Connecting and Class Size

We had a spirited debate in our finance class about class size in independent schools. Recent economic realities have forced independent schools to examine one of their core selling points-- that small class sizes provide uniquely valuable learning environments. This has been central to most independent schools' marketing for as long as anyone can remember. But because of issues of financial sustainability, many schools are having to challenge their assumptions about the value of small class sizes. One thing that folks can agree on is that this threat provides a unique opportunity for innovation and positive change.

Our conversation went from teacher quality to research about student achievement in schools both in the US and abroad. We also agreed that it is almost goofy to frame conversations based on the terms "small" and "large" because they are so relative. Is 2 better than 15? Even die-hard small class fans don't think so. Is 20 better than 50? Maybe not to all. . .

My personal experience took me from a small boarding school with small class sizes --I taught a class of 4 one year-- to a large day school where my largest class was 26 juniors and seniors. In the transition, I would have called myself a proponent of small classes. I struggled with connecting with the students and getting to really know them and, in turn, making sure they knew that I cared-- both about their work and about them as people. This was as much about the differences between boarding and day schools as it was about class size.

It was at that point in my career that I became really engaged in exploring the ways in which technology could help me hear more from my students, and interact with them about what is meaningful to them. In the context of a Spanish class this might look like having them record stories or just a couple of sentences about something in Spanish, or write short pieces on-line which allowed me to respond (via voice or writing) asynchronously. It is amazing how much you can learn about kids just by asking simple (grammatically speaking) questions about their family, their background, what they like, what they don't like. Then in class they are not just Justin-who-sits-in-the-back, but Justin-who-has-a-little-sister-who-steals-his-games-and-plays-baseball-and-likes-tacos-and-mountain-biking. In short order, students become human. (And then there is the Facebook discussion-- for another time, I think.)

It seems like there is an evolution in this thinking about classroom communication that looks like this:

• one way (teacher imparts content to student)
• two way (teacher and student actually communicate in a conversation)
• networked (teachers and students communicate with each other in a web-like environment)

I've seen class of 12 that work in the one way mode and could easily be a class of 100 (if you don't talk about grading, which I won't get into here). While there may be a time and place for each level above, the networked mode should dominate. In bigger classes, this much more powerful, and even better still, is taking this notion outside of the school gates/walls/server and into the world at large. One savvy colleague of mine brought up the notion of schools partnering to take classes that are under enrolled (like my class of 4) and combining their students into one on-line or hybrid course. Or, students taking the same course in different schools in different parts of the country or world can connect with each other to expand their thinking on the topics at hand.

Another benefit that can arise from the notion of a networked classroom, and is very low tech, is the idea of students tutoring students. With a larger class of various levels, students with a deeper understanding of the material can support the learning of the other kids, which in turn helps cement their thinking. This is not a new idea, in fact it looks a lot like the one room school houses of the colonial era. When teachers create these types of environments and release some control of the teaching, they are allowing students to have a stake in their own learning. This, of course, benefits ALL of the students, but in different ways.

The bottom line is that both small and large classes can be exceptional (or worthless) learning environments depending on the teachers' commitments to making connections (both within and outside of the class) and creating an environment in which students take charge of their learning and that of their peers.

Here is a collection of a few resources about class size.