January 28, 2015
Looking for participants for a survey on student perceptions of the large lecture class teaching format
The 2014-2015 Coffman Chair for University Distinguished Teaching Scholars at K-State is looking for faculty who are currently teaching large lecture classes and would be willing to help administer an online survey to their students. This project, No. 7441, "Students' Attitudes and Perceptions of Large Lecture Classes," has been reviewed by the Kansas State University Institutional Review Board, Human Subjects.
The survey constitutes just one part of a yearlong research project undertaken by the Coffman Chair in an effort to understand the issues facing instructors who are assigned large classes, 80 or more students, as well as the pedagogical challenges that ensue when much, but not necessarily all, of the course content is delivered through a great deal of uninterrupted talking. After a pilot testing phase last semester, this survey is now ready to be distributed more widely.
The survey does not evaluate individual classes or instructors. Instead, it asks students to identify, based on the totality of their lecture class experiences, those aspects of the lecture class format that most engage them and what it is about the lecture format in general that needs further consideration or retooling.
If you are interested and would like to read a more detailed description of this survey, including restrictions and safeguards that will be taken to ensure the privacy of all participants, please contact Mick Charney, 2014-2015 Coffman Chair for University Distinguished Teaching Scholars, at charney@k-state.edu.
Thank you for your consideration.