10 reasons busiest classes hurt our students.
It's no secret that there is a serious shortage of teachers . What does it mean when our schools desperately need more teachers? The overloaded class. What happens when our schools have funding problems and cannot afford to add an extra teacher needed on the payroll? Class overload.
Here are ten points that show that the overloaded class negatively affects students.
1. The overloaded class divides our attention.
More people means less one-on-one time. Either way, teachers need to divide their attention according to the number of students in their class at any given time. If a student is one of eighteen in the class, they will undoubtedly receive more personalized attention than the student in a class of thirty.
2. Grading is too heavy for assignments and feedback to be meaningful.
Have you ever marked assignments for six classes of over 30 students each? Therefore, when teaching very large classes , one naturally turns to easy-to-correct assignments. This is detrimental to the development of students' critical thinking . Of course, there will be questionnaires and open projects, but they will be few, because it is too overwhelming with a group of thirty people.
3. Examination results in overcrowded classes are lower on average.
Studies show that an overcrowded classroom has a negative impact on student exam results. It is a proven fact. For example, students' math and reading skills are significantly higher among students in the lower grades: 9% more on average!
4. Behavioral problems escalate with class size.
It can be said, without a doubt, that our pupils behave better when there are fewer of them, for many reasons: we can see them all clearly. We have plenty of time to make phone calls to parents when we need to control a child's behavior . Students are seated with a greater distance between them, which reduces confrontations in tight spaces. The list is endless.
5. The number of students has an impact on our emotional energy.
With fewer students, we are less overwhelmed. And when the teacher is less overwhelmed, so is the class. The teacher's mood has a trickle-down effect in all aspects of their classroom. It's just easier to maintain a good attitude in a more manageable environment.
6. Large classes make quality discussions difficult.
Discussions are less in-depth. In a large class, each student does not have time to contribute to the discussion. We also don't have the brain power to remember who contributed and who didn't. As a result, discussions tend to be less in-depth and more "shallow" when teaching to a larger audience.
7. Student progress is not a priority.
As teachers, we want to be able to effectively track each student's progress, which means not only their test scores, but also their social skills, academic performance, and emotional well-being. However, when there are too many students to monitor, many details escape us.
8. More students means less flexibility.
Large class sizes severely limit the teaching style a teacher can demonstrate. During our training, we learned about different teaching styles and were eager to implement them in our own classrooms. Then, when we entered classrooms with over 33 students, we quickly realized that all we could do was use the “whole group” approach .
9. Students in overcrowded classrooms are unprepared for future education systems.
Students will not leave our classrooms prepared for other modalities. If they leave a busy class and move to a smaller class with “small group” projects and constant participation, it will be a shock for them.
10. The chaos of overcrowded classrooms is a poor learning environment.
Finally, this is simply not the environment we would want for our own children; therefore, we do not want it for our students. Loaded classes are a recipe for disaster. It is a stressful environment that conditions us to a noisy, overwhelming, difficult-to-manage space that is incompatible with learning .
We don't need another new program or a “quick fix” curriculum; we need to lighten the load on our teachers so they can once again give individualized attention to students. This would be a game-changer in our schools! It is our students who suffer when teachers leave the profession and funding dwindles; large class sizes are a by-product of this huge loss. In the meantime, we treat this problem too casually.
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