Every so often I encounter a discussion with someone who doubts whether or not class size really matters for effective teaching and learning. I’m sure there’s evidence to support this, but I usually respond by saying that a class of 21 or less is more than manageable. I don’t know why this is, though, but every student over 21 is noticeable … up until about 28, and then it’s just a big class. Every student less than 21 isn’t nearly as noticeable. Speaking from my own experience, in a class of 21 or less it feels like it’s possible to get to work with each student.

Then I ask the inquisitor to picture spending a weekend afternoon with seven (or more) children and/or teenagers in their house. Like really … close your eyes and picture what would it look like? What would you do to prepare for their arrival?  Would it be noisy? Would it be enjoyable?  Would you want a break? Or five?

Then I explain that that is exactly the difference between 21 and 28, except that there’s already 21 children and/or teenagers in the room.

That’s why class size matters.

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Tags: classroom management, effective teaching, making education meaningful, Teaching Ideas

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 8:59 pm and is filed under Reflections, Teaching Ideas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.