Research Guides: Center for Teaching & Learning: Planning for Large Classes

Large Class Strategies

Assignments and Assessments

Decrease the amount of work, but not the rigor.
Rethink the learning value and points value of an assignment as it aligns with the course objectives.
Spread out the due dates to smooth the workload for you and your students throughout the semester.
Automate your feedback when possible. Use both the "correct" and "incorrect" feedback boxes when building tests. Explain the concept or where to find the relevant information, for example.
Use a transparent assignment template to clarify in detail the expectations. This may reduce your emails.
Develop assignments for other formats of delivery. For example, infographic, audio recording, poster, bulleted lists. Worksheets/templates, such as concept mapping too. These may appear easier or too short, but the ability to be succinct requires deep understanding and strong communication skills.

Planning for Large Classes

Do you have 50, 100, or 200 students in your course?

Maybe you have fewer. No matter the size, these tips will help you adapt your course so you spend less time on emails or grading and more time on the fun stuff, like teaching!

Time Saving Tips for Teaching Large Classes

Rubrics are fast and easy to use. Simply evaluate the student work against the rubric’s qualitative statements and assign the associated points. The feedback is “built in”. Develop your own or use one of the many rubrics found online. Build your rubric in Blackboard and it’s ready to use. Share it with your students in advance to set expectations and supply structure.

Sample Rubrics Packet
Download these rubric examples from Introduction to Rubrics: An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback, and Promote Student Learning
Common Rubric Mistakes to Watch Out For
If you are using a grading rubric, make it easy to build and easy to use. Remember, rubrics don't "give the answers"; they support student learning.

AAC&U VALUE Rubrics
"VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) is a campus-based assessment approach developed and lead by AAC&U as part of its Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative. [...] Teams of faculty and other educational professionals from institutions across the country—two- and four-year, private and public, research and liberal arts, large and small—developed rubrics for sixteen Essential Learning Outcomes that all students need for success in work, citizenship, and life."
A College Professor’s Experience with Rubrics from Research to Practice
"Heidi Goodrich Andrade’s “Teaching with Rubrics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” is a short article from College Teaching. In it she explains several types of rubrics, the benefits, downsides, and potential problems..."

What Grading System Can I Use?
This resource discusses when and how to use points or percentages.
10 Tips on More Effective and Efficient Grading
Learn ten tips to stay on top of your grading.
How to Grade Faster in 2020
Another view on efficient grading from an instructor who eschews rubrics.
Grading Faster and Smarter
This article is written for teaching assistants, but offers good advice for any instructor.
Grading Student Work
This article from Vanderbilt University includes:
* What purposes do grades serve?
* Developing grading criteria
* Making grading more efficient
* Providing meaningful feedback to students
* Maintaining grading consistency in multi-sectioned courses
* Minimizing student complaints about grading

Distributing Points and Percentages Across Assignments and Activities
How much is this paper or exam "worth"? Surprisingly, the answer to this question affects your students' learning and communicates the importance of the assignment.

Top 5 Blackboard Tools for Large Course Management

Use the right tool for your instruction. This list includes the types of instructional activities or content that you may use in your course. Learn which tool in Blackboard can be used to streamline your large course.

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Leverage Peer Work

Sample Reader Response/Peer Review Instrument
This is a "ready to use" guide with step-by-step instructions on how to conduct the review. From How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.
Leverage Peer Feedback
Minimize your students' emotional reactions when conducting a peer review. Use these questions to support objective and actionable feedback.
Student-Led Discussions Flowchart
Use this chart to understand the structure of two student-led discussion formats. Share with your students too!

Manage Students' Course Engagement

Missed our live sessions?

The webinar recording is available on-demand:

Webinar Resources

Grab these resources and print them out to support you as you integrate the Retention Center.

Presentation Materials
Follow along and use the presentation materials to take notes for reference later.
1-Page Retention Center Guide
Print this guide to keep handy as you set up the Retention Center in your course.

Learning Analytics: Translating Data into “Just-in-Time” Interventions
Abstract
Despite the burgeoning studies on student attrition and retention, many institutions continue to deal with related issues, including D, F, and W grades rates. The emerging and rapidly developing Learning Analytics (LA) field shows great potential for improving learning outcomes by monitoring and analyzing student performance to allow instructors to recommend specific interventions based on key performance indicators. Unfortunately, higher education has been slow to implement it. We, therefore, provide the rationale and benefits of increased LA integration into courses and curriculum. We further identify and suggest ready-to-implement best practices, as well as tools available in Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and other helpful resources.
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Pauline Salim Muljana, Old Dominion University, Virginia
Greg Placencia, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Publication Date
2018