Cullen, John G. and Clancy, Annette and Hood, Alison and McGuinness, Claire
(2019)
Journal of Management
Education Special Issue: "Experiential Learning in
Large Classes".
Journal of Management Education, 43 (4).
pp. 471-476.
ISSN 1052-5629
Abstract
The teaching of large classes has received increased attention in the
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning literature, but the study, and delivery, of
experiential learning in the context of large classes has received considerably
less scrutiny. Most peer-reviewed articles tend to discuss the large class context
in relation to the difficulties and problems that emerge from the massification
of higher education (Usher & Cervenan, 2005) during a time of
significant resource restrictions for universities (Ferlie, McGivern, & De
Moraes, 2010; Cullen, 2011). Lund Dean and Wright (2017) demonstrate
how calls for increasingly engaged teaching approaches have coincided with
larger class sizes. Although student engagement with large class teaching is
discussed, the challenges and opportunities of experiential learning in such
contexts is rarely theorized or researched.
The experience of either being a member of a large class (Boland, 2011),
or teaching or assessing a large class, is often presented as something that is
of a lower quality than the smaller class experience. Key thinkers on critically
reflexive teaching practice often discuss engaged pedagogy as something that
can best happen in small group contexts. Some research has demonstrated
that being enrolled in a large class can have an impact on educational attainment
as a result of being precluded from receiving formative feedback
(Broadbent, Panadero, & Boud, 2018; Nicol, 2007), asking for help and
engaging in discussions between faculty research experts (Asikainen,
Virtanen, Postareff, & Heino, 2014; Karabenick, 2003; Li & Pinto-Powell,
2017; Woollacott, Booth, & Cameron, 2014).
Research has also demonstrated that being enrolled in a large class can
have an impact on students in ways that impact their experience of university-
level learning. Students sometimes report feeling anonymous and depersonalized
as a result of the lack of opportunities to connect with instructors
(Isbell & Cote, 2009). Negative experiences in large classes are not, however,
limited to students, as faculty exposure to large groups of students has been identified as a key cause of burnout (Watts & Robertson, 2011), and high
assessment and administrative responsibilities have been associated with
poor mental health and even suicide among academic staff (Bhardwa, 2018;
Pells, 2018).
The aim of this special issue is to contribute to new understandings of how
experiential learning can be used to engage students and faculty, who increasingly
find themselves teaching in larger class contexts. Rather than exclusively
discussing technological solutions or innovations that aim to address
the difficulties that have arisen from teaching very large classes, this special
issue aims to develop new ways of understanding engagement in higher education
learning environments.
Although much recent attention has been paid to the shadow-side of
experiential learning, the experiences of faculty who teach (and assess)
larger groups with fewer resources are rarely considered in the research
literature. This has resulted in an absence of theory that could contribute to
new understandings of how to enhance experiential learning for large
classes. This special issue will consider theories, research, and pedagogical
and andragogical approaches to the delivery of experiential learning in
large-enrolment classrooms.
A number of approaches have been used to mitigate the negative consequences
of being a member of a large class. This includes discussions of the
pedagogical benefits and assessment of IT (de Arriba, 2017; Maringe & Sing,
2014; Mtshali, Maistry, & Govender, 2015; Saunders & Hutt, 2015; Schaffer,
Young, Ligon, & Chapman, 2017), MOOCs (Maringe & Sing, 2014), lecture
capture (Freeman, 1998; Owston, Lupshenyuk, & Wideman, 2011), supplementary
media (Saunders & Hutt, 2015), student-response systems (Hancock,
2010; Heaslip, Donovan, & Cullen, 2014; Mayer et al., 2009; Patterson,
Kilpatrick, & Woebkenberg, 2010), peer-teaching and peer-assessment
(Asikainen et al., 2014), and flipped classrooms (Eichler & Peeples, 2016).
However, much of the evaluation of such programs is conducted from the
perspective of the provider and few include detailed qualitative accounts that
explore the nuances of how the mode of assessment has affected the learner
and the experience of learning (Cullen & Turnbull, 2005).
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Learning; large classes; experimental learning; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business |
| Item ID: |
11247 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562919837633 |
| Depositing User: |
Dr. John G. Cullen
|
| Date Deposited: |
14 Oct 2019 13:40 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Journal of Management Education |
| Publisher: |
Sage Publications |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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