Presentation on 17 July 2015 at the workshop for new academic staff, organised by the University of Johannesburg's Professional Academic Staff Development Unit.
1. Reflecting on large
class teaching at UJ
Presentation by Carina van Rooyen
at the Academic Preparation Programme
on 16 July 2015,
organised by UJ Professional Academic Staff Development
3. Question
How do you describe yourself as a lecturer?
Activity for think-pair-share
Identify a single metaphor that best fits your
approach to teaching
4. What is large?
It’s not a large class; it’s a small town!
And you are the mayor!
38. Something to do
Listen to Michael Wesch talking about teaching as
soul making
at
http://mediatedcultures.net/presentations/learning-
as-soul-making/
39. Something to read
Read about Eric Mazur and his peer
instruction approach
at http://harvardmagazine.com/node/34321
40. Something to think about
Standford University’s 2025 project
foresee that students will“declare a
mission, not a major”. Do you agree,
and it is doable with large numbers?
41.
42. List of references
Brown M 2015 Designs for learning: Blending with purpose.
http://www.slideshare.net/mbrownz/designs-for-learning-blending-with-
purpose
Ebert-May D na Teaching for understanding in large classes: Active
learning & assessment.
Lucy CA 2012 Engaging students in and beyond a 400 seat freshman
lecture. http://www.ctl.ualberta.ca/instructional-resources/instructional-
techniques-assessment-guides/teaching-large-classes
Saunders F Reflections on large class teaching.
http://www.slideshare.net/mcjssfs2/reflections-on-large-class-teaching
Stanley CA 2012 Engaging large classes and working with TAs
effectively. http://www.ctl.ualberta.ca/instructional-
resources/instructional-techniques-assessment-guides/teaching-large-
classes
Editor's Notes
Relative to what you are used to.
When it becomes challenging to engage with each student individually.
Class size not distinguishing feature of student performance
Lack of research evidence that less effective learning in large class (Allwright 1989a, 1989b; Ur 1996)
Quality of teaching (what lecturer does in course), curriculum design and kinds of activities / assessment used more important than class size (Biggs 1999; Boulton-Lewis 1998; Exeter et al 2010; Kember 1998; Marton & Booth 1997; Meyers & Nulty 2002; Mulryan-Kyne 2010; Powell 1982; Rowntree 1987)
Large class can & should be welcoming & engaging space for learning - not about information transfer
Principle for effective learning (American Association for Higher Education):
Student-faculty contact: from day one; share who you are
Cooperation among students
Active learning: Learning is not a spectator sport. Active learning shown to increase student scores on exams (Freeman et al 2014)
Prompt feedback
Emphasise time on task: also link content to their lives
Communicate high expectations
Respect diverse talents and ways of knowing
Management: discipline, distractions (such as noise levels, coming last / leaving early), absenteeism, organising activities
Physical: noise, can’t see/hear, provision of materials
Affective factors: achieving rapport, not knowing students individually / anonymity, sense of community (drink tea with small groupings of students; arrive early / leave later to chat with students)
Interaction: passivity; opportunities to speak; students not asking questions
Marking and feedback: logistics of collecting assignments, marking load, moderate
Isolation / anonymity, Noise, Engagement /concentration, Motivation, Fear
Do survey in week 1 about who they are, and use it in class in examples
Try to learn some student names - attempt is appreciated, as it communicates care
Name cards in front of them
Encourage use of consultation hours
Students come in groups
Give extra credit for students making use of consolation hours to discuss progress in course
Make yourself know to students, and always be honest
Show care for and belief in students
Start on day one with content
Integrate student life in class, e.g., Valentine’s day
Students have to get to know one another - tutorials very useful; study buddy; think-pair-share in class
student-to-student interaction (rather than lecturer-student interaction)
Do group work: online discussions, tutorials, collaborative project-based learning
Respond to emails timeously
Create a space in which mistakes are celebrated. But not the same mistake.
Must use mic / pa system
Move around - mobile mic & slide mover
Visual aids - images & colour in presentations
Have some suspense & anticipation
Put questions to students to discuss in groups, and have group questions back - think, pair, share
Challenge of large class is keep students engaged in authentic manner
Use of clickers
Twitter
Discussions with tutors
Write / draw on paper
Experiments / demonstrations
Activity in class that count for class attendance
Flip classroom
There must be control; but it does not mean no noise! Planned chaos
Start & end on time - be a role model on time management
Encourage spontaneity
Use humour & entertainment
Play music
Thea’s toilet roll
Healer act
Collaborative project-based work
Tutorials
Online - Blackboard, wiki, other online courses (MOOC)
Students create personalised learning networks - have hundreds of experts involved in their learning
Continuous assessment
Use marking rubrics & moderate
Timeous and sufficient feedback so that learn from mistakes: start assessment early on; share list of common problems in assignments
Peer review: provide marking guidelines, have two students mark it, get average of marks; have rebuttal period where student motivates to lecture why disagree with markers
Lombardi’s authentic learning: real-world relevance, ill-defined problem, multiple sources / perspectives, collaboration, reflection, interdisciplinary perspective, integrated assessment
More plagiarism in large classes?
Use markers: train them, moderate marking
Have logistics sorted so that have week turn-around
Increasing use various forms of exemplars to guide student efforts - also for markers
With other lecturer(s) & support divisions within UJ
Effective use of tutors
Make use of students working in groups
Tablets in class.
Follow and share at #ujtablet or #ujhtl
Tech is a tool to be used to achieve learning
Blended learning. What do with large class online? Wiki, blog, tweet