Episode 31: Maximizing Impact: Effective Strategies for Large Lectures

A conversation with the authors: Laura Schmidli & Molly Harris

In this Article Remix, IDC team members Laura Schmidli and Molly Harris chat about their recent L&S Design for Learning article “Maximizing Impact: Effective Strategies for Large Lectures.” They share examples from their research and from L&S instructors for fostering belonging, engaging students, and promoting learning in a large course environment. How might you embrace the challenges of a lecture hall and turn numbers into an asset?

See the transcript for this episode.

The L&S Exchange Podcast is brought to you by L&S Teaching & Learning Administration and produced by the Instructional Design Collaborative. This podcast is recorded on ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place their nation has called Teejop (day-JOPE) since time immemorial.

How did this episode make you think? What’s on your mind about inclusive teaching? Respond to a poll using the Spotify app on your mobile device, reply with a comment at the bottom of this post, or send us an email. We may ask to feature your contribution in this or a future episode.

Conversation Starters

1. Which example(s) resonated with you most in this episode?
2. What do you find most challenging about teaching in a large lecture environment?
3. What advantages do you see within the large lecture environment?
4. Do you currently use a tool like TopHat for in-class interaction or feedback? If so, how do you use it? If not, what is one way you might use this tool?

Further Listening

Throughout this episode, we brought in insights from previous L&S Exchange guests. Find links to the full conversations below!

• Melissa Lindsey in E10: The First Day of Class
• Emily Hall in E9: Writing Across the Curriculum in the Age of AI
• Tony Chambers in E5: Extended Interview
• Greg Downey in E22: Building a Reservoir of Trust: Early Semester Tips

Production Credits