Recent classes of undergraduate students have been unprecedentedly large, a trend expected to continue. Due to this increase in students, class sizes will be larger than they were in the past.
Faculty can counter some of the major negative factors of large classes, such as the sense of anonymity and alienation and disengagement. Students in large classes can benefit considerably and also feel quite satisfied with their experiences, a fact of no small importance when it comes to retaining students through graduation.
All faulty members can benefit from knowing what successful teachers of large classes do and how do they do it.
At the next University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education session, two such teachers are going to share their tips on what works in large classes—and what to avoid. Chris Butler, senior instructor of mathematics and the Theodore M. Focke Professorial Fellow, and Corbin Covault, professor of physics, will present at the session. Both are former Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching winners.
The session will be held Thursday, Feb. 4, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Allen Memorial Medical Library’s Herrick Room (use Adelbert Road doors).
Pizza and sodas will be provided at this session. RSVP to ucite@case.edu.