Preface
In this research I am going to investigate the effects of class size on student achievement. The debate over class size is an age-old debate in American education. The debate concentrates on whether class size is factor that could affect student performance. Currently, many moved to very large or small classes. As a student I am interested to see how the class size might affect my academic performance. The research has been contacted on March 1, 2015. I am using five sources, 3 peer reviewed journal articles, 1 newspaper article, and 1 magazine article.
Annotated Bibliography
Inquiry Question: How does class size affect student achievement?
Attwood, Rebecca. "Size Matters To Students ' Grades." Times Higher Education
"Class Size And Student Performance At A Public Research University: A Cross-Classified Model." Higher Education 51.8 (2010): 701-723. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. This article addresses issues inherent in previous studies and reviews that have questioned the influence of class size on student grades, also it points out to other researchers in this area how these issues might cause discrepancies in their research outcomes. The article relies on using statistics and data that have been conducted in prior studies since 1990. It shows that most of these studies applied two approaches, the “constructivist” approach which concludes that the class size has a significant effect on student grade because the student has a great chance to interact with the instructor in small classes (Johnson). The second approach is the “behavioral “which concludes that the class size has no impact, the primary factor in student achievement is the instructors’ behavior and skills inside the class (Johnson). Also the article indicates that the most popular outcome from theses studies was that “small classes can often result in better grades” and “increasing class size has a significant negative effect on final grades” (Johnson). The article is written by Iryna Johnson, a research in higher education at the Auburn University, which gives the article more credibility ("About Us - Staff."). Also, the article was published by Higher Education, an international journal on higher education studies, which reports studies of issues in universities and colleges (“Higher Education - Springer.”). I am going to use this source to show the two approaches that have been taken in the research of the area, and provide the evidences that have been used to support each approach. This article is great represents for the
Grades also cause a seen diversity among the students. That would be the half that get great grades, and the other half with lower grades. At a young age children can realize which section the fall into. Some students that fall into the lower half may push themselves to do better, but others will not. They see no point when they think they cannot be the higher half. The odds are not in those kids favor, and they know
One of the main reasons why schools are switching to block scheduling is because students receive higher test scores on standardized tests. Having only forty-five to fifty minutes of class is difficult to take a test meant for one hour and thirty minutes. With the new scheduling, students are able to take their time on tests and not rush through them. Many students have a problem focusing during tests, and with the extra time students don’t have to worry about not finishing in time. Chance W. Lewis and R. Brian Cobb, a part of the School of Education at Colorado State University, along with two others, have conducted an investigation on how block scheduling effects high school scores on the ACT. The results indicate that students with block scheduling actually have the higher scores on the ACT in mathematics and reading than students with regular schedules. This proves that students concentrate more on their academic subjects, become more producti...
Phillip A. Whitner and Randall C. Myers The Journal of Higher Education , Vol. 57, No. 6
In the article, "The Difference Between Small Colleges and Big Universities," it mentions how most college students tend to go for a college with a big campus, thinking it will be a better learning environment for them. A larger college usually has big sized classrooms with 200 to 300 students, while small colleges have classrooms with no more than 25 to 30 students. Smaller sized classrooms give students a greater
AAA, for example, is a small school (“About the Academy”). The currently enrolled student body is made up of about 400 students, making the student to teacher ratio 15:1 (Best College Comparison). Another example is SAIC which is a medium sized school (“Compare Colleges”). SAIC has an average of 3,000-4,000 students enrolled a year. According to “SAIC”, about 83% of the classes at the school are small with less than 20 students. About 15% of the classes are medium with 20-49 students, and the final 1% of the classes have 50 or more. With classes this size, SAIC has an average student to teacher ratio of 9:1 (Best College Comparison). The final example is Columbia which happens to be a medium sized school. Columbia has an average of 9,000 students enrolled a year. According to “Columbia College Chicago”, the average class size at columbia is fewer than 20 students, making the student to teacher ratio 13:1. The school and classes are big enough to be able to work and learn from other students, but still be able to get one-on-one time with instructors. While class size is an important aspect of the decision making process, the cost of college is likely one of the biggest deciding
Most community college campuses are small compared to universities, which means that class sizes are typically smaller as well. Many students who attend a university after high school have trouble keeping up with the academic pace, and large class sizes made up of hundreds of students only makes matters worse. At community colleges, professors are far more accessible and can provide the personal time students are accustomed to. Community colleges are a notch above high school, but they also provide great learning and social atmospheres on a smaller scale. My freshman year of college, I attended the University of Missouri in Columbia. Most of my classes had over 250 students in them and I didn’t have the opportunity to meet a single profe...
But the truth is that smaller classes and better teachers do improve student achievement. Members of our government claim that giving more money to schools will not make a difference, but the government funding for schools needs to be used effectively to see a change in student performance. (Connell)
.... Having such high numbers of students in my classes did have negative effects on my learning. Without having teachers who knew me as an individual, I was left with a very impersonal learning environment. With having so many students in each of my classes, I had a very hard time having all of my questions answered by my teachers. The hardest part of having so many students in my classes was that I was often not the smartest one in there, and when I gave a wrong answer I was laughed at. It is not fair to feel intimidated by the amount of students in your classroom. No one should be afraid to learn for the fear of embarrassment. Students should not have the opportunity not to learn because the teacher can not relate to them, or because the teacher does not have the time to answer all their questions, or because their teacher only gives attention to the smarter students.
Districts have to think about if it is worth the money to reduce class sizes, and if there is enough proof that students are academically better off in smaller class size rather than larger classes. According to Matthew Chingos and Grover Whitehurt authors of Class Size: What Research Says and What It Means for State Policy, “Increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary cost alone” (Chingos, Whitehurt). Why would districts want to pay for the creation of smaller classes when they could save more by just adding more students to a class? This goes to show that there should not be a price tag on someone’s education. Why put more on a teacher’s plate just to save money? With the result from the Student Teacher Ratio, it is hard for districts to say that having smaller class sizes is not the way to spend money. If the districts spent the money on the class size reduction, they would not have to worry about an annual cost, because once small classes are set in place, the districts do not have to continue to pay. According to the National Education Association (NEA), having class size reductions do not only involve money but also create “improved health, less Medicaid coverage, lower crime rates, and fewer welfare recipients” (Class Size Reduction: A Proven Strategy). So, the districts should also look at this before being concerned to where their money goes. The district’s money, according to the NEA, is going into these students who will live a better life later on when they are out of school and into the real
academics has become a trend. This trend even affected grades as low as kindergarten. A survey
The lower class student’s major issue with learning in class is a shortage of confidence based on real or apparent weakness in the home environment. These students often feel undesirable. They are very aware of the class in which they come from and of the place and position people classify them under, they often feel the urge to hide their background. Students that are categorized in this particular class frequently come to school with a lower level of academic skills and involvedness than their peers that are categorized in the midd...
If class sizes where smaller, teachers would be able to do more hands on activities and there would be less chance for distractions. Even through, teachers would be able to do more hands on activities and there would be less chance for distraction. Teachers could do more hands-on activities in a science class likesuch as experiments in class instead of homework outside of class. In smaller class sizes there would be less chance for distractions, more time to review for a big test, there would be more interaction with the teacher.. “In elementary schools, class sizes generally hovered around 20 in 2008, rising to 25 to 30 in many cases this year.” (Giuliani, 1)There would be more time to review for a big test in a smaller class. There would be more interaction with the teacher in a smaller class size. According to Scott Thill “The proposal by billionaire Bill Gates to increase cl...
Imagine sitting in a class, completely bored out of your mind. This is not difficult considering everyone has taken a class like this somewhere along the road of their education. Not every class can be exciting and we should know that. Now imagine every class is of this level, with no “break”, or elective, classes incorporated into your day. Although this may not apply to all private schools, there are many that focus on specific topics. So even though the...
Going to school and getting a great education is important for a successful future in today’s world. Years ago, many children did not go to school and many young adults opted to work instead of attending college. In today’s society, gaining a high level of education is almost always mandatory for many jobs. There are many changes being done to the education system along with new items and ways of teaching in the classroom. There is a growing amount of changes in the classroom such as technology, teaching time, teaching styles, and freedom of space.
Classroom management is the foundation of education at all levels. Optimal teaching and learning require an environment conducive to learning through structure, support, organization and guidelines. Classroom layout, routines and procedures as well as a carefully thought out discipline system are the core elements of my classroom management strategies. Lesson planning is also vitally important to ensuring engaged, motivated and on-task students, but even the most imaginative lesson plans can be ineffective in an unmanaged classroom. In my opinion, younger learners need more support and structure than the older students do, especially in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom where communication between the teacher and the students can be very