Jennifer, your post provides two interesting key topics. (1) Preparation is a key element to student success. The more we can provide to students so they can gain better insight into what will be taking place the more prepared students can become. (2) The focus on lectures is still way to high within higher education. The research on teaching and learning has brought forward the importance of engagement and student involvement. Lecturing is no longer the "best practice" approach. What are some ways you can begin exploring some of the more modern methods of student engagement and student involvement to assist students in learning the lessons in your lesson plans? Thanks for anything you can share and I am also interested in what others have to say about the topic of lecturing versus other methods of information delivery. James Jackson