Smaller Classroom Sizes More Beneficial to Learning
Smaller Classroom Sizes More Beneficial to Learning
Texas junior high Social Studies teacher Sarah
Skidmore reflects on the size of her classes in
2017. tween the students and teacher tends to better
in these classroom environments versus larger
ones.
“They’re huge this year,” she says. Yet she isn’t
worried for herself; she’s worried for the stu-
dents. “It takes me a month and half to learn their
names, so if there are less of them it’s a little
easier,” says Baker.
According to educational experts, smaller
classroom sizes are vital for students to learn
more efficiently. These benefits include more
individual attention, honing specific skills, and
strengthened personal relationships. How many is too many?
Smaller Classes Equal Sharpened Talents.
An anonymous source says that her smallest
fifth grade class, which consisted of four spe-
cial needs children, was a good opportunity for
them to refine specific skills. It can be something
as simple as focusing on a behavioral need or
something a little more complex like a mathe-
matics lesson.
According to Anonymous, her largest class con-
sisted of 25 middle school children; and 10 of
those students have special needs. She says that
many factors determine how many children she
teaches every year, but she would teach every
one if possible.
Baker’s largest class size was 28 college stu-
dents, and she has an idea of how many would
be perfect.
“I think about 10 to 15 would be ideal,” she re-
marks.
However, she also acknowledges that perfor- B o t h instructors live in the vicinity of Hous-
mance isn’t dependent on classroom size alone.
“It depends on the skill of the teacher, and I’m
not talking about how long they’ve been teach-
ing. I’ve seen new teachers who do their job very
well, and teachers who have been teaching for
twenty years and make a lot of mistakes with
students,” she notes.
More Time Per Student
Smaller Classroom Sizes More Beneficial to Learning,
Experts Say
by Erica Murphey
50
SPRING 2017
Adjunct English Literature Professor Joanna
Baker, 28, attests the benefits of smaller
class sizes. At the community college where
she teaches, the classroom sizes range in the
mid-twenties.
It depends on the
skill of the teacher.
Some larger four-year universities might aver-
age about 200 students per class. The downside
to this is that one of these 200 students could
wind up getting lost, because they would have
to wait a while before they can ask a question
to their professor. This wouldn’t be the case in
a uni-versity with smaller classes and fewer stu-
dents; the communication and relationship be-
SPRING 2017 51