Abstract
A mathematical model is presented for calculation of productivity (student credit hours per-full-time equivalent faculty) for combined lecture-laboratory-recitation courses. Analysis of computer-generated plots of productivity versus enrollment for typical combined lecture-lab courses leads to the following conclusions: (1) Productivity levels off rather than continuously increasing as enrollment increases, suggesting that large lecture sections cannot be justified. (2) The productivity increase with enrollment is not monotonic, but has a sawtooth appearance, suggesting that forbidden intervals of enrollment would maximize productivity. (3) In lab-optional courses, productivity is maximized by discouraging lab enrollment after the first lab section is filled.
The overall productivity of an instructional unit such as a department is shown to be calculable as the sum of course productivities, each multiplied by a weighting factor equal to the fraction of total teaching time devoted to that course.
Potential applications of the model to course and curriculum design are discussed. The effects on productivity of varying any of the parameters in the model—for example, lecture and lab contact and credit hours, lab capacity, average lecture size, and fraction of students taking the lab—can be quantitatively predicted.
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Schullery, S.E. Calculation of productivity of laboratory-type courses. Res High Educ 11, 3–11 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991393
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991393