what are the advantages and disadvantages of learning in large classes?

题目

what are the advantages and disadvantages of learning in large classes?

答案

灏忕彮鐨勪紭鐐瑰嵆鏄?ぇ鐝?殑缂虹偣
灏忕彮鐨勭己鐐瑰嵆鏄?ぇ鐝?殑浼樼偣
Advantages of Small Class Sizes
Researchers have found that there are many different advantages to having a small class.Some researchers and teachers will even say that 鈥渟maller classes are a key ingredient in student success鈥 (Weingarten,2003).
Research projects such as Tennessee鈥檚 STAR have found that a reduction in class size will produce a variety of benefits for teachers and students.Small classes impact not only students鈥 academic achievements,but they also benefit students鈥 social skills and relationships with their teachers.
One example of an advantage for a small class is that struggling students can receive more individual help from the classroom teacher.Because there will be less students in a class with one teacher,the teacher is better able to direct her attention and help to specific students.For example,a first grade teacher can provide help to students who are struggling with reading.He/She can meet with students in a small group setting and not worry about a large portion of the class being unattended.The teacher could give more help to a small group of students without worrying too much about students misbehaving whereas a teacher that is in charge of a large class would be too busy to give that student individual help.Because individual teacher attention is available in a small class,struggling students will receive the help they need,and as a result,student achievement will improve (Gilman,2003).
Teachers will also find that in a small class,they will be better able to manage their class.Discipline problems will be less frequent and severe because the classroom teacher will have better control of the students.Frequently,students act out in class because they desire attention from the teacher.Students may misbehave in a large class setting just to receive attention even if it means that they will be sent to time-out or have to face negative consequences.In a small class,because 鈥渟tudents receive more attention and are less likely to become discipline problems鈥 (Kennedy,2003),teachers will focus less on disciplinary actions and will focus more on instruction and actually teaching the students.
Another advantage of having a small class is that it also provides teachers the ability to really understand their students鈥 strengths and weaknesses (Kennedy,2003).By becoming familiar with their students鈥 abilities,teachers can individualize their lesson plans to benefit their students.Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of students is beneficial because this helps teachers realize when to spend more time on a topic and when students have mastered a specific skill or task.As a result,less time is spent on teaching material that students already know,and more time is used in the classroom to teach students what they do not know.
Researchers have also found that students in small classes do better than their peers who are in larger classes.When students are placed in small classes starting early in elementary school,they progress quicker and more efficiently than other students in large classes (American Educational Research Association,2003).One study found that:
鈥渁t the end of fifth grade,students who were in small classes in grades one through three were about half a school
year (5 months) ahead of students from larger classes,in all subjects -- reading,language arts,math,and science.
Further,follow-up studies of the same students show that high school students who were in small classes in grades
one through three beginning in 1985 were less likely to be held back a year or be suspended compared with their
peers from larger classes鈥 (Hopkins,1999).
Clearly,students who have been enrolled in small classes from a young age benefit from individualized teacher attention and instruction.It would not be possible to have such benefits in a large class.As seen by the article by Hopkins,small class size greatly and positively influences student achievement during the time the student is enrolled in a small class and also when he/she moves onto higher education.
From a technological standpoint,with a small class,the teacher could use teaching methods such as online classes and discussion boards to manage and keep the class interesting and interactive.By being introduced to this technique,students may be willing to participate more often and be more involved in class work as opposed to being nervous about raising their hands in fear of being embarrassed or laughed at in a large classroom setting.
Disadvantages of Small Class Sizes
Despite the amount of research that has been conducted on class size,鈥渟cholars [still] remain deeply divided over whether simply reducing class sizes can bring about lasting improvements in achievement鈥 (Viadero,1998).Even though there are many advantages of having a small class,there are also disadvantages when implementing small classes in a school.While small classes seem to benefit many of its students,small class size cannot guarantee increased student achievement or social skills.Small classes can succeed and prove to be advantageous,but they must be implemented correctly to avoid becoming a disadvantage.
Having many small classes involves having more qualified teachers.In any school,if there is a shortage of teachers,class size will have to increase.If a school wants to decrease its average number of students per class,it is going to have to hire more teachers.To have small size classes benefit students,schools will need to hire effective teachers who are enthusiastic,loving,and willing to work with students of all backgrounds.In order to hire such teachers,it is going to cost a lot of money.For example,while Bill Clinton was still the president of the United States,he proposed that $12 billion dollars be spent over seven years on training and hiring new teachers for small classes (Viadero,1998).The financial burden of hiring qualified new teachers is large enough to lead school systems in cutting small class size programs.鈥淩educing class size is perhaps the single most expensive item of education reform鈥 (Sappenfield,2003) and because of that,many school systems opt not to implement small class programs.If school budgets have been cut,school systems will find it difficult to hire and pay new teachers to teach smaller classes.
Along with hiring new teachers,school systems will have to locate new classrooms for their newly formed small classes.Today many schools are already overcrowded and have enough trouble dividing students into large classes.To ask these schools to find new classrooms and resources for small class programs is just asking them to spend even more money.Many schools may not think that small class size is worth the extreme amounts of money it will take to expand schools to accommodate new classes.
In some cases,school systems may be in support of having small class size,but parents may be in opposition to having them.Some parents do not believe that reducing class size has any significant impact on their children鈥檚 achievements.Instead,they believe that effective teachers are responsible for any student improvement.As one parent said,鈥渕y children are doing well academically due to the quality of the teachers that they have 鈥 not due to whether or not they have 24 classmates or 29," (Franic,2004).Parents are also hesitant to send their students to other schools in order for their children to be in a small class.Many parents 鈥渟aid they'd rather see the class size increase,rather than having their children moved to a school out of the neighborhood鈥 (Franic,2004).Changing schools could have adverse effects on a child.In some cases,a child may be achieving highly at his local school,but because of small class size relocation,he could be moved to a school that is significantly farther away from his home.In such a case,the child will be forced to meet new peers and teachers,and in the new unfamiliar small class setting he may actually not do as well as he had in his former school.
There is also a social disadvantage of having small classes.The students may not have a sufficient amount of peers to interact with if the class is small.Limiting class size may also limit the types of students in a classroom.Interaction with peers is a very important part of students鈥 lives.If a child does not have enough experience with students of all backgrounds,he may have trouble in the future interacting with students of different backgrounds.