Students soak up knowledge in one of Wescoe’s large auditoriums.
“Terrifying,” says Barbara Barnett, assistant professor of journalism. “There are more people in the room than in the town I grew up in, and you notice when students are not paying attention.”
Despite such uneasiness, Barnett, who teaches Media and Society in Budig 110, says there are perks to teaching such a big class. Because students often feel anonymous, they offer better feedback about what works, what doesn’t and what changes should be made to a class. But, because students feel anonymous, they also do things that are completely inappropriate in a classroom setting.
“I’ve often had cell phone conversations going on during class,” Barnett says. “I took a cell phone away from one girl and she seemed so surprised. That’s always unpleasant.”
Barnett says teaching a large class gets better with time, though. She first taught the class five years ago, and at that point, she says she hated it and thought, “It isn’t teaching, it’s herding.” But after her first semester, she took workshops and learned how to better interact with students.
“When things go right, it’s a great feeling,” says Ray Pence, who teaches American Identities in one of Wescoe’s large halls. “But when they don’t go so well, things are magnified, too.”
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