Get Your Students Hired
The optimal online student-instructor ratio for science classes should be between 14 to 16 students. If the numbers rise above this it becomes more difficult to spend enough time with each student. Most students are less prepared to take science courses unless they are Science Majors. They have had few if any background courses in non-science curriculum. They have also had less experience with 'scientific writing' which features more in-text references for factual material. Non-science courses can have more unreferenced opinions. Therefore, it takes more time for the instructor to explain and teach this to each student.
It is common for academic institutions to separate GPA's based on 'non-science' and 'science' courses. It is recognized that science classes may be more difficult for some students and require extra time. If the course enrollments get too high then attrition may increase. This is especially true when the course duration is only five weeks. For example my Environmental Science class covers 17 chapters of science during 5 weeks.
How many non-science students are prepared to complete such a course in this short time period?
In mathematics classes I believe the optimal class size is approximately 20 online students to start the course. Depending on the course content and depth, the attrition rate in mathematics courses can be higher than reading courses like English, psychology, or history. Often the attrition rate is 25% or more, so with a starting number of 20, and with attrition, there will still be enough students left toward the end of the course to maintain meaningful student-student and student-instructor discussions and interactions.
Susan,
Very well articulated! I am not sure I can add much to your response. I too fight with the profit ratio arguments and I have told several administrators that if all they are trying to do is use online learning to fill huge online classes to make a quick buck, then we shouldn't be doing it at all. I am not interesting in putting in the level of extra work required to do online teaching correctly if it is all about making an extra dollar or two.
Herbert Brown III
To find the optimal online student-instructor ratio many factors need to be taken into consideration. Subject matter, grading, discussion response, building a sense of community, instructor time-management and organization, and profit ratios are a few factors mentioned in replies. This is one of those questions without a black or white answer. It seems like a balancing act as well as personal preference. One factor I do not like to see play a major role in class size is the profit ratio. I realize running in the red is not good practice. However, when profit takes a priority of quality of education count me out! I currently teach on-ground. Instructor-student ratio topic is always a huge debate between instructors and upper management. I image my online course with around 20 students. I agree with other responses that with a low student population discussion questions may go stale without the diversity of various opinions. With too many students the threads may become difficult to follow decreasing participation. Developing a sense of community online may be easier to achieve with lower class ratios. Too many students can cause both the student and instructor to be overwhelmed which may decrease a student’s interest in learning. I feel personal responses to students work is important to the success of the student. A large class may not allow me to respond effectively. I do not want anyone to fall through the cracks or not enjoy their education. I do grade online and that zero does get attention!!
To find the optimal online student-instructor ratio many factors need to be taken into consideration. Subject matter, grading, discussion response, building a sense of community, instructor time-management and organization, and profit ratios are a few factors mentioned in replies. This is one of those questions without a black or white answer. It seems like a balancing act as well as personal preference. One factor I do not like to see play a major role in class size is the profit ratio. I realize running in the red is not good practice. However, when profit takes a priority of quality of education count me out! I currently teach on-ground. Instructor-student ratio topic is always a huge debate between instructors and upper management. I image my online course with around 20 students. I agree with other responses that with a low student population discussion questions may go stale without the diversity of various opinions. With too many students the threads may become difficult to follow decreasing participation. Developing a sense of community online may be easier to achieve with lower class ratios. Too many students can cause both the student and instructor to be overwhelmed which may decrease a student’s interest in learning. I feel personal responses to students work is important to the success of the student. A large class may not allow me to respond effectively. I do not want anyone to fall through the cracks or not enjoy their education. I do grade online and that zero does get attention!!
Robert,
Well your questions are a personal preference; however, I will share what I do. I do give my students the initial zero. This does several things...they wake up and realize I am serious and on top of what is going on and it immediately opens a dialog with the students about why the assignment was not submitted and what they are doing about it. They are typically less likely to do the same later in the semester. I do enforce the late point policy I use as well...I do this because the reality is that on a job they are more likely to just lose the job and not be given any kind of "point reduction" equivalent. They are also given up to two additional days to complete the work which gives them an advantage over the ones that submitted it online.
Herbert Brown III
Herbert
My online classes are preparing students for positions in the construction industry. Like many other industries, meeting deadlines and good communication are critical.
Each week I post a grading rubric that includes procedures for late submissions. If a student anticipates not meeting the deadline they are requested to communicate with me prior to the deadline to obtain approval. Penalties (point deductions)for late submissions without approval are spelled out in the rubric.
I'm required to submit grades within 48 hours. I typically give the students much of the 48 hour period (before grading)even if they had not gotten approval prior.
I can go back and add comments + grades at any point in the 5 week term.
So, 2 Questions:
- do you think I should give them a zero (to get their attention) the morning after the deadline? .... or continue to wait for much of the 48 period?
- should I enforce the late submission point penalties (if they did not obtain approval prior to the deadline)
Elodie,
Are you able to teach only 10 students in your program? Have you been able to get quality student to student interaction with 10 students in a course? I am just curious. I agree the technical nature of the content, especially if students don't have the prerequisites, can make it difficult with more students. The optimal number the majority of respondents report is 15-20, but the optimal number is based on individual circumstances as well.
Herbert Brown III
I would say 10 to 1. Depending on the course, this is an optimal ratio. I teach technical content such as programming and so I have found myself working over time because students do not have the prerequisite skills and knowledge that they should have acquired in the previous course. I spent a lot of time on one-on-one basic to go over things that they should know and thus guiding them through the project. Not having the same instructor teaching sequencing courses can be tedious because most of the time expectations are not met.
Cristina,
20-25 is a pretty good number. My ideal is around 15-20, but numbers can vary as well based on the types of content, course design, interaction expectations, level of content, and more. The level of interaction and one on one communications that can take place are directly correlated with the number of students in your course.
Herbert Brown III
In my opinion and from personal experience with online instructing is that the optimal student-instructor ratio would be 20-25 students. I have previously had cohorts of 25 students and 43 students and found it more manageable to incorporate all aspects of online learning with the smaller group. With the larger cohort, it was difficult to engage with each student and the more assertive students interacted more and I found that the quieter students were not as engaged with webinar sessions. With a smaller number of students, I feel that I can engage my time with each student on a one to one basis and encourage more participation as I could gain more perspective on the type of learner each student is and troubleshoot different techniques to keep the participation level high.
Thank you
Julie Ann,
Most would agree with you that the optimal number is 15-20 students. That can shift slightly either way depending on content, level of the material and certainly the design of the course and its assignments. Those courses that require extensive feedback should be smaller so that the feedback can be provided in a timely manner. Too few also causes issues with student to student discussions.
Herbert Brown III
Vince,
40 or 66 is very high in my opinion and what research shows. These policies also reflect the experiences with online learning that you have mentioned in other forums. If you have this many students, it is very difficult to provide them the quality feedback they need to make the course effective. Most instructor agree with you that 15-20 is the optimal number.
Herbert Brown III
I think a ratio of 15:1 is ideal. It allows the instructor to respond personally to each student and discussion boards do not get overcrowded.
I believe an optimal online student-instructor ratio is 15:1. I teach primarily retail-oriented courses and the assignments can be a little overwhelming. Being able to provide meaningful feedback to all students is crucial to their learning.
Herbert,
I think that it should be 15. I have worked at a school where it was that. I have also work at 1 school where it is 40 and another one where it is 66. That just doesn't leave you time to work 1 on 1 with each student like you can in a small class.
Sincerely,
Vince
David,
And I believe that timely feedback should be personalized to their work, not just a number grade on an assignment. The qualitative feedback to our students is what helps them to improve and do better. If they don't know WHAT they did wrong, how can they get better?
Herbert Brown III
Agreed. I could not imagine trying to give good feedback to 100+ students. Of course you could do something like online assessments etc. but then it is not much different than a tutorial. I think it is critical that students in an online environment get timely feedback.
Ramona,
Well put. I would agree with your ratio and rationale. I have also found that 15-20 seems to be an optimal number for most online courses I teach.
Herbert Brown III
Penelope,
Can you explain what you mean by a huge storm can really put a damper on things - relative to the optimal online student-instructor ratio??
Herbert Brown III