Chris Malone Psychology Department Taming the Masses: Organizational and teaching strategies for large classes Chris Malone Psychology Department

What does the research say What does the research say? (from Stanley & Porter’s (2002) brief review of the research) Large classes can be just as effective for student learning as small classes Students rate the following as important instructional dimensions in large classes: An effective, involved instructor High level of organization High degree of interaction between students & instructor Effective use of examples

What makes a “good” instructor? To help make a large class successful, students say a professor should: Be experienced and knowledgeable Be concerned about students Be available for students Have a high level of enthusiasm and energy Be a good speaker—easy to understand, interesting, a good communicator

Essential resources for effective learning in large classes (as rated by students) An excellent textbook Test reviews/study guides Visual aids Lecture notes

My teaching approach Prep, prep, prep….increases knowledge, clarity of delivery, and repertoire of examples Impose and maintain high level of organization Increase interaction with in-class activities and demonstrations

My strategies for getting & staying organized A thorough (wordy) syllabus specifies Contact information (email, office hours) Course policies (make-up exams, grading, extra credit, conduct) Due dates for reading assignments, written assignments, and exams A course website Duplicates syllabus information Contains additional resources Decreases paper Additional resources provided by website (SHOW THESE) syllabus Announcements Extra Credit Options and procedures Review questions?? Outlines for students Answer keys for exams grade sheets Keeps my PowePoint presentations as well B/4 Presentation—Save in Favorites Malone home page—www.mnstate.edu/malonech Instructor Powerpoints for 113--http://www.mnstate.edu/malonech/Psy113/113%20list.htm Browse other class webpages 231/232 Jeopardy review 232 links to extended problems/examples 342 weblinks to cool internet sites—Exploratorium link in levels of processing chapter

My strategies for increasing student involvement Many short video clips Some concepts can be demonstrated using student volunteers A series of do-it-yourself activities that force students to think about and apply the material….They also reinforce attendance. Sometimes the activities also require students to interact with others in small groups. Demonstrations—reinforce student volunteers with a small amount of extra credit Hemholtz—motor messages from person to person Operant conditioning through shaping Disprove the notion of REPRODUCTIVE MEMORY—storytelling exercise

Final thoughts Course development is an investment…HUGE time investment on the front-end. Course development is a PROCESS that takes TIME….Do it in layers. Course development is a trial-and-error process.