Do you find it difficult to control kids in the classroom?
Most teachers have prior experience handling or teaching large classes. Also, they probably felt conducting or managing these large classes took a lot of work. According to education experts, class sizes should be kept small, particularly in the early grades. However, due to practical problems such as budget cuts or teacher shortages, teachers have no choice but to teach large classes.
Teaching large classes: myths and facts
Are small classes always effective?
While we might believe small classes are better for learning than large ones, this is not always true in every field. A new study on recent trends in math and science education was published. It has been shown that smaller class sizes do not result in higher grades and achievement. As a result, student achievement and learning effectiveness vary depending on factors such as the country, the subject taught, and various cognitive and non-cognitive skills.
However, we cannot deny the advantage of having fewer students in the classroom: teachers can individually attend to students easily and maintain control. For these reasons, most teachers prefer smaller classes.
Still, little research consistently shows the benefits of teaching small classes. We found that most studies failed to evaluate how class size influences the overall subject taught as well as attention or cognitive abilities.
The reason why small classes are effective
According to experts, reducing class sizes does not automatically result in greater student performance. Many additional classroom processes and resources must function effectively together for successful student learning. Experts have investigated why small classes often perform well. As a result, the theory was that smaller classes helped students more than larger ones because these schools had more resources and funds. These conclusions are dependent on having excellent teachers.
Things to consider when teaching large classes of children
Finding time to get to know students personally is one of the biggest challenges of teaching large classes. To achieve this, teachers must plan ahead of time. This preparation allows teachers to better understand and engage students in their learning than ever before.
Set learning goals
When teachers set a clear learning path for students, their learning journeys will become easier and more efficient. Also, setting learning goals can reduce the amount of material that needs to be prepared in the future.
Reduce the materials
Too much material consumes too many of the teachers’ resources. You may believe that covering a large amount of material will allow you to cover rich learning content, however, this can also lead to poor results. Children tend to absorb less information when exposed to a large amount of material. Rather than attempting to employ all content harshly, teachers should cut out unnecessary information. It is a good idea to focus on the following elements, especially in large classes:
- Key principles and general topics
- Examples and illustrations
- Materials that are of the highest interest and importance to students
Remember. You can’t cover everything in a limited number of subjects. Excessive information, on the other hand, may be ineffective.
Encourage student participation
What the teacher advises young students to do is more important than the teacher’s actions in class. Children have a hard time sitting still, listening, and concentrating. Their attention spans can often be less than 20 minutes. As a result, when learning something, children must periodically stop focusing and try to do something different.
Teachers must communicate with their students more frequently and plan classes to stimulate their participation and interest.
Provide more and shorter feedback
Teachers can spend less time worrying about the learning curriculum by providing frequent feedback on class progress. There is no reason to evaluate students only based on their grades. Diverse, fast, and regular formative evaluations help children accurately determine their weak areas. It also helps in increasing student engagement.
Teachers, for example, can regularly ask students about the pace of the class, the use of learning tools, the proper use of examples, the flow of the lesson, or anything else they want to know.
Assess student understanding and adjust content
Tracking individual progress can be challenging when teaching large classes. In such cases, consider asking students to participate in a brief, anonymous survey. Also, make sure you measure whether students fully understand the concept taught.
Teachers can immediately identify their students’ level and adjust content accordingly. They can also save time by not explaining concepts students already understand, and they can follow up only when necessary.Teachers should make an effort to interact with all of the students. This process needs creative solutions. Digitalization of learning can sometimes be a creative answer to a problem.
