Overcrowded schools are one of the many reasons why America is falling backwards. With high birth rates and continuous immigration flow the classroom has become overcrowded. The best way a student can learn is if the attention is not so divided. With large classrooms having over 30 students, it makes it almost impossible for a teacher to attend to each student equally. “Slavin (1989) reviewed those studies that lasted a minimum of 1 year and had 20 students or fewer. He concluded that substantial reductions in class size have a small positive effect on students” (Synopsis of Class Size Literature). Classrooms should be small enough for a teacher to perform well without divided attention. In smaller classrooms, students are recognized for their contribution and participation. Students can respect the work of their peers individually and learn from them and help maintain order. They have more time to be collaborative, work creatively, think critically and draw their own predictions. In “Every Classroom Teacher’s Dream”, Patricia Handley states that “Teachers have more opportunity for personalized assessment with students, such as individual conferencing. With a small class, teacher can maximize best teaching practices, heightening students’ academic achievement” (6). There is ample evidence on how a small classroom can improve so much.
In recent years, the topic of class size reduction has come to light in the United States. "There is little doubt that reducing class size can boost student achievement in some circumstances," Matthew Chingos of the Brookings Institution Brown Center says. Class size reduction is becoming more and more demanded to help meet the needs of todays society and education. According to the Center For Public Education, 'student achievement in grades K-3 increased when the class size dropped'. Class size reduction has been debated about for years in the US and is now being extensively studied. Class size reduction continues to have positive affects on school districts and is now more commonly practiced in the United States because of the high
A small class is consider to be twenty students or less. In smaller schools there are not as many students so the teachers will be able to help the students more one on one. Students can have a better idea of the content that they are learning and even if they don’t understand then the could talk to the teacher to have a better understanding. In a recent study, students and teachers were randomly assigned to a small class, with an average of 15 students, or a regular class, with an average of 22 students. This large reduction in class size (7 students, or 32 percent) was found to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling four years later. Also, increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary costs alone, which is roughly
Does class size matter? Many people have debated over the answer to this question over the past several years despite the fact that the answer is clear to see. Class size does matter and should be reduced.
By and large, this article on the long-term effects of small classes presented relevant information in a comprehensive manner in contrast to the first article regarding youth violence. Although the results were confounding to me due to the statistical information, I appreciate how each section was arranged, particularly the literature review, titled, Research on the Effects of Class Size (Nye, Hedges, & Konstantopoulos, 2001). In addition, the article clearly stated the conclusions with providing possible hypotheses explaining the reason why smaller classes obtained higher achievement and particularly in minority students. As we learned in the class PowerPoints, theories should be falsifiable and even provide future research possibilities as
René Castellanos English IV Rough Draft 14 October 2016 Does Class Size Actually Matter? It is pretty apparent that in America, and elsewhere, most parents and general adults want what is best for their children in terms of education. This mindset can be seen reflected in the legislative aspects of our education system; there are many incentives pushing through the school boards and legislatures of our nation in order to attempt to further refine the education system. This is important as it allows us to refine traditional American education in order to improve upon it, and one of these attempt refinements and improvements has to deal with the subject of class size. For many people, large classroom sizes are a spawning ground for many issues with the education system: high distraction in the classroom, teacher inefficiency, among a plethora of others. Although it may seem regressive to favor small classes over bigger, more potentially diverse classes, small class sizes are more beneficial for education in that it is less distracting for the students and raises the possibility of staying focused, it potentially raises teacher-student relationships, and it allows for better results and better statistics coming from these smaller classes.
Your Title Here Question at Issue: Does the benefit of smaller class sizes for students learning experiences outweight the potiental costs?
Has it occurred that students in smaller class size do better than students in larger class size? Yes, because students are expected to receive more help from teachers. Students need extra help to succeed in school, schools can offer extra help to students by reducing class sizes. Smaller classes have many benefits for students even though it can cost 2 billion to 11 billion dollars a year to support smaller class size (In-Soo & Jea Young, 2009). Studies have shown students in smaller class size have more benefits such as, student-teacher interactions, better discipline, and greater academic successes.
Think back on all the good teachers that made an impact on your life, they either gave you life advice that stuck with you to this day or all their time and hard work in the classroom inspired you. They put in the time to make sure you understood and that you enjoyed school. If you were in a bigger classroom, you would not have gotten as much feedback which helped you grow or as much time from the teachers. The impact that smaller classrooms have are priceless and classrooms with more than 30 students should be illegal.
With the emergence of small-class teaching, some believed that a significant reduction in class size can help those struggling students to receive more help from the teachers. As there are fewer students in a class, the teacher is able to direct her attention and provide help to specific students. Smaller classes also give teachers a room to adopt student-centred approach. According to Gilman (2003), individual
This is why a reduction in the class sizes will improve learning at institutions of learning. This might
Learning in the Classroom Communication is a key player in the aspect of education. Teachers and professors at times do not have a personal bond with their students, often causing the students to not learn as much or believing and succeeding at slacking off. This can happen with large class sizes. Larger class sizes as to smaller class sizes often times leave the students wondering if their teacher even cares about them or if they are even learning the topic at hand. Coming from a class size of 23 all throughout high school, I never knew the full advantages of being nearly 20:1 with my teacher. Realizing that was in fact a blessing later when I attended college to realize some of my fellow colleagues came from large class sizes some even reaching the 3 digit mark. Student’s education experience differs depending on class sizes.
One of the many solutions that the real “reformers” have put on the table is to cut class sizes. Children excel more when they have more one on one time with the teacher, as mentioned in Down the Rabbit hole as a solution. As schools
Across the nation, the main goal of an education system is to watch their students succeed. However, there are many factors that influence this. For decades it has been thought that reducing the class size would increase the potential for student’s success, but there are alternatives that impact student’s success
A common idea in educational circles is that no one pays attention to good classroom management until it is missing. A properly managed room runs smoothly and facilitates learning. However, when classrooms are not managed, for whatever reason, they become chaotic settings where learning is a foreign activity. School is not about what it costs, but what it can brings you. Schooling has an impact on one’s earning, socio-economic status, better access to good health facilities, good opportunities for future generations and a greater sense of civic responsibility. Benefits of education are not limited to obtaining a degree and securing a job, but instead students learn some new knowledge and skills that make them capable of effectively communicating, solving problems, and making decisions. Since the main purpose of school is to impart such skills, there is always debate among educational circles about factors that can maximize or minimize learning in classroom setting. For these reasons, changes to the class size are considered a potential means of changing how much students learn. Class size is not only one of the essential variables that promotes congenial learning environment, but it is one of the simplest variables that can be manipulated for benefits of students. Research evidence also reveals positive impact of class size. Research shows that students in the early grades perform better in small classes especially those who come from a disadvantaged background.