Resources and Literature on Teaching Large Classes
This page offers links to Online Resources for teaching large classes as well as a reference list of helpful print resources. The links include faculty development websites, handbooks, electronic articles, teaching tips, and video guides. The print resources are available for check-out in the CAE Library.
Links
Strategies for Large Classes: Tips, Tools, and FAQs
Articles and Handbooks Related to Large Enrollment Classes
Teaching Large Classes: Challenges & Strategies as Identified by PSU Faculty
Print Resources
Note: All materials are available in print at the CAE library, Cramer Hall 349. The entries with asterisks indicate sources that are not solely focused on teaching large classes, but which include valuable chapters or relatable themes.
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.*
"With the strong conviction that good teaching can be learned, and after 15 years of observing teachers in action, Bain undertook an exploration of the essentials of effective teaching. The result is an insightful look at what makes a great teacher, based on a study of three dozen teachers from a cross section of disciplines from medical-school faculties to undergraduate departments..." (Vanessa Bush, American Library Association)
Cooper, J.L. and Robinson, P. (2000). The argument for making large classes seem small. In MacGregor, J., Cooper, J.L., Smith, K., and Robinson, P. (Eds.), Strategies for energizing large classes: From small groups to Learning Communities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 81, 5-16. (This volume is available electronically through the PSU library)
"...This much-needed volume shows how instructors can energize students in these courses through the innovative use of small group teaching strategies and new curricular structures. They provide detailed descriptions of both informal turn-to-your-neighbor activities and more formal and intensive small group approaches that have succeeded in making students more active and engaged learners. They also examine efforts to give students in large classes a greater sense of belonging to a common community of learners..." (Inside flap)
Davis, B.G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd Ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.*
"This is the long-awaited update on the bestselling book that offers a practical, accessible reference manual for faculty in any discipline. This new edition contains up-to-date information on technology as well as expanding on the ideas and strategies presented in the first edition. It includes more than sixty-one chapters designed to improve the teaching of beginning, mid-career, or senior faculty members. The topics cover both traditional tasks of teaching as well as broader concerns, such as diversity and inclusion in the classroom and technology in educational settings." (Amazon review)
Heppner, F. (2007). Teaching the large college class: A guidebook for instructors with multitudes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Stanley, C.A., and Porter, M.E. (2002). Engaging large classes. San Francisco: Anker.
