Class Size
I am listening to Malcom Gladwell's David and Goliath. He questions whether it is better to have a larger class size or a smaller class size. He concludes that the answer lies somewhere in the middle. It turns out that the magic number is somewhere around twenty. Here's what he says:
One would think that a smaller class would provide more opportunities for personalized learning, but Gladwell states that often times, teachers in a small class setting do less work than they would in a large class setting. Furthermore, he says that small class settings don't provide enough diversity in thought, and group discussions often lack participation. Finally, Gladwell says that small classroom sizes can be like, "the kids in the backseat on a long family trip." One behavior issue will disrupt the entire class.
In a larger classroom, there is plenty of diversity of thought. Classroom discussions seem to go a lot smoother and can almost run themselves. There is plenty of work for the classroom teacher and it is possible to break students into small groups. Gladwell says that a class size of 18 or 24 is ideal to work with because you can break the class up into groups of 2, 3, 4, 6, or even 8. The teacher has a lot of options. However, anything larger than 24 gets a little difficult. When teachers begin to design lessons, they think about how many students they have and how many papers they will have to grade. They make decisions based upon how much work it will require.
So this got me thinking...
What if the choice wasn't binary? What if there was another option? What if classrooms were flexible, allowing students to flow in and out between large and small classroom settings throughout the day? Is it possible to have a class in which the size varied each and every day? Is there a way to ensure that class size wouldn't be too big or too small? Would a school setting like this encourage student autonomy and creativity? I wonder if students would just float from classroom to classroom with their same click of friends or if classrooms would naturally diversify. I don't really know what this would look like in a school, but it would be an interesting social experiment, indeed.
Just shooting spitballs until one sticks.
One would think that a smaller class would provide more opportunities for personalized learning, but Gladwell states that often times, teachers in a small class setting do less work than they would in a large class setting. Furthermore, he says that small class settings don't provide enough diversity in thought, and group discussions often lack participation. Finally, Gladwell says that small classroom sizes can be like, "the kids in the backseat on a long family trip." One behavior issue will disrupt the entire class.
In a larger classroom, there is plenty of diversity of thought. Classroom discussions seem to go a lot smoother and can almost run themselves. There is plenty of work for the classroom teacher and it is possible to break students into small groups. Gladwell says that a class size of 18 or 24 is ideal to work with because you can break the class up into groups of 2, 3, 4, 6, or even 8. The teacher has a lot of options. However, anything larger than 24 gets a little difficult. When teachers begin to design lessons, they think about how many students they have and how many papers they will have to grade. They make decisions based upon how much work it will require.
So this got me thinking...
What if the choice wasn't binary? What if there was another option? What if classrooms were flexible, allowing students to flow in and out between large and small classroom settings throughout the day? Is it possible to have a class in which the size varied each and every day? Is there a way to ensure that class size wouldn't be too big or too small? Would a school setting like this encourage student autonomy and creativity? I wonder if students would just float from classroom to classroom with their same click of friends or if classrooms would naturally diversify. I don't really know what this would look like in a school, but it would be an interesting social experiment, indeed.
Just shooting spitballs until one sticks.
Comments
Post a Comment
I am looking to find my tribe of mentors. Leave a comment and join the conversation.