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hi Bernie

the 26 class will be easy....probably 4 groups....easy logistic....good place to get your feet wet

we do TBL mostly in classes 120 with good effect....we have done it in larger classes but have to work really hard during the reporting in really big classes (200) to keep discussion energy up when only one person of 200 can be talking at any one time.....not impossible...just challenging

if I was confronted with doing TBL in a really large class I would do a couple of things

1) Get some TA help to help with test handling logistics and to help you with remember team responses to application exercises and help you interact uniformly across the big class.....in one class of 200 here....they had 2 instructors and 2 TAs and they facilitated division reporting (50 students).....then did a full class report between divisions.....they fostered the sense of division membership with bonus marks for divisions that leads RAP scores and team assignment scores 

2) when you do the application exercises....have a written report form to capture the heart of the team decision.....you could alway take these away...ID themes and revisit perhaps at beginning of next class

I have heard of classes as big as 380.....but don't know how they handled application reporting

cheers

Jim Sibley
Centre for Instructional Support
Faculty of Applied Science
University of British Columbia
604-822-9241



-----Original Message-----
From: Team Learning Discussion List on behalf of bmillar
Sent: Tue 29/07/2008 12:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Class size for TBL
 
Dear TBLers

Could you please let me know  in what size classes you are using TBL and how
successfully TBL works in very big classes. The point of this exercise is
that in September I am going to deliver a paper at Stellenbosch University
on my experience this year of incorporating TBL as part of creating a
"community of co-learning" in my class where the HE teacher is a co-learner
with the students.

I know that there will be questions about class size and protests that my
classes are very small (26) and what about a class of 100 or 200-300. Do any
of you have these huge classes and how do you cope with TBL? Can TBL work in
a huge class seated in a big lecture theatre? I would like to report to the
conference what actual practitioners of TBL in big classes have to say.

Thanks in advance for your co-operation.

Regards

Bernie Millar

CPUT, Bellville, South Africa.