Teaching a Large Lecture Class

Teaching a large lecture class at Auburn can be challenging, but there are numerous resources out there to help you determine the best classroom practices for you. Just because you have more students does not mean you cannot foster a “small” environment in your large lecture classroom. Many faculty find that combining team based learning with student response technology (such as iClickers or polling software) allows them to engage students and assess how much they are learning in every class meeting. Having students interact with other students in meaningful ways has been shown to increase attendance, participation, and final grades as well as overall satisfaction with the course.

Put another way,  just because you have many students in one classroom does not mean you have to lecture the entire class period. See our resources about Active Learning Strategies to learn how to incorporate activities within your large lecture section so as to better engage your students in the learning process.

Roger Freedman, Professor of Physics at UCSB, says, “Numerous instructors, myself included, have found that lectures become more useful when students are forced to become active participants in the lecture.”  Even in math and science classes, you can include your students as more than just listeners during your class meetings. Freedman’s article, “Challenges in Teaching and Learning Introductory Physics,” is useful for any faculty or GTA’s who teach these types of classes.

Rich Felder, a well known Engineering professor at NC State writes: “…there are ways to make large classes almost as effective as their smaller counterparts. Without turning yourself inside out, you can get students actively involved, help them develop a sense of community, and give frequent homework assignments without killing yourself (or your teaching assistants) with impossible grading loads.” His article,  “Beating the Numbers Game: Effective Teaching in Large Classes,” expands upon the notion of imitating a small class section while still teaching a large number of students.

The SERC website has many resources for teaching introductory courses (especially Geosciences), but their general advice is applicable across any discipline: “Teaching large classes is particularly challenging, and newer faculty are likely to be assigned to teach at least a few of them. These resources can help you keep your students actively engaged and minimize the time you spend grading, effectively and efficiently.”