As a music production tutor, I have been accustomed to teaching small to medium size classes. From the beginning of my teaching career, I have had classes of 15 to 25 students. Even if the cohort size was larger, it has always been defined by the room size of the resources available for the lectures. As all my classes have been based in the recording studio or a computer lab, the room capacity has always been the limit.
During one of our PGCert sessions, we discussed different size teaching scenarios. I realised that I had never taught a large-size class. But I have given sporadic lectures to large audiences but never led a complete unit or module to a large class.
Large group teaching can present some unique challenges, but with the right approach, it can also be a rewarding experience for you and your students. This made me ask myself, in which scenarios could a large-size class (30+ students) could be beneficial or appropriate in a Music Production course?
I thought of two potential scenarios where a large-size class could be beneficial or appropriate, with some concerns/disadvantages, in a Music Production course:
100% theory-based units: units in music business, industry, and music distribution. Popular music studies, music culture and research skills. But if any of those classes want to introduce critical listening into the curriculum, we could run into the problem of not having adequate space for listening.
Guest Lectures and Workshops: Hosting guest lectures and workshops from industry experts can be an excellent way to expose students to different perspectives and new methodologies in Music Production. A large-size class could be appropriate in this scenario, as it would provide an opportunity to invite more prominent industry professionals and accommodate a larger audience. On the other side, this would limit the workshops and lectures to be more theory or discussion-driven and less hands-on.
Those would be the only scenarios I could think of. All the other lectures that have a technical component in the curriculum or the learning process would be really difficult to have them in large groups. First, as mentioned before, the resources and room capacity; it’s really difficult to lead a 30+ class in a computer lab, and it’s pedagogically impractical to have so many students in a recording studio; we would be throwing hands-on learning down the drain.
Where possible, a large-size class can present unique advantages and challenges in Music Production teaching. Still, it can also be an opportunity to engage with a diverse and larger group of students and explore new teaching approaches. It must be accompanied by designing a well-structured curriculum thought for larger groups. Engaging students through hands-on activities and fostering peer learning and collaboration. Could it work in some of our units? Maybe. Would I like to teach creative technical classes in a bigger group? Definitely not. Would I like to take a theory-based class in a large group? I really don’t know, my approach to teaching is based on creative technologies, but it would be a good experience.