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Old 09-02-2010, 08:33 AM
 
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I found this article on class sizes around the world fascinating:

Class Size Around the World - NYTimes.com

There are links to other statistics there as well.

One thing to think about though in relation to class size is that the benefits of the smaller class size (in the lower elementary grades) are significant, but... you need to be below 17 students in a class to see them. The best study was set up between classes with 13 to 17 students vs classes with between 22 to 26 students. Researchers found that pupils in the smaller classes significantly outperformed their counterparts in the larger classes and that minority students and low income students benefited more than non-minority and higher income students. The smaller classes also allowed teachers to identify students with special needs sooner. These studies included the STAR study in Tennessee and the SAGE study in Wisconsin. It is significantly more expensive to reduce the class sizes to 13 to 17 than it is to have them at 25 or so. However, if we can reduce the class size in the primary grades, perhaps we can find out if the gains stick even if we have a bit larger classes in the upper elementary grades. There is little research on this right now though.

Dorothy
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Old 09-02-2010, 12:24 PM
 
Location: Pacific Northwest
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Originally Posted by Ivorytickler View Post
Whether or not class size matters depends on the motivation and objectives of the students. If the students are determined to derail the class because they don't want to learn, class size matters a lot. If they come in ready and willing to learn, not so much.
The threat of working in a sweatshop for $5 a day is great motivation for Chinese students.



You'd think with the recession, American students would be getting a clue too.
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Old 09-02-2010, 01:15 PM
 
Location: Whoville....
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Originally Posted by Guineas View Post
The threat of working in a sweatshop for $5 a day is great motivation for Chinese students.



You'd think with the recession, American students would be getting a clue too.
Unfortunately, the crop of students in college now, watched their parents live it large and that's the way they think life is. I have a bad feeling that the suicide rate among the 20 somethings will be high for this generation. They cannot attain the lifestyle they grew up with even with hard work and they don't believe they should have to work hard for anything.
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Old 09-02-2010, 05:21 PM
 
Location: Pacific Northwest
2,992 posts, read 3,401,329 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler View Post
Unfortunately, the crop of students in college now, watched their parents live it large and that's the way they think life is. I have a bad feeling that the suicide rate among the 20 somethings will be high for this generation. They cannot attain the lifestyle they grew up with even with hard work and they don't believe they should have to work hard for anything.
That's the difference with the 20 somethings in China, whose parents were forced out of school during the chaos of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960-1970s. Many of the parents' generation never finished elementary school as a result, but vowed to send their kids into college.

China middle school classroom:
http://voices.thinkingbeyondborders.org/files/photo/11272008-112914/China%20Classroom.JPG (broken link)

The ones wearing the red neck scarf are honor students with high grades and extracurriculars.
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