“Every interaction I have with students is going to be tailored to serve the multitude but still being watchful and mindful of the one,” Melissa Larson said.
On October 29, 2025, Melissa Larson, director of the School of Accountancy, and recipient of the 2025 General Education Professorship Award, presented at an Inspiring Teaching Workshop. Through her topic, “Surrounded by Multitudes, Focused on the One,” Larson shared her research findings on how to improve student performance in large enrollment courses, such as Accounting 200.
Larson opened by sharing her worries of first teaching Accounting 200. She was used to teaching small class sizes with students who were all enrolled in the accounting program. When Larson was asked to teach Accounting 200, a general education course of over 800 students, she felt overwhelmed.
“I remember one time thinking, somebody has surely done this before. Somebody has taught to multitudes and made a difference for the one,” Larson said. “And as I thought about that, I thought about the master teacher, our Savior, Jesus Christ. He went amongst the multitudes, but yet he still always had concern for the one.”
As Larson geared her classes towards focusing on the one, she worked with her colleagues to find different ways to improve student performance in Accounting 200. Starting with the first week of classes, Larson began:
- Having her course easily accessible
- Hosting an open house for the accounting lab
- Helping first-generation college students find resources
- Providing student athletes with resources
- Reaching out to students with accommodations
“The first week is exhausting. But for me, it sets the tone and the expectation for the rest of the semester,” Larson said. “I have less problems and less trouble trying to get students acclimated.”
Other ways Larson improved Accounting 200 were:
- Creating a remote TA lab
- Building a custom chat-bot for students to ask questions
- Providing weekly quizzes with unlimited attempts for students to retain content with low stress
- Contacting students who score low on quizzes to provide help
One of the biggest changes Larson and her colleagues have implemented in Accounting 200 is second- and third-chance exams. If students perform poorly on their first exam, they have the option to retake it a second and third time, with the score capped at 80 percent.
“The results of this, when we compared the semester where we didn't have it, and the year we implemented this policy, is students performed better in the course,” Larson said. “What's interesting is they performed better on their first attempt. They did better because it eliminated some of those high stakes and stress.”
Larson shared a few student experiences of how the second- and third-chance exam policy impacted their academic performance. Other students shared with Larson how the policy helped them learn the material better, relieved stress, and gave them hope of having another chance if they failed.
Larson showing the results from the second- and third-chance exam policy. Photo taken by Hannah Guevara.
Larson concluded with sharing how after implementing all those changes, enrollment has increased. They have more students taking Accounting 200 than ever before.
“I would say we're not done. We still think about it. We still pray about it,” Larson said. “I would just end with this scripture in Alma 26:37 ‘We see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land (or major) they may be in, Yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy and my great thanksgiving. Yea, I will give thanks unto God forever. Amen.’ That's my testimony as well.”
To learn more about Larson’s academic journey, read this article.
To view Larson’s slides from the workshop, click the link below.