Managing Large Anatomy and Physiology Classrooms

As demand for Anatomy and Physiology education increases faster than construction projects and budgets, instructors are finding themselves in front of ever-growing classroom sizes. Teaching large classes presents a number of challenges, including planning the courses, navigating technical equipment, handling exams and student accommodations, or simply, managing the 'foot traffic' of our students. Minor issues in small classrooms can quickly become big problems in large classes. Instructors of large Anatomy and Physiology classes will want to consider these potential issues and craft plans to circumvent big problems before they occur. In this article, several experienced instructors with large semester enrollments (300 to 800 students) discuss strategies and practices for navigating large Anatomy and Physiology classes so that teaching these large sections might be enjoyable instead of burdensome.