Top Ten Tips for Teaching Large Classes and Lectures

Category: Instructional Strategies

Ensure that course materials and resources are accessible to all by following the Universal Design for Learning model.
Be active in the classroom/auditorium. Move around the class and invite participation. This will help create an encouraging environment so that neither you nor your students will feel intimidated by the numbers.
Personalize your class; get to know as many names as possible. Extend your availability—show up to class early and be sure to keep regular office hours.
Integrate active learning strategies that are focused on specific outcomes. Consider using "clickers" for attendance, quizzes, and to generate discussions.
Encourage participation by building things into the lesson that are generally not an experience one could get in other ways—debates, guest speakers, films, etc.
Create working teams or small groups of students for discussion and in-class work.
Put a "help" box in the classroom so that more reticent students can ask course or homework questions anonymously; budget time for your response at the beginning or end of the next class meeting.
Provide feedback to students often; short quizzes, outlines, bibliographies, summaries, etc.
Utilize teaching assistants effectively, both for administrative duties, such as attendance, and instructional duties, such as facilitating group work.
Creative student projects, whether for extra credit or as part of the requirements, can help personalize the course experience, making students feel more invested.

Additional Resources for Teaching Large Classes and Lectures

Office of Instructional Consultation. University of California, Santa Barbara.
A Dozen Other Sources for Teaching Large Classes
University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Faculty Center for Teaching and e-Learning.
A Survival Handbook for Teaching Large Classes
Iowa State University. Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.
Video Case Stories on Teaching and Learning in Large Classes