I have been in education for 11 yrs. now. I have taught at-risk children for a large part of my career. I have taught in classrooms that were loaded with 20-22 children as well as in classrooms with as few as 5 children.
I am working on my dissertation and would like to examine the effects of reduced class size on at-risk students. If you have information or opinions to share about reduced class size, please join this blog and post your thoughts. I welcome all comments and thoughts on this topic. If you have a useful website or book that would help with my dissertation, I also appreciate that information.
Thanks for your help!
Robin
19 comments:
I believe reduced class size would be the answer to so many problems in education. I had the privilege of teaching a class of only 14 last year. Not only did I have higher test scores than ever before, but I also had a much greater range of improvement. But the best part, even better than the higher achievement, was the relationships I was able to build with those students.
Cheryl,
You are right. I haven't really thought about it, but in a smaller class size setting, the teacher is able to build a much more personal relationship with the students. I feel that I got to know them better. Many of them I still check on even though they have moved to higher grade levels now. I think I took more interest in their personal success than I would have been able to if I had 20 or 22 students.
I beleive that with reduced class size, students are given more one on one attention, which is beneficial for young children, espcially those with learning difficulties. I have also experienced that smaller classes allow the teacher to have more hands on activities, which is supplemental to learning.
Robin,
Of all of the negative things that have been said about NCLB, reduced class size is one of the few postive things to come out of this legislation. It is certainly evident through research that reduced class size makes a diffference in test scores. Every educator knows that having fewer students gives the teacher the ability to do more with the ones she or he has. To me, it doesn't matter if the children are struggling or gifted, fewer children means more one on one instruction and interaction with the teacher. Cheryl is right in saying that it is hard to build relationships with 30 students as compared to 15, or for middle and high school teachers, 100 is easier than 150. I really don't believe that we will fully see the benefits of reduced class size until the children who have been in these classes graduate high school.
Debra Chester
I also have been teaching for a few years (17 or so, I've lost count) and I really believe that class size is a big factor in helping at risk students. I have taught anywhere from 30 to 12 and really believe that I can get more done with 12 than with 30. Since i teach math I believe that it is important to have that one on one contact with my students as they are learning a new skill. In a smaller class I get to know the students better and have less discipline problems because I learn the students personalities more quickly. I really that the size of the class can make a differece.
You are so right!
It is much more valuable to have a smaller class.
Research has proven that reduced class size is beneficial not only to at-risk students, but to all students. This study demonstrates that students who entered a small class in kindergarten or
first grade and remained in a small class for at least three consecutive years on average had significant gains in academic achievement through at least eighth grade. It also shows that the number of years that students actually spent attending a small class is a crucial factor to consider when studying the impact of small class size in the early grades. Researchers who lump together students who attend small classes for short and long periods of time may fail to observe the significant and persistent effects of small class size on student achievement when students attend small classes for two or more consecutive years in the early grades. In addition, this study indicates that the age at which students enter small classes is an important consideration, with students who begin attending small classes in kindergarten or first grade achieving the greatest academic gains.
Reference:
Finn, J. D., Gerber, S. B., Achilles, C. M., & Boyd-Zaharias, J. (2001). The enduring effects of small classes. Teachers College Record, 103 (2), pp. 145-183.
Robin,
You do make an interesting argument. There are considerations, though, to this on the other side. Smaller class size brings more classrooms, more local benefits paid, the need for more administrators. I am a proponent for smaller class size, but I also realize that a small district can't always afford such a luxury. Careful planning each spring must be focused on an improved schedule for teaching and learning in the fall. A school administrator must know their student population and the strengths---and weaknesses---of the staff and create a schedule, and class size, that will best reinforce student achievement.
Doing what you have always done will get you what you have always gotten.
Robin, You are right. Smaller classes give students more hands-on attention.
As a new teacher, I think that having a smaller class size will reduce behavior problems in the classroom. When there are less behavior interruptions there can be more focus on curriculum goals.
Robbin,
I too have taught in many different situations but find it so much easier to work with less students at a time. It only makes sense that you can give more attention and cover more ground with individual attention and a small class size. Some government folks think we can work miracles with any size group & it is immpossible to do.
As you know, there is much evidence that tells educators a reduced class size has positive effects on student achievement particularly for younger chldren. This is especially true for disadvantedged children, high-poverty students, and at risk schools.
Some of the benefits to smaller classes are
1. The improvement of the classroom climate whreby students receive more individualized attention, and instructors have flexibility to try new or differentiated instruction and assignments including authentic assessment.
2. Fewer students often distract each other less due to less noise.
3. Teachers become better acquainted with their charges. They know who needs extra help, who may have special needs n;ot just academically, but socially as well.
4. Fewer students sometimes mean fewer discipline problems. Spending less time on discipline means more time on instruction.
Research has also shown that class size reduction is beneficial when the following points are considered
1. Classes range between 15-19 students.
2. When the supply of teachers are adequate to provide these smaller classes.
3. When there is adequate classroom space in order to spread out.
There are critics to smaller class size as well. Usually the critics site financial considerations. This is not without merit, however. A simiple reduction in class size does not guarantee optimal learning, and significinat increases in performance for all students. Achivement increases, critics concede; however, should not the goal then be targeting achievement?
There is no dobut then that small classes have its benefits, especially for miniority and lower income students. In looking at the benefits and well as the negatives, policy makers may want to consider the costs of class reduction against other uses for the finances budgeted. Lifekwise, even those most critical of class reduction acknowledge "There are likely to be situations--defined in therms of specific teachers, specific gorups of studnts, and specific subject matters--when small classes could be very beneficial for studnet achievement." (Eric A. Hanuskek, The Evidence on Class Size, February 1998)
Reference: http://www.aft.org/topics/classize/indix.htm
I have mixed emotions on reduced class size. I do not think that class size should be reduced so much that it limits the social climate for the student; however, I do feel that too many students can cause terrible problems.
Teachers should model assistance that promotes independent work on the part of the all students. The teacher or other specialists need to provide the children in the class with a clear and developmentally appropriate explanation of the child's disability and the need for any modifications that are made no matter what the class size. The teachers should actively monitor and modify the helping behavior.
Adult supervision must be present both inside and outside of the classroom. The included children need to be involved in the development of rules for this environment. As the rules for the environment are established, so must the consequences. This will help foster a positive learning environment and eliminate the negative attitude from other students and help negate a disruptive environment. An atmosphere of respect and mutual consideration helps to minimize possible problems.
Students with or without disabilities benefit from social skills instruction and attain life-long benefits from such instruction. The teacher should model a cooperative learning environment and promote socialization. Some schools are establishing "safe schools" by creating programs for conflict resolution, character education, and values education. These programs emphasize learning styles or multiple intelligence theory and provide an invitation to explore individual, social, and emotional development. For this to work, classes can't be too big or too small...
This blog could be very beneficial to education because this topic is an important aspect of education. Class size affects the learning environment of classes because this will sometimes determine whether the teacher will have success of students in the class. The writer thinks that reducing class size will increase test scores, knowledege that is obtained in the classroom from the students, and less teacher burn out. When looking at education, one has to think of the teachers because if so many students are in the classes, this will affect the teacher's attitude of the class and this will put more stress on the teacher in the classroom. In the writer's organization, the classes that are overloaded have more behavior problems and less emphasis is on assignments because the teacher can not get to all the students. The teachers have more behavior problems because there will be more distraction in the classroom. The at-risk students are especially the students that will have more discipline problems because they are somewhat the more problem students. These students education continues to decline because of this problem. There are certain teachers who will want to be bothered with these students in their classroms. This puts a burden on everyone. In the writer's organization, the at-risk students are normally all put into a certian teacher's room and then this puts them of more risk to experience failure because there are too many students in the class who need special attention. This topic would make a very interesting dissertation because of so many different arenas that it can affect education.
Small class size does not only apply to elementary school classrooms. I completed my BsEd degree at Georgia College and State University. I attended an off campus site based program and worked in a cohort-cluster type of program. There were about 20 students in the group vs. 150-200 students in a group at larger universities. In the site based program that Georgia College offered, students worked as a group. There was a community among the group that doesn't exist in larger traditional programs. Professors in the site based program were familiar with the students and recognized them at sight. It is difficult for a traditional professor to get to know 200 students.
The site based program allowed me to work in the local schools every quarter. I taught many lessons and had a variety of experiences. I had experiences in every grade level that I am certified to teach by the time I graduated. I also spent my student teaching experience abroad in Britain.
The point here is that even at the university level, when class sizes are reduced it gives students the opportunity to learn as much as possible.
Major findings presented in the research on class size include:
• There is probably no optimum class size for all types of students, in all subject areas, and at all grade levels.
• Smaller classes produce the necessary, though not sufficient, conditions for successful teaching and learning.
• Reduced class sizes in grades K-3, in the range of 13-17 students per class, significantly enhance student achievement.
• Reductions in class sizes to less than 20 students without changes in instructional methods cannot guarantee enhanced student achievement.
• Small class size, in the range of 13-17 students, benefits all students in all contexts at the K-3 level.
• Regular-size classes with a teacher aide are less effective than small classes in enhancing student achievement at the K-3 level.
• There are identifiable teaching behaviors which will enhance the benefits of a small class design; these include individual instruction, coaching, mentoring, and tutoring.
• The evidence favoring small class size at the upper grade levels is weak because teaching behaviors appear to be more rigid and research methodologies have been inadequate.
• Teacher inservice opportunities must accompany reduced class sizes so that appropriate teaching can be developed and reinforced.
• Class size definitions vary, depending on whether mean or median numbers are used.
• Class size averages may obscure the fact that some students, such as EEN, require extra attention and care.
• Both class size and teacher workload (the number of students evaluated during the year) are important indicators of school quality.
This review of existing research, with all of its incumbent limitations, suggests that increasing student learning by reducing class size is a complex matter. It suggests that class size reductions should be targeted to specific student groups for specific purposes, that teachers must receive the training needed to make the most of the new learning opportunities available in smaller classes, and that little is known about how to effectively approach the problem of large student numbers in the upper grade levels without confronting the basic structures of those institutions.
Reference:
Kickbusch, K. (1996, May 30). Class sizes. Retrieved March 24, 2007 from Wisconsin Educational Association Council, Professional Development
Division Web site: http://www.weac.org/sage/research/CLASSIZE.HTM
Reducing class size, particularly for younger children, has a positive effect on student achievement overall and an especially significant impact on the education of disadvantaged children. The American Federation of Teachers is a strong advocate for reducing class size to help raise student achievement, especially in high-poverty, at-risk schools. In addition to increasing student achievement, smaller classes:
• Improve classroom atmosphere,
students receive more
individualized attention and
teachers have flexibility to use
different instructional
approaches/assignments.
• Have fewer students to distract
each other; lower level of
noise.
• Enable teachers to know the
students better and can offer
more extra help; recognize
learning problems/special
educational needs.
• Have fewer discipline problems.
By spending less time on
discipline, teachers report
spending more time on
instruction.
Class size reduction is most effective when:
• Classes are between 15 and 19
students;
• Particular schools are targeted,
especially those with low-
achieving and low-
incomstudents;
• There is an adequate supply of
qualified teachers; and
• There is adequate classroom
space.
Critics of small class size believe that the costs associated with implementation are too high because the impact on student performance, they contend, is minimal. Their concerns are not completely groundless. Simply cutting class size does not guarantee significant increases in performance for all students.
Reduced class sizes in my opinion help all students. Anytime you can reduce the student to teacher ratio I believe the student will benefit by receiving more attention from the teacher. Also most students feel more comfortable in smaller classes and will open up and share in smaller classes as opposed to larger ones.
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