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Most of my college courses were small. I previously thought of "college" classes as being primarily taught in large, impersonal lecture halls with 50 to 150 pupils, but none of the courses I took were like that. Most, even introductory courses, had about 10 to 20 students enrolled, which allowed for a lot of dialogue.
However, lectures were still given, and in the lectures the professors would ask the students plenty of questions. I was one of the few to raise my hand and volunteer answers. This greatly endeared most professors to me, and there came a point where I would avoid certain instructors in the hallways. Even professors who previously taught at other schools noticed this and commented on it.
When class was over, students would resume their normal active social lives.
Was it this way at the colleges you taught or studied at, or were students more keen on sharing their experiences and insights? What causes such reluctance to speak?
I specifically attended a small private liberal arts class in large part due to its average of a 12:1 student-professor ratio.
The school, and its classes, comprised a small, tightly knit community. People were active participants. It was impossible to "hide out" in class, or to skip a class without it being noticed. In-depth discourse was the norm.
It's not for everyone. Those who found they didn't like that aspect typically transferred to the nearest large state university. It mostly attracted the sorts of personalities who really like class discussion.
Most of my college courses were small. I previously thought of "college" classes as being primarily taught in large, impersonal lecture halls with 50 to 150 pupils, but none of the courses I took were like that. Most, even introductory courses, had about 10 to 20 students enrolled, which allowed for a lot of dialogue.
However, lectures were still given, and in the lectures the professors would ask the students plenty of questions. I was one of the few to raise my hand and volunteer answers. This greatly endeared most professors to me, and there came a point where I would avoid certain instructors in the hallways. Even professors who previously taught at other schools noticed this and commented on it.
When class was over, students would resume their normal active social lives.
Was it this way at the colleges you taught or studied at, or were students more keen on sharing their experiences and insights? What causes such reluctance to speak?
Class size is a key marketing point for many universities programs and I think most courses tend to work best with 15 to 20 engaged learners. The huge lecture halls are usually only used for intro level courses.
Undergrad was at State U. Depending on core course requirements, some intro classes (100 level) were large (100-150) (basic communication, us history, psychology, deductive logic, basic chemistry etc...) Most mathematics courses had 30-40 (lower level).
Lower level courses were a mix on levels of participation depending on the professors technique and style. Some encouraged discourse some did not. Generally, the non burnt out professors would encourage discussions - I sensed they were still truly engaged and enjoyed the role. Some taught these large lecture courses like they were serving a sentence.
Most 300 level and above courses ( liberal arts) were usually 12-30 depending on student interest. I think the state U had requirement of minimum enrollment of 10 to still offer the class. If not enough signed up it was cancelled. I had that happen a few times.
Fast forward to MBA studies at a private university. I went at night to a program with rolling admissions (accelerated 2 year program if you did not need any pre requisites). Enrollment in initial class was about 15-20 and then so many dropped off (the program was for employees of at least 2 years) that once our group got too small they merged us with another group and we had to go back and take the two courses we skipped.
MBA program was very teamwork and class discussion oriented. You were enrolled with your 'group' and expected to have read everything before hand just as the best undergrad profs would. And bring your real life experience to the coursework and work as team on most every thing (simulating real work environment). MBA program I attended was half academic and half practitioner faculty. Very helpful in getting a sense of real world from the practitioners.
Other masters work was usually 16-25 per class at a State U with crossover in elective classes from other disciplines / specialties. Core Masters courses usually had 20-40 per. It really depends on the interest in a program and profs capacity based on subject matter. Quantitative course tended to have less per class (statistics/ econ analysis/ finance). Same level of participation as above, all profs encouraged it. I think per your note many profs would love to have interested engaged learners. A few may not like being challenged on topics but they definitely seemed to enjoy something outside just lecturing. And as with any profession you get some who still enjoy it in their 70s and others who occasionally appear to be 'doing their time'.
Most of my classes at NYU were small. 15 to 30 students. I may have had one or two classes where there were 50 or so students, but those classes were rare. All in all, I liked the smaller classes. And the teachers were always first rate.
My grad school classes had something like 12 - 15 students in them. There may have been more on the roster, but I don't remember having over 15 students after the third week or so. Hiding out was not an option, and most for classes, we were expected to prepare a presentation of some sort, either over some article we read or a related topic.
The classes were 3 hours, once a week.
I was okay with the format. I tried to stay away from the most obnoxious profs, even though in hindsight, I probably could've learned a lot from several. I just didn't want to be that close to them.
It was a fine format for grad school because anyone not dedicated dropped by the third week or so. I wouldn't have liked it as an undergrad, unless everyone worked hard. I had several small classes where only 5 - 6 of the 15 would show up regularly. Fortunately, in two of the classes, the prof made them more self-paced and less focused on discussions, which worked well for me.
I didn't mind the 100+ student lectures, either, if the prof was good.
Students are trained from K-12 that if they get something "wrong," they are a "failure." People literally learn that it's not ok to make mistakes.
Also, students are set against each other and compared to each other. They are in competition, and don't want to look bad to the other students.
This is why, the older you get, the less students are likely to voluntarily discuss or ask questions. They fear of being thought stupid by the teacher, the students, or both.
A good teacher can establish a better classroom environment where this can be overcome, but from the beginning, there are a lot of obstacles in the way.
The specific body of students will also affect the environment, and the willingness or reluctance to engage.
My engineering major was around 80 students in a university of 15,000. Half of the students were out on co-op while the others were in class so there was a group of about 30 of us that had pretty much every class together for 3 years.
Some of my favorite classes I took as an undergraduate was during the summer session. Not too many students and it made the class a very intimate group. There were a couple of classes that if one person was absent, you felt like something was missing. There were just very enjoyable classes and I was sorry when they ended.
Classes are certainly more enjoyable and productive when it feels like a community.
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