In my experience the optimal class size for an online course would be between 15-18 students. This will allow the facilitator to personally engage and interact with each student in a meaningful way and be able to identify the preferred learning style of each student and his/her level of proficiency in grasping the different concepts being reviewed in class.
A small class is a challenge as there may not be enough participants to develop a meaningful discussion of different weekly topics. A class with more than 20 students in my experience becomes difficult to manage and limits the facilitator's ability to reaally engage each and every student. The ability to provide uality formative feedback is also a challenge with a class larger than 20 students specially if there are different assessments due every week. To conclude - class size is a very important variable in the ability of the online facilitator to deliver course content and help students achieve terminal course objectives.
Lisa,
Thirty is a lot of students in one course. Do you try to structure the activities where most of the interaction is student-student instead of student-instructor? What level (undergrad. grad.) do you typically teach? The number of students and the level of interaction depends on a lot of variables. I would love to hear some of the strategies that you use to engage large groups of students 30+
Herbert Brown III
I like a big class, since the interaction between the students seems to increase with more students and the excitement about learning seems to be contagious. I have had my best classes in groups up to 30. I enjoy the diversity of personalities and learning styles.
Linda,
My magic numbers have been 15-20 students, but it certainly depends on the course, content, level, etc. Transitioning to online teaching can be a bit of a challenge at times, but one thing to always keep in mind....change is a constant! I change aspects of my online courses every semester. The opening posts, discussions, and course expectations are not anywhere near the same as they were the first time I taught the course. A couple of important things to remember: you will typically need more details regarding course expectations and assignments than the traditional classroom. Students in a traditional class will ask you subtle clarification questions on these items in class, but in the online classroom many students just make assumptions - which may be right or wrong. Be positive and constructive in your grading, and provide "details" - rubrics for assignments help tremendously. Read some of the other expectations posts about what others include, such as: grading, communication, assignments, due dates, re-do policies, etc. Many folks include a beginning discussion for you and the students to share about yourselves to connect you all - build a sense of community. I hope this helps.
Herbert Brown III
The literature in this course suggested that 40 was too many students and under 6 people would not be condusive to a good learning environment so I would think about 20 students would be nice. It seems to me that distance learning offers many of the same delights and difficulties as in house learning. The lack of face-to-face body language is the chief detracter but the convenience of participating while in my PJ's is nice! I was a distance student for my last degree and LOVED it, making some long distnce friendships along the way. As a teacher, I am challenged by the nuts and bolts of opening posts, discussions, tests, etc...Any suggestions??
Khaled,
I have found similar results. I would also suggest that the content of the course and the instructional design of the course and also influence the optimal ratio of the course.
Herbert Brown III
I have taught a variety of classes for the past ten years. The size of the classes ranged from few students in some graduate level classes to 35 students in undergraduate level. When the number of students is very small, the level of interaction becomes minimal and students’ participation is less. For a large size of 35 students, the level of personal feedback from the instructor’s side is less. I would say that a 10 – 15 students in the graduate level classes had produced the best results. For undergraduate level classes, 20 – 25 students per section is an excellent size.
I believe that an optimal student-instructor ratio would be 15 students to 1 instructor--a number that is not too small and not too large.
But the ratio has to reflect a good balance. Low student to faculty ratios, such as 15:1, tend to suggest a more intimate college experience and more faculty resources for students to enjoy. If the ratio is too small, then it means that there is a reduced opportunity for students to collaborate, reduced competition within students, lesser motivation to work hard to perform well and reduced exposure for students.
Fifteen students to every instructor is a good manageable number of students for each instructor to provide effective teaching, communication and attention.
Onyema Anene
Michael,
I agree with this size for the average class. I think it also varies based on the level and type of content in the course. I would also say this is might be an optimal course size for an average teaching load. If you are teaching overloads, then the overall total number of students increases and the same problems begin to appear (slow responsiveness).
Herbert Brown III
Having facilitated online courses for the past 10-years, experience has taught me that the optimal course size is between 15 to 25 students. Any more than this can be a challenge to manage -- when this happens I can definitely tell that my students start to sense that I'm spread to thin. Emails take longer to response to, fewer comments are made on the DB, and it takes longer to grade weekly assignments. When this happens, students become disinterested in the course or they become anxious, sending more emails in an attempt to grab my attention -- chaos ensues. Consistent and timely communication is key to quality online education, and it can only be accomplished when class sizes are within a manageable number.
Errol,
As you noted, there is NO one right answer. It was designed for just your response; one that identifies the myrid of variables that effect an optimal online student-instructor teaching ration. All of the items you mentioned are correct, as well as the content of the course and other variables. My magic number is 15-25 or so, but that varies greatly depending on the course.
Herbert Brown III
Tina ,
Typically that is the way it is handled. All preformatted content and quizzes, etc. The instructor and a GA can provide some basic feedback but in-depth discussions are much more difficult.
Herbert Brown III
Hi Herbert,
I do not believe that a course with 200 students would be effective if the students have to interact with each other. The length of the course would have to be extensive in order for the instructor to interact with that many students. If the students are just read the pre-formatted content, post that they have read and understand the content, and take a quiz or test in order to meet the course requirement then that would be more feasible. If the student still wanted feedback from the instructor, he or she could solicit the instructor to provide that.
Greetings Everyone:
The optimal online student-instructor ratio should be 20 to 27 students. The ability for the instructor to reply to the students' main responses as well as participation replies allows for more input, further expansion of the learning material, and more interaction among the students. The students can further explore the learning content from "different angles" when posts can focus on the main perspective, the pros and cons, and even to learn from being the "devil's advocate." Having taught online class sizes that ranged from one student to 40 students has given me the ability to know how to gauge my interaction with the students. The larger class sizes are more challenging as you try to interact with all the students.
Tina Means
This is an impossible question to answer, as so many variables go into such a response. Keep in mind: I've been teaching online 19 years, so in that time I've developed approaches for easily interacting with 20-30 students in a class -- and keeping them engaged and enthusiastic -- where someone much newer to distance learning might work best with a class of but 10-15.
Additionally, one much look at the demographics of the students: age, occupations, years out of school, and reason for taking the course, for example, can make it easier or harder for an instructor to successfully manage a class -- and it makes no diff if that class is 30 or 15.
Finally, there are the instructor's personality and approach to teaching. An instructor who is enthusiastic; always has a presence in the course; knows how to give positive, detailed, and constructive feedback, and who follows up immediately on student queries has a munch easier time successfully managing 30 students than does an instructor teaching a class of 10 who lacks one or more of the qualities I mention.
The question begs for a subjective answer, certainly not a definitive one.
Calvin,
I started the discussion about classes of 200 because I have seen some institutions offer online classes with 200 students as a money making venture. There was not a great concern about the level of interaction with the students. The course was focused on presenting the content; using traditional testing methods to evaluate the retention of the material; and minimal feedback to the students. My point was exactly what you mentioned...it would be almost impossible to provide the interaction and feedback that you get from a course of 15-20. An online course with 200 students is not the best model. However, have you seen the MOOC model?
Herbert Brown III
Meir,
20 would be my higher end. In graduate courses I would rather see 12-15 students. This is an interesting problem especially as the economy has tightened. I have seen administrators wanting to "push" the enrollments to a higher limit for financial reasons. It may become vital in the future to strongly advocate the importance of optimal enrollments.
Herbert Brown III
I have noticed the responses in here about classes with 200 students. I have been tesching on ground courses for years and have never had a class that large.
How is it possible for one instructor to interact with that large of a class. If only half of them get some type of interaction it would be very time intensive.
I was under the impression that an online class should take just a bit longer than an on the ground class. But with class sizes of that magnitude you would be giving many more hours into the class.
Ron; I agree; I would suggest that at some classes it should be even lower. For example, in a graduate program that time needed for quality interactions might be even higher. So, I would say, 20 top.
Carl,
You are correct, personal communication in a class of 200 would be virtually impossible. I do not know of courses where group size was taken in to consideration in the ratio. Groups could reduce the number of assignments and some elements, but even with groups there tends to be a fair amount of individiual elements that have to be submitted and responded too (discussion forums, other assignments).
Herbert Brown III
