Scott,
I have taught in small learning communities at the university level. In remedial classes we had 12 students which gave me ample time to work individually with students on their writing and reading skills. We worked on grammar, vocabulary, writing strategies and critical reading. Students wrote an essay every two weeks; students wrote a rough draft in class, discussed ideas in small groups, typed a first draft, did a peer review, revision and editing before turning in for a final grade. When they moved into the freshman composition classes, the class size was 25 students and writing focused on a variety of rhetorical styles. Again the process allowed for some individual work with students in creating a portfolio of their best work.
Now , in addition to teaching two sections of fresh comp at the local community college--25 students per class, I teach high school classes--33 students per class.
I require an in-class essay every Monday from all 165 students at the high school. Obviously, there are not enough hours in the semester for me to effectively grade and respond to each of those essays. Once a month, students select one of their Monday essays to work on. They discuss the essays in small groups, take them home to type a first draft, and then participate in a peer review. The peer review works sometimes, sometimes not. With each essay, I focus on one element--effective introductions, identifying the use of various sentence-development strategies. At the end of each semester, students select four essays to include in a portfolio for a final grade. I try to meet with each student individually at some point during the semester, but it is very difficult. I begin every class with grammar, vocabulary and a journal entry tied to assigned reading or a topic of discussion.
From my personal experience, I would say that the smaller class size allows for greater student success in developing the skills necessary for both written expression and critical reading. Secondary classes- under the provisions of No Child Left Behind-- are not conducive to helping students meet their full potential. When you put students with special needs in a regular classroom where every student is expected to prepare for a college education and throw in some GATE students for good measure, no one is served. The discipline issues alone can derail the best laid plans, even when there are two or three adults in the classroom.
We have two problems from my perspective: class size and class demographics. We are expecting every child in this country to go on to college, but the reality is that many students would be just as happy pursuing a trade and getting the education necessary to secure a job after high school. Furthermore, in our particular school, students are expected to sit through two-hour classes; I have college students who are sometimes challenged by long classes, but for high school students who are distracted by shiny objects outside the class window, sitting in a classroom for two hours is beyond their attention span. I believe every student has a right to receive an education, but we need to have some major overhaul in the system to achieve that goal.
Dee
----- Original Message -----
From: Scott Woods
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 5/31/2009 8:12:04 AM
Subject: Re: Class size ATEG Digest - 28 May 2009 to 29 May 2009 - Special issue (#2009-127)
Paul,
I would be interested in seeing research that shows a strong link between reducing class size and increasing performance. The research I have seen strongly suggests that the most important factor in improving student performance is changing what teachers do. Reducing class size can reduce the amount of disruption in a class, but there is little research base (that I have seen) to suggest that if we reduced the size of every class in the country to 15 students that much would change in what students know and can do.
As an English teacher, I would prefer having fewer total students, but I could probably teach as well if, at least twice a week, I had all 112 of my students in a lecture hall together. That would give me eight hours of extra time to respond thoughtfully to their writing.
Scott Woods
BASIS Scottsdale
--- On Fri, 5/29/09, Paul E. Doniger <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Paul E. Doniger [log in to unmask]
Yes! And all research in education that I've ever seen agrees that class size is a vital component in successful learning. This is especially important to the writing classroom.
Paul E. Doniger
"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction" (_Twelfth Night_ 3.4.127-128).
From: Scott <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 8:30:56 PM
Subject: Re: Class size ATEG Digest - 28 May 2009 to 29 May 2009 - Special issue (#2009-127)
I too am normally reluctant to classify a remark as stupid; however,
the list member who indicated that class size was irrelevant in teaching
writing must have been brought up by a school board member. My alma mater,
MSC, whose regular Freshman English program I have praised highly, had
a secondary program in basic writing skills for those who had failed the
English placement exam. I had scored a 100 in the exam but my advisor had
accidentally put my test in the "Dummy English" pile; therefore, I had to
take a non-credit English class on the same semester as my first Freshman
English class. My advisor apologized to me later but I replied that I had
learned more in Dummy English than in regular English because the class size
was quite small--around ten students--and we wrote a theme each day instead
of one a week. The professor in the Dummy Class was also an excellent
teacher.
Having taught across the academic curriculum, I can aver that, in my
experience, class size is more important in English composition than in any
other academic class, including mathematics and foreign languages.
N. Scott Catledge, PhD/STD
Professor Emeritus
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