**2. Conceptual framework**

2000 to 3428 in 2013, representing an approximate 50% increment [1]. This expansion in uni-

• A better link with the environment, with a special focus on the two-way mutual benefits

• Institutional commitment on the effectiveness of the training processes, manifested among other elements—in the development of generic and specific competences of the

• Access to fair and equitable funding mechanisms for higher education not always covered

• Having qualified teachers, not only at the level of the discipline or the research but also with pedagogical skills capable of provoking quality learning in the students, and university managers with higher levels of expertise and efficiency in the tasks entrusted, among

The greater number of students per class is a relevant challenge not only at the methodological level [2–4] but also relates to the economic sustainability of educational projects and to having a sufficient number of teachers to adequately serve the student population [5]. Therefore, this subject is a great opportunity to produce evidence and try to rethink the large courses that are

Courses with large numbers of students attending all together in large auditoriums are indeed a widely known format in higher education, but when is it a course considered to be large? Some authors label courses as large when there are between 300 and 1000 students [6, 7]. For others, however, it is not about the number of students, but about the teacher's inability to make prolonged eye contact with their students over a standard 50-minute period [8]. This

Although the theme of larger classes is not new in the literature, the subject has been involved in constant controversies, especially those related to their relevance and effectiveness on student learning [9]. This criticism was generally concentrated before the emergence of technology and the Internet—especially mobile—in the daily lives of people, around the year 2010 [10]. Recently, the challenge of developing students' competencies has put the issue back on the table. However, recent educational research has undergone a change of axis in relation to the assessment, viability, and effectiveness of teachers in large courses [11]. This is due to fundamental elements. On the one hand, due to the irruption of the Internet in the day-to-day and in the training environment, mobile devices and applications are part of the teaching action, thanks to its coverage, accessibility, and simplicity in its implementation [12]. On the other hand, due to a greater appreciation of teaching and the need to improve its effectiveness

last definition is the one we will use throughout this chapter to refer to a large course.

versity access has generated new demands on the teaching-learning process, such as:

160 New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century - Contributions of Research in Education

• Having up-to-date training curricula relevant to social and employment demands

• Better and bigger infrastructure • Access to resources for learning

and the common good of society

at the government level

other requirements

on the vast majority of students.

discipline or profession in most of the students

present in almost all disciplines and institutions in the world.

The previous research has shown five crucial aspects to consider when planning successful large group learning activities [11], which have been related to positive learning outcomes. In a didactic way, they have been divided in order to assure better comprehension, but it is important to point out that they are intrinsically related. he factors identified are student-teacher and student-student interaction, implementation of active learning strategies, classroom management, students' motivation and commitment, and the effective use of information and communications technology (ICTs).

#### **2.1. Student-teacher and student-student interaction**

One of the main disadvantages that strike when thinking about large group activities is the apparent loss of the one-to-one interaction between teachers and students. This situation is particularly relevant when giving feedback to students, which could affect the perception about the effectiveness of the educational process. However, despite the fact that personalized feedback might seem extremely difficult to accomplish, there is another way to preserve an appropriate communication between students and teachers, which is through frequent formative assessments that allow the educator to evaluate student's learning [13]. In this sense, the teacher gets a general approach about the student's strength and difficulties regarding the learning process, in a more effective and efficient way than the traditional approach centered in answering particular questions at the end of the class [14], enhancing the communication and interactions between the educator and its class. The interaction between students should be understood as a creative instance [15] that boosts the learning experience empowering them in the process of knowledge acquisition. In the same vein, technology allows easier interactions between students via communities of learners [16], safe spaces for discussion, and support between peers [17]. This is relevant since the involvement of the students in their own educational process has been related with an increase in motivation and engagement that has a positive impact in the large lecture theater [18].

#### **2.2. Active learning**

Traditional lectures are often a passive experience for students; on the contrary, methods that promote active participation of students are known to boost the learning process [19]. Active learning has been defined from different perspectives and areas of knowledge [20]. However, beyond the particularities and differences among each approach, there is a consensus to understand active learning as a process that occurs when students manage to perform tasks and activities immersed in a system of knowledge and think toward their learning process [19]. Examples of these active methods are peer-assisted learning [21–23], formal and informal group learning [24–28], and the assessment, evaluation, and feedback between blind peers [29, 30]. These should be considered to make a positive impact on student's learning outcomes.

**1.** To provide active educational experiences for all students enhancing the participation of

Large Courses at Universities: Criteria for Teacher Action http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72674 163

**4.** To increase interaction among students through subgrouping and collaborative learning

These aspects not only endeavors reflection, sense of community, and collaboration [39] but also stands for a level of respect toward the individuality of each student's particular learning process and learning abilities, connecting the educators with the diversity contemplated in

The previous five factors are intrinsically related; hence, they should be always considered in the planification and design of large group activities in order to obtain better learning outcomes. As an example of these, ICTs should be considered as useful tools when designing active learning strategies, as they open possibilities toward integration of a wider range of learning methods, more suitable for the diversity of students found in massive classes. In this sense, to allow a spectrum of learning possibilities stands for a highly appreciated value among students, which is the knowledge educators have about the human component of their classes, who are they, what is the specific cultural and socioeconomic background, how heterogeneous the group is, what are their particular strengths and difficulties when facing a new educational challenge, what they hope to accomplish taking that class, and what are their motivations and aspirations toward the future. The previous shows interest and commitment from the educator toward their students, boosting student-teacher interactions as it shifts from being distant and vertical in the anonymity of a massive group activity toward a more personal level, where the students feel heard in a context of integration of their differences, advocating for students' motivation and commitment. This sounds like a task highly ambitious and almost impossible to accomplish, which is why classroom management plays a crucial role, as it is extremely difficult to get to know each student and assure their active participation in the class without a well-designed strategy. The use of ICTs appears here again playing an essential role allowing organization of students in smaller groups according to their particular interests, enabling feedback before, during, and after the class, and monitorization of the level of interest and participation. To sum up, after analyzing each of the five described components, it is possible to state that they cannot be isolated as separate strategies, as they are related in a way that makes it hard to think about one of them without considering the others.

Between April 2016 and July 2017, 15 universities throughout Chile were contacted to participate in the study, identifying and convening the best teachers of each institution. Each university selected their representing teachers using two key criteria. The first criterion is that teachers had the recognition of quality and excellence in teaching through different mechanisms, such as the evaluation of students, recognition among peers, and awards given to the best teachers at the institutional level. The second criterion of selection was related to the number of students in the course and the teacher or teaching team. In this sense, it was considered

**3.** Access to resources without any time or geographical limitations [36]

their class, favoring an integrative classroom environment.

the class

[37, 38]

**2.** An opportunity toward self-paced learning

**3. Criteria for action in large courses**

#### **2.3. Classroom management**

Considering the fact that there is a tendency toward a greater amount of chaos in a large group of activities, administration and management issues should be of special relevance. In this sense, there should be a planning process of the activities before, during, and after the class [31], designing and communicating the activities in a way that all the educators involved have clarity on the process methodology.

Special consideration should be given to the following aspects: recommended lectures, the use of ICTs as learning strategies, the promotion and engaging of student's autonomous motivation, and strategies that advocate toward the maintenance of appropriate student behavior during class [32]. Finally, the evaluation of the educational process comes in two ways: the first one tallies to the direct feedback obtained by students, which is important as it reveals their own perception of the learning process, and, second, the evaluation of the accomplished learning outcomes, which should reveal in the most objective possible way the level of success and progress of the class in terms of the acquisition of intended learning outcomes at the end of the teaching-learning experience.

#### **2.4. Students' motivation and commitment**

The concept of motivation has been related not only to behavioral outcomes such as student's successful academic performance in learning a subject but also to affective and cognitive educational outcomes [33]. Motivation, however, as postulated by the self-determination theory of motivation [34], is not a unitary concept and has been differentiated in two main quality types. Autonomous motivation, on the one hand, refers to one's intention to do something appealed by personal satisfaction obtained from the activity, or because of the relevance attributed to a particular activity, without external or internal pressures. In this sense when identifying an activity's value, it is more likely to experience willingness toward it. On the other hand, controlled motivation is understood as an external force that drives an individual toward an action whose ultimate purpose is to avoid punishment or obtain a specific reward from the process [33, 34]. Given the above, educators should encourage autonomous motivation in their students, and align student's expectations with the intended learning outcomes of the class, since they will be more motivated if they feel their teacher's care about their own expectations toward their learning process. In this sense, promoting autonomous motivation would make a consistently positive impact on student's learning outcomes despite the number of students [35].

#### **2.5. The effective use of information and communications technology**

The use of effective online teaching resources, meaning ICTs, has been facilitated to overcome the intrinsic challenges of large group activities, thus making the large class format more efficient and important for learners [6]. Salmon [36] mentions four benefits contributed by online educational resources:


understand active learning as a process that occurs when students manage to perform tasks and activities immersed in a system of knowledge and think toward their learning process [19]. Examples of these active methods are peer-assisted learning [21–23], formal and informal group learning [24–28], and the assessment, evaluation, and feedback between blind peers [29, 30]. These should be considered to make a positive impact on student's learning outcomes.

162 New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century - Contributions of Research in Education

Considering the fact that there is a tendency toward a greater amount of chaos in a large group of activities, administration and management issues should be of special relevance. In this sense, there should be a planning process of the activities before, during, and after the class [31], designing and communicating the activities in a way that all the educators involved

Special consideration should be given to the following aspects: recommended lectures, the use of ICTs as learning strategies, the promotion and engaging of student's autonomous motivation, and strategies that advocate toward the maintenance of appropriate student behavior during class [32]. Finally, the evaluation of the educational process comes in two ways: the first one tallies to the direct feedback obtained by students, which is important as it reveals their own perception of the learning process, and, second, the evaluation of the accomplished learning outcomes, which should reveal in the most objective possible way the level of success and progress of the class in terms of the acquisition of intended learning outcomes at the end of the teaching-learning experience.

The concept of motivation has been related not only to behavioral outcomes such as student's successful academic performance in learning a subject but also to affective and cognitive educational outcomes [33]. Motivation, however, as postulated by the self-determination theory of motivation [34], is not a unitary concept and has been differentiated in two main quality types. Autonomous motivation, on the one hand, refers to one's intention to do something appealed by personal satisfaction obtained from the activity, or because of the relevance attributed to a particular activity, without external or internal pressures. In this sense when identifying an activity's value, it is more likely to experience willingness toward it. On the other hand, controlled motivation is understood as an external force that drives an individual toward an action whose ultimate purpose is to avoid punishment or obtain a specific reward from the process [33, 34]. Given the above, educators should encourage autonomous motivation in their students, and align student's expectations with the intended learning outcomes of the class, since they will be more motivated if they feel their teacher's care about their own expectations toward their learning process. In this sense, promoting autonomous motivation would make a consistently positive impact on student's learning outcomes despite the number of students [35].

The use of effective online teaching resources, meaning ICTs, has been facilitated to overcome the intrinsic challenges of large group activities, thus making the large class format more efficient and important for learners [6]. Salmon [36] mentions four benefits contributed by

**2.5. The effective use of information and communications technology**

**2.3. Classroom management**

have clarity on the process methodology.

**2.4. Students' motivation and commitment**

online educational resources:


These aspects not only endeavors reflection, sense of community, and collaboration [39] but also stands for a level of respect toward the individuality of each student's particular learning process and learning abilities, connecting the educators with the diversity contemplated in their class, favoring an integrative classroom environment.

The previous five factors are intrinsically related; hence, they should be always considered in the planification and design of large group activities in order to obtain better learning outcomes. As an example of these, ICTs should be considered as useful tools when designing active learning strategies, as they open possibilities toward integration of a wider range of learning methods, more suitable for the diversity of students found in massive classes. In this sense, to allow a spectrum of learning possibilities stands for a highly appreciated value among students, which is the knowledge educators have about the human component of their classes, who are they, what is the specific cultural and socioeconomic background, how heterogeneous the group is, what are their particular strengths and difficulties when facing a new educational challenge, what they hope to accomplish taking that class, and what are their motivations and aspirations toward the future. The previous shows interest and commitment from the educator toward their students, boosting student-teacher interactions as it shifts from being distant and vertical in the anonymity of a massive group activity toward a more personal level, where the students feel heard in a context of integration of their differences, advocating for students' motivation and commitment. This sounds like a task highly ambitious and almost impossible to accomplish, which is why classroom management plays a crucial role, as it is extremely difficult to get to know each student and assure their active participation in the class without a well-designed strategy. The use of ICTs appears here again playing an essential role allowing organization of students in smaller groups according to their particular interests, enabling feedback before, during, and after the class, and monitorization of the level of interest and participation. To sum up, after analyzing each of the five described components, it is possible to state that they cannot be isolated as separate strategies, as they are related in a way that makes it hard to think about one of them without considering the others.
