For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. For every outsize class bursting a room at its seams, there’s an equal and opposite small class, begging for intimacy and intensity.
As I noted previously, in my third year of teaching I had a class that required every available desk in my room. Thirty-one students. The following period, I had their diminutive twin, the class requiring only slightly more than half the desks in my room. The difference, you might imagine, was night and day. And if you imagined that, you would be imagining incorrectly.
The classroom organization required of a smaller-than-normal class size is different, but no less problematic. The learning styles of individual students numbered fewer, but were thus magnified, especially during small-group activities. Collecting individual skill builders to supplement the curriculum appeared quicker on the surface, but the increased amount of one-on-one time meant I could further tailor lessons. And that, of course, made life even crazier. The proportion of early finishers remained equal in both classes, but the time it took the stragglers to complete tasks was all over the map. Lesson planning was a regular endeavor in creative time management, and I sought whatever teacher tips and creative teaching resources I could find from my colleagues and elsewhere.
Which group came out ahead at the end of the school year? Well, to be honest, I believe the smaller group made greater strides. The large class got beyond where they needed to be as well, but my energy expenditure probably outweighed theirs. It was the smaller class that was able to make better use of my available time with them, and for that I will always be grateful. They were a terrific group.
In the end, though, the challenge of the small class was the sheer amount of time I had for one-on-one instruction. Did it benefit this class unfairly? I’m not sure. Did the smaller group lose out on some lessons because I did not want them too far ahead of their peers? Perhaps.
I encourage you to weigh in on class size.