Challenges faced by lecturers in handling large classes
Keywords:
Challenges, lecturers, handling, large classes, Technology in Zimbabwe
Abstract
This case study employed qualitative methods to collect data using open- ended questionnaires on a census sample of 38 junior lecturers and face-to-face interviews on seven purposively selected senior lecturers in the School ofSchool of Entrepreneurship and Business Sciences at Chinhoyi University of Technology in Zimbabwe.Data were tabulated, analysed presented narratively using emerging themes permeating the study.The study found that class size does matter as it affects the performance and quality of student learning. Hence, large classes correlate with low student performance. The study recommends that if institutions of higher learning continue recruiting mass students then they should likewise recruit enough academic staff to deal with the large number of students. The conducive learning environments so created would in turn positively affect the academic performance of the students through active involvement of the learners with their content thereby higher order cognitive abilities of problem solving and critical thinking so characteristic of deep learning.
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References
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Asodike, J.D. & Onyeike V.C., 2015. Global Journal of Educational Research Vol 15, 2016.
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Cuseo, J., 1998. Lectures: Their place and purpose. Cooperative Learning and College Teaching 9, no. 1: 2.
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Ehrenberg, R.G. Brewer, D.J. Gamoran, A.& Willms, J.D., 2001. Class Size and Student Achievement: Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Association for Psychological Science.
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Fortes, P. C., & Tchantchane, A., 2010. Dealing with large classes: a challenge. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 8, 272-280.
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Goertz, M.E., Oláh, L.N. and Riggan, M., 2009. From testing to teaching: The use of interim assessments in classroom instruction.
Hornsby, B. W., 2013. The effects of hearing aid use on listening effort and mental fatigue associated with sustained speech processing demands: Ear and hearing, 34(5), 523-534.
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Svinicki, M., 2014. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
McKeachie, W. J., 2013. Ebbs, flows, and progress in the teaching of psychology: In The Teaching of Psychology (pp. 507-518). Psychology Press.
McKeachie, W.J. Pintrich, P.R. Yi-Guang, L. and Smith, D.A.F., 1986. Teaching and learning in the college classroom: A review of the research literature. Ann Arbor, MI: Regents of the University of Michigan.
McKeachie, W.J., 1980. Class Size, Large Classes and Multiple Sections: Academe, American Association of University Professors.
Mohammadbhai, G., 2008. The Effect of Massification on Higher Education in Africa. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from http://www.boomeragbooks.com.au.
Mulryan-Kyne, C., 2010. Teaching large classes at college and university level: Challenges and opportunities. Teaching in higher Education, 15(2), 175-185.
Nunn, C. E. 1996. Discussion in the college classroom: Triangulating observational and survey results. The journal of higher education, 67(3), 243-266.
Ischinger, B., 2008. Education at a glance 2008: OECD indicators. Paris: Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development.
Schneider, M., 2002. Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes?
Tadesse, T., 2016. Quality Assurance must be reimagined at Ethiopia’s universities. https:// conversation.com/quality-assurance-must-be-reimagined-at-ethiopias-universities. [Accessed 19 August 2020]
Terenzini, P. Theophilides, C. and Loran, W., 1984. Influence on students’ perceptions of their academic skill development during college. Journal of Higher Education, 55(5), 621-636.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Report. 2005 EFA Global Monitoring: Education for All – The Quality Imperative, 2005. (Viewed December 2 2020)
Walker, J. D., Cotner, S. H., Baepler, P. M., & Decker, M. D., 2008. A delicate balance: integrating active learning into a large lecture course. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 7(4), 361-367.
Ward A., & Jenkins, A., 1992. The problems of learning and teaching in large classes. Teaching large classes in higher education: How to maintain quality with reduced resources, 23-36.
Allen, D., & Tanner, K. 2005. Infusing active learning into the large-enrolment biology class: seven strategies, from the simple to complex. Cell biology education, 4(4), 262-268.,
Amadahe, F. K. 2016. Large classes in Ghanaian universities: Challenges and innovations. In First International Symposium on Strategies for Effective Teaching in Tertiary Education, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Asodike, J.D. & Onyeike V.C., 2015. Global Journal of Educational Research Vol 15, 2016.
Astin, A.W., Parrott, S.A., Korn, W.S. and Sax, L.J., 1997. The American freshman: Thirty-year trends. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA, pp.1-31.
Biggs, J. 1999. Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does. Buckingham: Society for research into higher education, Open University Press.
Ciborra, C. and Hanseth, O., 1998, December. Towards A Contingency View of Infrastructure & Knowledge. In ICIS Conference Proceedings, Helsinki, December.
Ciborra, C. U., & Hanseth, O. 1998. From tool to Gestell: Agendas for managing the information infrastructure. Information Technology & People.
Cooper, J.L.& Robinson, P., 2000. The Argument for Making Large Classes Seem Small: New Directives for Teaching and Learning, Wiley Periodicals, San Francisco.
Cooperation and Development).http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/23/46/41284038.pdf (Accessed November 15, 2020).
Correa, H., 1993. An economic analysis of class size and achievement in education. Education Economics, 1(2), pp.129-135.
Cuseo, J., 1998. Lectures: Their place and purpose. Cooperative Learning and College Teaching 9, no. 1: 2.
Doane, B.T., 2008. The relationship between school facilities and academic achievement. Master’s thesis, College of Education, Ohio University.
Ehrenberg, R.G. Brewer, D.J. Gamoran, A.& Willms, J.D., 2001. Class Size and Student Achievement: Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Association for Psychological Science.
Exeter, D.J. Ameratunga, S. Ratima, M. Morton, S. Dickson, M. Hsu, D.& Jackson, R. 2010. Student engagement in very large classes: the teachers' perspective”, Studies in Higher Education, Routledge.
Fortes, P. C., & Tchantchane, A., 2010. Dealing with large classes: a challenge. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 8, 272-280.
Freire, P. (1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In Toward a Sociology of Education (pp. 374-386). Routledge.
Garwe, E. C., 2014. Quality assurance in higher education in Zimbabwe. Research in Higher Education Journal, 23.
Garwe, E.C., 2014. Quality assurance in higher education in Zimbabwe. Research in Higher Education Journal, 23.
Goertz, M.E., Oláh, L.N. and Riggan, M., 2009. From testing to teaching: The use of interim assessments in classroom instruction.
Hornsby, B. W., 2013. The effects of hearing aid use on listening effort and mental fatigue associated with sustained speech processing demands: Ear and hearing, 34(5), 523-534.
Mulryan-Kyne, C. 2010. Teaching large classes at college and university level: Challenges and opportunities. Teaching in higher education, 15(2), 175-185.
Lazear, E. P., 2001. Paying teachers for performance: Incentives and selection. Draft, August.
Madzimure, J. 2016. Zimbabwean University Education System: A Survival of the Fittest. Nehandaradio. com.
Marton, F., & Säljö, R. 1976. On qualitative differences in learning: I—Outcome and process. British journal of educational psychology, 46(1), 4-11.
Marton, F., 1976. On non‐verbatim learning: II. The erosion effect of a task‐induced learning algorithm. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 17(1), 41-48.
Marton, F., and R. Säljö. 1976. On qualitative differences in learning. I – Outcome and process. British Journal of Educational Psychology 46, no. 1: 4–11.
Mcalpine, L., 2004. Designing learning as well as teaching: A research-based model for instruction that emphasizes learner practice. Active learning in higher education, 5(2), 119-134.
Svinicki, M., 2014. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
McKeachie, W. J., 2013. Ebbs, flows, and progress in the teaching of psychology: In The Teaching of Psychology (pp. 507-518). Psychology Press.
McKeachie, W.J. Pintrich, P.R. Yi-Guang, L. and Smith, D.A.F., 1986. Teaching and learning in the college classroom: A review of the research literature. Ann Arbor, MI: Regents of the University of Michigan.
McKeachie, W.J., 1980. Class Size, Large Classes and Multiple Sections: Academe, American Association of University Professors.
Mohammadbhai, G., 2008. The Effect of Massification on Higher Education in Africa. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from http://www.boomeragbooks.com.au.
Mulryan-Kyne, C., 2010. Teaching large classes at college and university level: Challenges and opportunities. Teaching in higher Education, 15(2), 175-185.
Nunn, C. E. 1996. Discussion in the college classroom: Triangulating observational and survey results. The journal of higher education, 67(3), 243-266.
Ischinger, B., 2008. Education at a glance 2008: OECD indicators. Paris: Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development.
Schneider, M., 2002. Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes?
Tadesse, T., 2016. Quality Assurance must be reimagined at Ethiopia’s universities. https:// conversation.com/quality-assurance-must-be-reimagined-at-ethiopias-universities. [Accessed 19 August 2020]
Terenzini, P. Theophilides, C. and Loran, W., 1984. Influence on students’ perceptions of their academic skill development during college. Journal of Higher Education, 55(5), 621-636.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Report. 2005 EFA Global Monitoring: Education for All – The Quality Imperative, 2005. (Viewed December 2 2020)
Walker, J. D., Cotner, S. H., Baepler, P. M., & Decker, M. D., 2008. A delicate balance: integrating active learning into a large lecture course. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 7(4), 361-367.
Ward A., & Jenkins, A., 1992. The problems of learning and teaching in large classes. Teaching large classes in higher education: How to maintain quality with reduced resources, 23-36.
Published
2022-10-18
How to Cite
Chifamba, N., & Pedzisai, C. (2022). Challenges faced by lecturers in handling large classes. GPH-International Journal of Educational Research, 5(10), 16-29. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7221425
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2022 Neater Chifamba & Constantino Pedzisai
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