PatJohn,
Is this a set ratio or could it change based on different factors? What might some of those factors be?
Herbert Brown III
The optimal student to instructor ratio would be 15 to 1
Kelli,
Online teaching "can" take more time when you consider that most if not all of your feedback will be written (typed) and most people can talk much faster than they can type. What might take 5 minutes to explain in a face to face course might take 30 minutes if typed out. One skill online instructors have to build is time management and find ways to optimize their time while still providing excellent feedback to students. You have to find balance, you can't spend 24 hours/7 days a week every week just on online communication.
Herbert Brown III
Khaison,
Would you say that 15:1 is for all courses, or do you think the ratio could be different for different types of courses? What factors might influence that ratio?
Herbert Brown III
I would think that an online ratio should be slightly less than a typical classroom ratio. Online communication would require more time by the instructor to effectively assess and respond to each student.
15:1. I think that this will give the instructor enough time to spend with each student so no student feels left out.
Jack,
My magic ratios are similar. I agree that graduate work is typically more writing, reflections, project, etc. and might require more work than many undergraduate courses. However, it all depends on the content of the course and the design of the course.
Herbert Brown III
Herbert,
I am in favor of more students at the undergrad (20 is the optimum), and less for graduates (around 15). The reason being is that grad work is more for instructors
Jack,
Are there factors that might influence this ratio or is it always a 20:1 ration in your opinion? Would it be the same for graduate and undergraduate?
Herbert Brown III
Absolutely true. It depends of the level of complexity of the course and the length of the assignments to grade.
The optimal On line student -instructor ratio should be around twenty students for one instructor
Yes, I agree. The camaraderie becomes very strong when the students have to comment to other students' posts. I have seen great support and friendship develop. This all adds to the students enjoying the online school experience and thus, it makes them want to be more involved in the learning experience.
Kathleen,
That is the lowest number I have heard. Do you feel that you can get enough interaction in the course between students with only 6-7 in the course? Do you have administrators that allow 6-7 students in a course and still be able to generate enough funds to pay a faculty member for the course?
Herbert Brown III
I feel that 6-7 students per instructor is a good ratio. This allows for personal attention but also there are enough participants to have an engaging conversation with a variety of opinions .
Christine,
I agree it very much depends on the design of the course. My magic ratio depending on many factors is between 15-20 students.
Herbert Brown III
A lot depends upon the structure of the class, the expectations of the instructor by admin, and the amount of assignments and complexity of them within a specific time.
For example, I work at two schools. At the first school, students may have as many as four assignments due each week, and for each assignment the instructor must give both discussion board and gradebook feedback. They also may need to review multiple drafts from students. So.....10 active students is a LOT of work, but it is possible to give good feedback. Higher than that, things get overwhelming.
On the other hand, I work at another school where almost everything is dropbox, and only two assignments per week, so it is possible to easily work with 25 students.
It just depends.
I believe the lower the ratio the more in depth of you can get with your discussion boards, although, the lower the ratio you also can get less student-to-student meaningful interactions due to them becoming alittle to familiar with each other. I have required my students to answer a different student each time so they don't just answer the same student's post.
I have been a student in a large online class and found much less meaningful interaction with the professor. My answers or opinions seemed to get lost amoung the others. I know I wasn't even replied to a couple of times by the professor and I couldn't understand why until I started teaching a course just partially online and found how much of my "free" time was being eaten up by the mandatory discussion boards. I teach 6.25 hours a day then have to prepare, grade, meet with students, staff, and help develope other areas and I can tell you, that leaves no time for discussion boards at school. It is almost 100% read and evalusted on my on time and I have had some difficuties wanting to do this for hours on end, so I am in favor of a low student-instructor ratio.
I feel as though 20-25 students to one instructor is an optimal ratio to achieve successful learning in the online course environment. Students need to have a sense that the instructor is actively engaged in the classroom. This means making my presence known by participating in online discussions, giving students regular feedback on their work and their comments, and responding in a timely manner to individual questions or issues that are raised. In my experience, I have found that if there are more than 25 students in a course, I am unable to give as much individual time and attention to each student as they deserve in the course.
laura,
Interesting...so if I read it right you change your focus and redirect some elements to a student-to-student from an instructor-to-student focus. Can you elaborate a little? Do you mean you use peer-evaluation methods on some assignments, require more student postings to other students' posts?
Herbert Brown III
The community of student support is a large part of the students learning. They learn how to communicate effectively and to the point. So I would expand on the student to student experience if the class was larger then 15. Of course fewer would allow more feedback from the instructor.
