Class Size and Levels of Student Motivation

Bolander, Steven F.

doi:10.1080/00220973.1973.11011454

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…One reason may be the difference in class size between lectures, labs, and seminars. Labs and seminars tend to have fewer students than large lectures, and having fewer students in the classroom is correlated with higher levels of student motivation (Bolander, 1973) and increased student course GPA (Kokkelenberg, Dillon, & Christy, 2008). Additionally, labs and seminars are often structured with less of a focus on passive content reception and more on active, participatory learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engagement in Digital Lecture Halls: A Study of Student Course Engagement and Mobile Device use During Lecture

Witecki

Nonnecke

2015

JITE:Research

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Universities have experienced increases in technology ownership and usage amongst students entering undergraduate programs. Almost all students report owning a mobile phone and many students view laptops and tablets as educational tools, though they also report using them for nonacademic activities during lectures. We explored the relationship between student course engagement and the use of smartphones, laptops, cell phones, and tablets during lecture. Undergraduate students responded to an online survey asking about both course engagement and mobile device habits. Results show that smartphone use was most strongly related to lowered course engagement and while laptop use was related to lowered engagement, it was to a lesser extent. In contrast, overall engagement of students using tablets or cell phones was not significantly different than those who did not.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engagement in Digital Lecture Halls: A Study of Student Course Engagement and Mobile Device use During Lecture

Witecki

Nonnecke

2015

JITE:Research

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“…Bolander (1973) found that students exhibited higher motivation levels in smaller classes. Ozerk (2001) observed that students asked twice as many academic questions in smaller classes.…”

Section: Research Synergy and The Role Of Contextmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Centrality of Context in Learning from Further Class Size Research

Englehart

2007

Educ Psychol Rev

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Educational researchers have conducted numerous studies regarding the effects of class size on student learning, yet the disparity of their findings make it difficult to draw overall conclusions. This paper first provides a description of some of the major class size studies in an effort to illustrate this point. Next, a research approach is suggested which might yield more definitive conclusions by carefully accounting for the additional contextual factors which surround class size. In addition to giving particular attention to context, this involves focusing on the mediating effects between class size and achievement and measuring achievement with classroom-level assessments.The role of class size in student achievement in American education is a very contentious issue. Because class size cannot be reduced without incurring significant costs, adoption of a class size reduction program requires very careful consideration based on objective evidence. Evidence does exist which supports the assertion that smaller classes lead to greater student performance. At the same time, however, there is also ample evidence to the contrary. Given these conditions, the class size debate has become politicized. Lartigue (1999) writes that research is often "cherry picked" to support one's argument, with the proposed evidence driven by the attempt to substantiate the argument rather than to objectively contribute to the knowledge base. It becomes quite difficult to navigate the research to arrive at clear conclusions.The fact is that class size is an incredibly complicated construct. It may influence and be influenced by a host of factors that determine its effects. Berlin and Cienkus (1989) describe that size cannot be considered in a vacuum. The data seem to indicate that size factors have some influence on educational outcomes. But this influence is mediated by other factors (such as SES) and there are many social/political/geographic factors which determine the boundaries of school districts, the size of schools, and, of course class size (p. 228).

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“…Bolander (1973) demonstrated through statistical analysis of data collected through questionnaires and interviews that students exhibited higher motivation levels in smaller classes (individual, intragroup lateral, and intragroup vertical motivation). Analyzing data collected through systematic observation, Ozerk (2001) found that class size had a strong influence on interaction patterns in classes.…”

Section: Mediating Effects Of Smaller Classesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher perceptions of student behavior as a function of class size

Englehart

2006

Soc Psychol Educ

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In an attempt to describe class size effects on student behavior that might be predictable from one setting to the next, the author proposes a social psychology framework. He hypothesizes that social loafing, deindividuation, and social facilitation can explain patterns of student participation, off-task behavior, and in-class performance, respectively, as a function of the size of the class. Data from interviews with eight middle-school teachers suggest that these concepts are marginally applicable to the behaviors in question. At the same time, other class size effects on student behavior are described which may be inherent in class size and thus be reasonably predictable.

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Class Size and Levels of Student Motivation

Cited by 22 publications

References 5 publications

Engagement in Digital Lecture Halls: A Study of Student Course Engagement and Mobile Device use During Lecture

Engagement in Digital Lecture Halls: A Study of Student Course Engagement and Mobile Device use During Lecture

The Centrality of Context in Learning from Further Class Size Research

Teacher perceptions of student behavior as a function of class size

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