<p>My apologies, charlesives, perhaps I mistated my point slightly. I do think that there are mechanical issues that make a larger class difficult to run, but perhaps the issue is that it’s harder to make ensure students have the opportunity to learn in monster classes. Too easy to get lost in the crowd. </p>
<p>I’ve taught in limited ways in both situtations. I admit it’s a nice illusion when things are structured well in the large environment and you assume everying’s going to go by plan and there’s really little or no need for an actually human at the front of the room (just kidding ;)). The smaller setting is just as easy to manage, in my experience, perhaps easier. You can have as much structure as you want and dealing with questions (or in my case, planning to provoke them) or managing over/under quiet students is just a skill like any other skill. I agree small can take different skills, but I found the ones required well within the norm of what effective teachers in any environment can command and much more rewarding for both students and teachers.</p>