Teaching Large Groups

Jenny LorimerTuesday 7th June 2011

My Background

• Professional background as a diagnostic radiographer

• Teach in School of Health and Emergency Professions

• Seconded teacher to LTI• I teach some very large groups

Aim of the session

• To stimulate dialogue• To consider some benefits and challenges• To propose some solutions

• Traffic light cards

How big is a large group?

40 80

Over 100

500

So m

any stu

dents you d...

20% 20% 20%20%20%1. 402. 803. Over 1004. 5005. So many students

you don’t know their names

Some bad reasons for teaching large groups

• Effective use of teaching time• That’s the way we do it here• That’s what happened to me as a student• Meets the students expectations that we are

going to tell them what they need to know

• Any others?

Which of these is a good reason for teaching large groups?

Stimulates t

he students’

...

To give a

shared exp

erience

To give in

formation fo

r ...

To provid

e a focu

s for le

...

For c

larifica

tion

20% 20% 20%20%20%

1. Stimulates the students’ desire to learn

2. To give a shared experience3. To give information for future

discussions and/or activities4. To provide a focus for

learning5. For clarification

What do our students do in lectures?

Take notes

Make

notes

Sit p

assively

33% 33%33%1. Take notes2. Make notes3. Sit passively

What do our students really do?

• Look out the window• Look at other students• Worry that they don’t understand• Worry about other things – money,

relationships etc• Listen to music• Text• Browse the internet

What we want our students to do

• Want to learn• Need to learn• Learning by doing• Getting feedback• Making sense of

what they have learnt

wanting

needing

doingdigesting

feedback

What do we do wrong?

Talk on an

d on...

Going too fa

st or t

oo slow

Talking o

ver the st

udent..

Not linking t

o what t

he ...

Not exp

laining why t

hey...

20% 20% 20%20%20%1. Talk on and on...2. Going too fast or too slow3. Talking over the student’s

heads4. Not linking to what the

student does know5. Not explaining why they

need to know

How do you get interaction is a large group?

Electr

onic voting sy

stems

Post-it n

otes

Lining paper fo

r questi

ons

Questi

ons as a

group acti

...

25% 25%25%25%1. Electronic voting systems2. Post-it notes3. Lining paper for

questions4. Questions as a group

activity ‘buzz groups’

Which inappropriate behaviours are most challenging to manage?

Learn

ers arri

ving l

ate

Learn

ers talki

ng to each

...

Getting t

heir attention

Dealing w

ith noise

Disruptive st

udents

20% 20% 20%20%20%1. Learners arriving late2. Learners talking to each

other3. Getting their attention4. Dealing with noise5. Disruptive students

How can we develop our large group teaching?

• Continuously get feedback from learners

• Sit in on a colleague’s session

• Peer observation• Use technology• Use variety