Strategies for teaching and managing large classes in university

Abstract

Following extensive debate on management of large classes and its effectiveness, the current study sought to address (1) strategies used by lecturers to manage large classes; (2) required skills needed to effectively teach large classes by lecturers; and lastly (3) effective assessment practices used by lecturers in large classes. A structured questionnaire, which reached a reliability co-efficient of r=+0.87, was administered adopting a descriptive survey research design. One hundred and ten lecturers (N= 110) were randomly selected out of2205 lecturers in the four South African universities in Eastern Cape. The results showed that 'engaging students and developing a sense of belonging' is the best indicator with (Mean 8.6, SD = 12.264). This was followed by ‘automate assessment tasks where possible ’ (e.g. online quizzes) with Mean 3.0, SD = .899 (effective assessment practices); and ‘evaluating student understanding regularly through mini quizzes, short tests, class work or True/False responses ’ with (Mean 2.8, SD = . 752 (managing and teaching large classes).