Many faculty members recognize the differences between teaching small and large classes.
Increased class sizes are a possible result of the instructor cutbacks in the College of Arts and Sciences, specifically the English and mathematics departments.
Other departments throughout the University already have experienced the process of increased class size. And according to some instructors, students are not the only ones feeling the effects of larger classes.
Richard Stahl, an economics instructor, said his department is having problems finding enough professors to teach all of the classes. As a result, some classes exceed the class size average.
Stahl said next semester he will teach Economics 2035 in front of 260 students in one section and 60 students in another. But Stahl said his teaching style for the two sections will not change.
“In my opinion, any economics class above 30 students would be taught the same,” Stahl said.
Stahl said students feel the transition from smaller to larger classes more than anyone.
He said students in large classes need to work harder to keep up with class lessons because the one-on-one interaction they receive with teachers in smaller classes is not feasible.
Robert Rohli, a geography associate professor, will find himself in the same situation next semester that Stahl is in now.
He will teach Geography 2050 next semester in the Bo Campbell Auditorium in front of a class of as many as 1,000 students. A typical Geography 2050 class has only 150 students.
Rohli said teachers must utilize all of their resources when teaching in front of a classroom of that size.
“The professor needs to make better use of the technology to get their point across as well as possible when there are more students,” Rohli said.
The multimedia capabilities the classroom possesses are beneficial to the student learning process, Rohli said.
Teaching in front of a large class is not new to Rohli. Last spring, he taught in the auditorium classroom, but only in front of 250 students.
The only change he made in his teaching style was the implementation of more teaching assistants, Rohli said.
To develop more communication between students and himself, Rohli set up weekly question and answer sessions. Rohli said the sessions gave students a chance to get into small groups and discuss problems and questions with the TAs.
“Ideally, we would have smaller classes, but sometimes that is just not possible,” Rohli said.
Kerry Sauley, a management professor, said teaching in a larger class takes away from the student interaction that he has grown accustomed to.
“I really like to know my students,” Sauley said.
Sauley is currently teaching a class four times the size he is used to teaching – 888 students – in the Campbell Auditorium.
Sauley said he arrives at class early to interact with students and also schedules outside review sessions to shorten the one-on-one interaction gap.
Even with fewer opportunities to interact with students, Sauley said the grades are not different between his larger and smaller classes.