Hi everyone,

 

I’ve been wrestling with a thought on teaching workload in the TBL classroom, and I was hoping someone would help by brainstorming ideas or pointing me to available information on the subject.

 

The question: does faculty work/effort change significantly with larger class sizes in a TBL classroom?

 

Here are some of the assumptions/observations I’m starting with:  TBL assessments are easy to grade because the students don’t produce lengthy written papers and most tests are multiple choice (especially for those who use IF-AT cards).  Facilitating application activities in a class of 30 takes no less time than facilitating application activities in a class of 90.  Pre-reading preparation by the faculty member (learning objectives, collecting articles, or pointing to relevant sections of a textbook) can be time-consuming but the amount of effort does not change with larger class sizes.

 

If room size/fire code dictates smaller classes, then a large cohort may require multiple sections of a class, which would certainly increase faculty effort.  Stuffing folders with paper copies of RATs, applications, etc. can increase time if there are more teams.

 

Thanks in advance for challenging my assumptions, adding to the list of observations, or commenting in general!

 

Peter Clapp, PhD

Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

School of Pharmacy | Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

3333 Regis Blvd., Denver, CO 80221 H-28

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