In today’s world, higher education is being valued more now, than it ever has been before. Within the realm of education, people often ponder what the best setting for students is, and how they can better learn. For instance, a common theme is American education, is the notion that smaller classrooms, lead to a more productive and educated class. This is easy to imagine, hence the lesser amount of students equals more time for the teacher to aide students individually. This is a common theme that is embraced by parents and students alike. However, some people tend to disagree with this idea. Some individuals believe that the class does not matter due to the fact that learning is solely based on the teachers practice.
First and foremost, I would like to discuss the opposing argument. Personally I believe that having a smaller class is a variable in itself that effects how well a classroom of students will perform. As I stated before, many people believe that class size doesn’t matter due to the fact that a student’s success is based on how good the teacher is. A lot of people think that just because a class gets smaller, doesn’t necessarily mean the teachers practices change. The opposing argument believes that even if the class is smaller, if the teacher doesn’t change, the size does not matter.
I strongly disagree with this notion due to research done by the state of Tennessee, the state conducted research on 12,000 kids and randomly assigned them to classrooms of all different sizes. In the first study, teachers did not change their teaching styles whatsoever, but due to a smaller class, they were able to give more aide and attention to students. This variable single-handily produced better test scores for the children in the smaller classrooms. Personally I think this disproves the opposing argument in regards to having class size matter. In the second study, teachers in smaller classrooms were able to aide students and give them more attention, and they also changed their practices to a more individualized approach. The results were even better than that of the first study, resulting in even higher test scores. There was a direct correlation between class size and educational effectiveness.
Education is a humungous part of our world, and a huge part of a child’s development, and with all the information available in today’s world, I think it is safe to say that class-size does matter. And not everything is reliant on the teacher’s teaching-methods. Even though the opposing agreement disagrees with me, I feel if they read the same information as I have, such as the Tennessee study, they would change their viewpoint and possibly think little bit differently about the issue.
Sources:
"Does Class Size Matter? Research Reveals Surprises." The Seattle Times. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://seattletimes.com/html/education/2024894748_edlabsmallclassesxml.html>.
"Does Class Size Matter?" National Education Policy Center. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/does-class-size-matter>.
