Our Top 3 Tips on How to Manage Large Classes
Reports in the news recently have been focusing on the growing size of primary school classes due to the recent baby boom. A common theme that has emerged from the majority of news stories published seems to support the idea that having a larger class directly correlates with a decline in student learning and achievement. The worries stem from the idea that students won’t receive enough attention and they will be lost in a sea of other students. We believe that a class size does not determine a child’s outcome, and a more impactful factor on a students’ outcome will be more directly linked to the quality of teaching they receive rather than the size of the class they are in. A good teacher faced with a larger than average class will not neglect their students, they will adapt to the challenge and channel their teaching skills to suit a larger classroom. Yes, it is difficult to manage a lot of students in a class, but it is achievable and the quality of teaching doesn’t have to be compromised as a result. Here’s a few ways you can adapt to a larger class…
Make it Personal
A common criticism that is given to large Primary schools classes is that the teaching relationship between teacher and student is no longer as personal because the teacher now has to divide their time between more students. This is true, but having a large class does not mean you still can’t build relationships with your pupils. A simple way for teachers to make their relationship with students seem more personal is to learn their names quickly — addressing students by their name instantly makes the relationship personal, however with more students in a class remembering names does become more difficult. Here are a few ways to help you remember your students’ names:
Wear name tags — this can be especially helpful in the first days of term — it can also be adapted into the lesson plan, whether that be helping children with writing skills or using it as an art task and asking them to get creative with their tags!
Create a seating plan — a seating plan is a great way to help you memorise students’ names! Always have it at your desk and make sure they adhere to the plan and you’ll have nothing to worry about!
Draw self-portraits — This is another one that will help get them creative, the self-portraits could then be used as classroom decoration — instantly making the classroom more personal.
Managing Space
A big struggle with large classes is managing the space of the classroom. Having not enough space can make for a stressful learning environment. A good idea to manage the limited space you may have is to get your students to help with the organisation of the classroom. This way they feel as though they have an input and this activity encourages the class to work together and can make them feel more like a family in helping to create a caring and safe environment where they feel comfortable and learn.
Organisation of the classroom could be the way tables are moved if they’re working in groups, or if they need to clear space quickly and efficiently for carpet space whether that be circle time,drama, wet break or P.E. Help them to solve problems such as ways to get around bumping into each other, maybe there should be no running allowed in the classroom? Should the tables be laid out with spaces between them so the teacher can walk through? Maybe there should be a logical way that students enter and exit the classroom?
Also if space is limited in classrooms it may be useful to utilise the rest of the school grounds and venture outside for subjects other than P.E! You can take a Science experiment or investigation outside, have a go at orientation for Maths or simply get the class to complete their reading outside on a sunny day.
Class work
Although larger classes may seem daunting, learning within a larger class offers students a fantastic opportunity to help them develop social and interpersonal skills that will really help them in later life and help them to become better learners now. Large classes are easily split into groups which means students can create work together. Working in groups can help students develop their social and cognitive skills through ability to share ideas and responsibility, collaborate and listen to others. It also helps greaten their communication skills as they will need to express their ideas coherently to others, it can also help them to develop presentation skills as well as the ability to persuade and argue effectively. Working in groups also means that, you as the teacher have the ability to spread your time evenly and go around and engage with the individual groups. Splitting students up into groups also allows your the opportunity to take students off into focus groups and spend individual time with them.
Plan
Potentially the most important thing to make learning effective not just in large classes but for any class is it have a robust lesson plan. However a lesson plan does become more important when you have more students to manage in class. Teaching a large class is going to be hard work and time consuming, so a plan will help you to make the most of the time you have. If you’re transitioning from a small to a large class it’s key to remember that tasks will take longer and you will have to factor this into lesson plans so as not to rush through activities — this may mean there is no need for filler activities whereas before there was. The ability to implement organisation into the classroom when moving tables and exiting and entering will also help you save time as these jobs will need to be done quickly to allow you to maximise time.
