Joye,
Enjoying your students' learning on an indivual basis is such a treasure for a real teacher. Well done.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Joye,
I have had online classes from 1 to 103. My optimum is between 10 and 15 for most topics I teach. This provides for both individualized attention from me and good group dynamics among the students. Maximum (in today's online environment) should probably be around 25. Setting the 'tone' and solid expectations is critical when handling the larger groups.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Joye,
You are in good company. This is the general concensus among veteran online instructors, in most situations.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Crystal, you have a great point about the difficulty of the course being a factor in how large the size of the class is. I agree that the more difficult the course, the harder it is to teach "at a distance".
Nicholas, an 8-1 ratio sounds great to me! I currently manage 12 online students and I am comfortable with that number. Did you find 25-1 to be too many for you? How did you manage that? I ask because in my future the ratio may be closer to that, if not more.
Thank you!
In my current situation, the student-instructor ratio is approximately 12-1. This ratio is a comfortable one, as I do not feel overwhelmed by the number of students I am leading in discussion. I also like this ratio because it allows me to appreciate the writing styles and thought processes of my students. I can take the time to really read over responses and answer thoughtfully without the overwhelming thought of having to move on too quickly to the next student post, and respond just for the sake of responding.
Laura,
Your sentiments are shared by many. However, the practical limitations will probably not allow your ideal of six students per instructor to be realized in today's online learning environment. Can you think of any tools in the online environment that may get your optimum number closer to the 15?
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I believe that in a coding class a classroom of 15 students per Instructor. In a online there should be no more than 6 students per Instructor. It is so much easier to give the student one on one attention in a classroom setting verses a online class. The online class is somewhat complicated when it comes to coding and everything is timed and chats are not long enough. I find that verbal and face to face is much easier that having to transmit everything into words and having the same outcome.
Emily ,
I like your numbers and rationale. There is much that supports this as a good ratio - academically. The pragmatic business/financial constraints often override a cap at this level.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I think that the optimal student ratio is 1 to 10. (In the study of group dynamics it has been found that a workable group is no more than 7 or 8).
Of course, it depends upon the course outcomes and length of course but 1 to 10 is manageable for an instructor to build a viable class community. Instructors will also have time to offer substantive feedback to all 10 where and no one will be left out!
Thanks,
Emily
Alejandro,
The numbers you identify seem very reasonable and your rationale is in keeping with sound online pedagogy. Good post. Thanks.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
An optimal onine student-instructor ratio would be between 10 and 20 students for every one instructor. Fewer students than 10 and the discussion threads could lack the variety that enriches the exchange of information present in larger classes. Greater than 20 students means excessive work for the instructor leaving less time to monitor and properly guide the students' mastery of the course material.
ROSA,
The ability to individualized definitely increases as the ratio decreases. Do you find that student-to-student interaction (discussions, etc.) is impacted in any way within larger or smaller online classes?
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I believe that the smaller the student-instructor ratio, the more individualized teaching a student can get. This is true online and in a traditional setting. Sometimes students prefer lower ratios such as 10:1 because this means better, individualized attention to each student.
Elaina ,
Thank you for the references. These are good points to consider in this context. The max number of 25 is a very popular number. Identifying a minimum number is often overlooked, but can often be just as important as the max number. Very good points. Thank you for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
An appropriate student-instructor ratio in the classroom maybe be even more essential in the online environment than it is in the brick and mortar classroom. Students in the online environment are prone to feelings of isolation (Bradshaw & Lowenstein, 2007). The likelihood of this isolation feeling is increased if the student-instructor ratio is too high. Jam-packed classrooms cut down on quality interaction between the individual student and the instructor on discussion boards.
What may not be as obvious is the detrimental effect of environments where the ratio is too low. If there are only a handful of students in a class, this can leave students feeling as if too much attention is being foisted upon them. The opportunities for quality responses between students on discussion boards also decreases.
One suggested guideline for student-instructor ratios comes from a decision tree that offers a cut-off of 25 students (O’Neil, 2009). Unfortunately, the decision tree does not offer a minimum class size.
Reference:
Bradshaw, M. J., & Lowenstein, A. J. (2007). Innovative teaching strategies in nursing and related health professions (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
O’Neil, C. A. (2009). Pedagogy associated with learning in online environments. In C.A. O’Neil, C.A. Fisher, & S.K. Newbold (Eds.), Developing online learning environments in nursing education (2nd ed., pp. 17-34). New York: Springer.
Linda,
Excellent point about the ratios. Optimal ratios are contingent on the instructional use and learning environment constraints. Thank you for sharing your insights.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Working with 12 - 20 students in a healthcare billing or coding class is a good class size. You are able to work one-on-one if needed, but able to also work in small groups for discussion purposes. Responding to discussion questions, we use the minimum ratio of 1 teacher response to 4 student responses.
Michelle,
It is a tall order. It is also amazing that if you go to these same students' Facebook pages you will probably find a great deal of verbiage and conversation. Many online educators find numbers between 20 and 25 to be optimal for many classes. Over 25 begins to overtax most instructors in most instructional situations.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
The class ration I have now is about 25-30:1. I’d prefer the ratio be more like 15:1. The class I teach is the first class for students at our institution. The students are somewhat terrified when they start the class and they really seem to be looking for someone to bond with—either me, or classmates—and with 25-30 students I don’t think they always get what they need. I don’t, I’m ashamed to say, have the ability to individually reach out to 25-30 students on a regular basis, but also, the Discussion Boards can become overwhelming for them I think. If it were a more advanced class I could see that more students may make the discussion lively, but I’m just trying to get them to understand what it means to have discussion—for example: “Good Job!†does not add to the conversation! :-)
