Teaching the Large College Class: A Guidebook for Instructors with Multitudes (review)

For a variety of reasons, many colleges and universities have been increasing the class size of many introductory courses. Coupled with this trend are recent recommended best practices to enhance learning which emphasize active involvement of students, collaborative group work, prompt feedback, and respect for diverse ways of learning. Faculty who teach large classes are thus faced with a double challenge—to keep the large class engaging and inspiring while also implementing best practices in learning.

Regrettably, most instructors do not receive specific preparation for the challenges of teaching a large class and often find themselves searching for assistance in planning for this complex task. As a result, the need for both faculty development and additional resources that address the challenges of teaching large classes has increased. Teaching the Large College Class: A Guidebook for Instructors with Multitudes (2007) written by Frank Heppner is such a resource.

Heppner is a professor of biological sciences at the University of Rhode Island, Kingston. He has taught more than 20,000 students in 38 years of teaching large courses. He draws from this personal experience to offer his own pedagogical insights into ways to avoid painful mistakes and ways to organize for teaching large classes. In particular he offers sound advice about the value of thinking ahead and planning for details.

His approach reflects a management perspective, and he therefore provides strategies for organizing the syllabus, preparing checklists, setting clear policies, supervising teaching assistants and staff, managing time well, establishing clear grading procedures, developing course budgets, providing effective ways to delegate authority, and even recommending ways to dress. Rather than referencing learning theories or pedagogical research, the author relies on his personal perspective and teaching experiences to address the topic of teaching the large college class.

It is evident that Heppner was a successful large class lecturer. He approaches teaching from the traditional “sage on the stage” model. One of his chapters is titled “The Teacher as Actor” and includes the importance of every actor (teacher) needing to know his character, his lines, his stagecraft, his theater, and most importantly, his audience. He was inspired by effective lecturers he experienced during his educational career and aspires to be like them. Many of his recommendations have evolved over time and emerged from his own mistakes and successes.

A strength of the book is the attention he gives to preparing for the important first day of class, which has its own preparation checklist. He strongly urges visiting the classroom ahead of time and planning carefully for the smooth and effective use of available technology. He also emphasizes the importance of setting the tone of the classroom on the first day. He even provides a detailed, sample, first-day lecture script, complete with position shifts, pauses, gestures, and camera directions.

Another set of detailed suggestions deals with the instructor’s speaking ability, including volume, clarity, and enthusiasm. Heppner stresses the importance of making the course topic meaningful and relevant to students while conveying the instructor’s own passion for the discipline. In addition, he suggests a motivational and inspiring last lecture at the end of the course that leaves students with a memorable, emotional impact.

Although the book offers fundamental suggestions for teaching a traditional large lecture class, there is minimal emphasis on implementing interactive strategies, effectively engaging students in constructive learning experiences, managing effective classroom discussions, or promoting team projects. There is little emphasis on classroom management strategies that specifically help to maintain civility in the large classroom.

Other essential topics that are not considered include how to integrate guest speakers into the large classroom, designing assignments that set high expectations for reflective learning, and techniques of receiving formative feedback from students. Although a short section addresses the needs of students with disabilities, in-depth techniques that encourage teaching for including a wide variety of learning styles and special needs are lacking.

One of the most challenging issues facing...