Lectures in higher education often address audiences that consist of over one hundred students. In this setting, it is arguably difficult to take into account individual interests of each participant. This may result in low motivation, decreased learning outcomes as well as an overall low effectiveness of lectures. Self-determination theory…

The benefits of creating learning communities have been clearly established in educational literature. However, the research on 'community-of-learning' has largely focused on intermediate and high-school contexts and on the benefits of co-facilitation in the classroom. In this paper, we contribute to educational research by describing an approach…

Teachers select multiple representations and adopt multiple visualization approaches in supporting their students to make meaning of chemical phenomena. Representational competence underpins students' construction of their mental models of concepts thus it is important that teachers consider this while developing instructional resources. In…

This study investigated the role of a new paradigm in teaching large introductory, fundamental engineering mechanics (IFEM) courses that combined student-centered learning pedagogies and supplemental learning resources. Demographic characteristics in this study included a total of 405 students, of whom 347 (85.7%) are males and 58 are (14.3%)…

This paper presents a model for teaching large classes that facilitates a "small class feel" to counteract the distance, anonymity, and formality that often characterize large lecture-style courses in higher education. One author (E. P.) has been teaching a 300-student general education critical thinking course for ten years, and the…

The impact of lecture instruction on student conceptual understanding in physics has been the subject of research for several decades. Most studies have reported disappointingly small improvements in student performance on conceptual questions despite direct instruction on the relevant topics. These results have spurred a number of attempts to…

The current discourse surrounding Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is powerful. Despite their rapid and widespread deployment, research has yet to confirm or refute some of the bold claims rationalizing the popularity and efficacy of these large-scale virtual learning environments. Also, MOOCs' reputed disruptive, game-changing potential…

Institutes of higher learning are tending to reduce the amount of face-to-face teaching that they offer, and particularly through the traditional pedagogical method of lecturing. There is ongoing debate about the educational value of lectures as a teaching approach, in terms of both whether they facilitate understanding of subject material and…

As good teachers may have great influence on positive outcomes of students, educational systems should provide feedback about their professional performances in any way. Otherwise, not only do teachers fail but the system fails. It is claimed that students have some reasons while they are evaluating the lecture and teaching. This study was…

Anyone who has taught a lecture to a large group of students has probably experienced undesirable student behaviors. The author, who has taught an introductory college biology course at Syracuse University for 45 years, relates that an important part of his teaching philosophy is that everyone should learn from everything that they do, and…

How one professor successfully handled a class of 100 students at Arizona State University is described. The large lecture group was broken down into random groups of eight or ten students who kept the instructor informed of their learning progress by submitting reports in the form of reading reports, diaries, observations, behavior experiments,…

Examines whether class size in the introductory-level economics course affects subsequent performance in intermediate-level economics courses. Studies University of Massachusetts (Boston) students who are allowed to choose large or small lecture classes. Finds that students enrolled in large sections received lower grades in subsequent…

Reviews literature on class size and its influence on student performance, attitudes, and behavior, highlighting a recent study of the effect of lecture-group size on the latter variables in an introductory college nutrition course. Student class-size preferences, attitudes about large-class characteristics, interest in the discipline, attitudes…

Suggestions to help faculty discover ways of achieving interactive, investigatory, and intimate learning environments in large settings are provided. The instructional objective is to empower students to take responsibility for their own learning. (MLW)