Teaching Small Classes

Over the course of my teaching career I have been assigned "small" classes to facilitate. I doubt I am alone, nearly every teacher faces the task of teaching a small class at some point in his/her career. While the definition of “small” may vary according to the institution, there are some common pros and cons that come along with leading a smaller group of students. Below I will address the role(s) an instructor of small classes, from my perspective, should fill alongside a few of the advantages and potential disadvantages in leading small classes.

First, as the leader of a small class environment teachers are responsible for choosing their classroom role carefully. As the leader of a small class you may fit within one of the following paradigms:

Facilitator vs. Lecturer
Administrator vs. Preacher
Party Planner vs. Star Performer

In most effective cases, as the teacher of a small class you are facilitator, administrator, and party planner. Your job is to lead and guide the learning experience. You can use a variety of methods but often lecture alone is ineffective with smaller classes. The goal of a teacher within small classes should be seeking to draw out student’s interests and facilitate learning instead of force feeding those present.

Second, the pros and cons. I have provided a helpful, I hope easy to follow, set of lists below addressing both advantages and disadvantages in relation to teachings small classes. These lists are certainly not exhaustive but come from my own experience and study.

Advantages:More opportunity for open discussion
More opportunity for written assignments
You get to know your students better
You can assign a variety of assignments
You can be more creative with activities
You can allow the class to teach the class
You can personalize the instruction
You can provide more feedback
You can encourage more class participation

Disadvantages:
Smaller diversity of opinion
Fewer group project options
Emotions can play a bigger role
One unprepared student = bad new
Creativity is almost required
Lectures do not always work
Assignments are limited depending on students
Harder to gain teacher assessment
Available curricular materials may be limited

 In my next post I will offer a few helpful methods within small classrooms.