Creating “Small” within Creating “Small” within “Large”“Large”

One way cost savings can be realized is by consolidating separate sections into a larger lecture space.

Large lecture halls can be intimidating and classes with large enrollments can seem impersonal.

The challenge: create sense of ownership and community.

Malcolm HillDept. of Biology

University of Richmond

Creating “Small” within “Large”Creating “Small” within “Large” A common approach involves creating a sense of

community “desk-by-desk” - building teams into a large lecture.

– At Fairfield Univ., we moved from small sections to a “large” lecture hall

– In-class computer exercises: mobile computers, mobile students activity all around

Examples From General BiologyExamples From General Biology

On-line, in-class activities based on group work

http://www.dnai.org/

Creating “Small” within “Large”Creating “Small” within “Large”

The use of discussion boards, chat rooms, Facebook can all be used to facilitate the sense of community.

We’ve found that development of an in-class assessment piece (e.g., online quizzes/”The Minute Drill”) is another effective mechanisms to increase the sense of ownership in a class. Instructors benefit too, because they are seen to actually care about the students learning.

Long term, team projects are also an effect mechanism for creating a sense of small in larger classes.

We posted podcasts created by students (AKA CreatUR FeatUR) for whole class evaluations. By the end of the semester, students knew each others work and had a sense of community that had been difficult to build previously.