Managing a Writing Class With an ‘Ideal’
Number of Students
Caecilia Tutyandari
What does ‘ideal’ mean? Generally, it refers to something
that everyone might want to have or obtain. However, the term ‘ideal’ is
relative. In a sense what is ‘ideal’ in one place might not be ‘ideal’ in
another place. In relation to a writing class, to have an ideal number of
students is something that most writing teachers expect since to teach writing
means to handle piles of students’ written work. So, what is the ideal number
of students for a writing class?
In my institution, to have about 25 students in one class of
writing seems to be ideal. Consequently, a teacher of a writing class should
have good strategies to manage the class so that the process of learning can be
effective. However, the number of students is not the only problem,
the teacher should also be able to manage the students who mostly seem
reluctant to get involved in class activities.
Cooperative learning is one strategy that I apply in my
writing class. This approach is not new and is far from innovative, but it
seems to be applicable and useful in a writing class, especially in a class
whose students are relatively passive. Pair work and group work are the most
frequent strategies that I apply in my class. There are some benefits to be
derived from these strategies.
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Tutyandari, C. (2004,
April). Managing a
writing class with an ‘ideal’ number of students. Paper presented at the RELC International Seminar on Approaches to
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