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Effective Strategies for Teaching Large Classes: Enhancing Learning Engagement

Explore effective techniques to engage and support students in large classes, balancing information overload, conceptual continuity, and audience connection. Discover ways to foster meaningful discussions, reduce alienation, and connect global issues to local examples.

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Effective Strategies for Teaching Large Classes: Enhancing Learning Engagement

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  1. Teaching Large Classes: The Good, the Bad, and the UglyJ.J. Shinker, Department of Geography, University of Wyoming Overload –Too much information Conceptual continuity – Feedbacksanimation by P. Bartlein and J. Shinker Alienating audience – politcal jabs

  2. The Good • “What is your conceptual continuity?”–Frank Zappa • Topic/theme that you can weave many examples around throughout the duration of the course. e.g. Feedback loops • Context • Framing topic to allow comparisons e.g. Past sea-level rise vs. future sea-level rise • Intellectual investment • Provide time in class for students to discusse.g. In class break-out groups

  3. The Bad Too much information in lecture or throughout course Possible solutions: -Identify 4-7 major concepts, issues, topics for whole course; -Build class discussion time into lecture period (this forces me to reduce information in lectures).

  4. Example: Break-out groups Retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet In groups of 2-4 people discuss: 1) Changes that occur in the coastlines; and 2) The implications for future sea-level rise. Animation by Bartlein and Shinker

  5. The Ugly Alienating the audience Possible solutions: -Provide tangible local examples of change to relate to larger scale; -Trade doom and gloom for actionable steps (see Union of Concerned Scientists Ten Personal Solutions for reducing emissions.

  6. Relating local to global Paired photos from Glacier NP Projected sea-level rise in Florida

  7. Teaching Large Classes: The Good, the Bad, and the UglyJ.J. Shinker, Department of Geography, University of Wyoming Overload –Too much information Conceptual continuity – Feedbacksanimation by P. Bartlein and J. Shinker Alienating audience – politcal jabs

  8. In groups of 2-3 people come up with your own example from one or more of the categories below. • “What is your conceptual continuity?” • Topic/theme that you can weave many examples around throughout the duration of the course. • 2. Reducing overload • Limiting information presented in class. • Avoiding alienating audience

  9. Additional Resources: Bligh, Donald A.   2000.  What's the Use of Lectures?  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.   Fink, L. Dee.  2003.  Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. L. Dee Fink, A Self-directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning, http://www.ou.edu/idp/significant/selfdirected1.pdf McKeachie, Wilbert J. and Marilla Svinicki. 2005. McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers, 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.  

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