Cognitive and Affective Implications of Class Size in a Lecture-Practicum Speech Communication Course

Abstract

For more than a half century educators have concerned th mselves with relationship between class size and student achievement. Shane's survey of eighty-five pieces of the most objective research conducted be tween 1903 and 1960, however, reveals conflicting re sults which lead to conclusion that published re search pertinent to class size does not support premise that there must be a fixed student-teacher ratio.1 Shane's survey included 35 studies indicating superiority for small classes, 18 studies in which large were competitive with small class?s, and 32 stud ies in which no conclusion favoring either small or large could be reached. Recent research tends to support theory that class size variations play no significant role in acqui sition of theoretical information.2 However, when one considers affective implications and mastery of per formance skills, recent research points toward su periority of smaller classes.8 Despite empirical evidence that smaller ap pear more desirable for courses (foreign language, English composition, driver's education, speech communication) and traditional arguments that such courses should maintain a maximum student-teacher ratio of twenty to one, spiraling costs of higher edu cation make maintenance of such low ratios all but impossible. The failure of higher education budgets to expand proportionately with increased college enroll ments, coupled with inflationary economy of past decade, has prompted a re-evaluation of costly programs and accompanying demand that departments explore teaching techniques designed to lessen financial burden.4 One such innovative technique has been utilization of graduate students as inexpen sive teachers to handle small-group practicum sessions.5 The obvious advantage rests in availability of one higher salaried professor to serve as a lecturer for sev eral performance classes during any given hour. The advocates of lecture-practicum system, how ever, must eventually concern themselves with cog nitive and affective implications of class size, searching out answers to a number of questions. Do students in large lecture sessions understand practicum assignments as well as students in small lecture ses sions? How does achievement compare? Do students' attitudes toward course or toward course components vary with class size? Partial answers to these questions have already been discovered for in struction in foreign languages.6 The present investiga tion was designed to determine impact of class size on student attitudes and achievement in a lecture-practicum , speech communication course. Specifically, study was designed to answer following questions: 1) Do student attitudes toward lecturers and/or lecture content differ significantly among treatment groups? 2) Do student attitudes toward speech evaluators and/or speech assignments differ significantly among treatment groups? 3) Do student attitudes toward textbook, course handbook, and examinations differ significantly among treatment groups? 4) Does student achievement on examinations and in speech presentations differ significantly among treatment groups?