Today's large classes pose challenges for the most experienced lecturers yet even those quite new to teaching are expected to work with large groups (Lantz Smith and Branney 2008). While some lecturers enjoy large groups others note difficulties forming connections with students managing marking gauging understanding dealing with incivilities and finding ways to get students to pay attention. As for students while some say they enjoy large classes this may be because they find the anonymity safe (Gibbs and Jenkins 1992) rather than that they find the environment conducive to learning. Other students say that they do not like large classes highlighting difficulties in asking questions getting to know other students approaching lecturers and getting enough feedback on work (Gibbs and Jenkins 1992). Clearly lecturers and students have many concerns around large group teaching and while there are no easy answers this guide provides suggestions for large group teaching from research studies along with practical advice from experienced psychology lecturers.
