This is because the students themselves are in the process of adjusting to teaching and learning at the university which is quite different to that of studying at the secondary level. The students are in the process of learning study skills suitable for meeting the challenges of university education in terms of acquiring information skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills and learning to take responsibility for their learning as independent learners. There are several challenges in teaching a very large class of first year students. The foremost of which is the problem of student anonymity in the classroom. Student-lecturer contact and interaction is minimised when the class size is large.
Interaction is essential in any teaching students irrespective of any class size or year of study.
Interaction with students inside and outside of the classroom is important in endeavouring to breakdown the feeling of insignificance and anonymity. In very large classes, the lecturers cannot provide individual assistance to students and there could be large numbers of students who need help but cannot access it. Teaching large classes also involves a greater amount of preparation for teaching including preparation of the teaching material and handouts. Careful planning of the lecture and its delivery is essential for efficient teaching of a large class, particularly if one is planning to get involvement and interaction among the students. All activities to be conducted in the classroom have to be carefully planned.