wireless technology to send a signal to the teacher's computer, in much the same way as the colored cards. One advantage of the electronic option is that software compiles the answers and can create charts to show how many people chose a, b, c. If the devices are checked out to specific students, the teacher can track how well each student understood, as well.
Both the cards and the response devices help the teacher with one very important question that is often difficult to answer in a large class: Do they understand?
More ideas about coping with large classes are coming...
--Deborah
priorities....
14 years ago
