Anthony,
Thank you for sharing your instructional experiences with us. Knowing that mini-lectures help to keep adult students engaged is going to be valuable to other instructors, especially those that are just starting out.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
As stated in your course , I teach more adult students and by keeping my lectures in the 10-15 window helps the student get more out of what I a about. I re-enforce what they have learned by a question and answer session that gets all of the class involved in the learning process
Use some of the students experiences and relate to it with lecture
Richard,
Good variety in your method. You are keeping your students engaged using this format throughout the duration of each class meeting.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Bob,
You approach to learning is a comprehensive and balanced one. You are providing your students a number of different learning options through your approaches. This way you will be targeting the different learning preferences at different times throughout the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Arthur,
Right you are. You are helping your students to "connect the dots" in terms of content and application.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I believe that knowing your material thoroughly and presenting it in a manner that is current and relative. Thats a combination that can't be beat.
Keep them to 15 to 20 minute mini-lectures to keep students attention up. Varying teaching styles using a combination of lecture, audio/video and hands on labs or problems solving exercises seems to work well also.
I study and do reserch in my lectures and then I apply real experience of my field to the lecture.
Lectures can be delivered effectively by remaining constantly aware of the variety of learners receiving the lecture. In preparing it, attention should be directed to attract and retain the interests of all unique learning styles that exist. Careful consideration of time frame of lecture, interspresed with hands on examples or demos can go a long way towards creating a dynamic, effective and interesting learning vehicle in the form of a lecture.
Knoweldge of the subject, how it will affect or be encountered by the students and sharing examples of that also bolsters attention and retention. The mix of listing facts with practical stories of field experience also keeps more people interested and listening to what is being presented. By providing examples in the form of hands on training aids, it appeals to the tactile learners who can utilize what they are hearing and what they are seeing to draw the connections they need to retain the information for future reference.
The one key element I will remain vigilant on is the relative short attention span of the average adult learner and structure lectures so that there is definitive changes in the flow at those scheduled intervals so that interest and retention is maximized and boredom and wandering minds are minimized.
The best to do a lecture in my opinion is to know your material and relate it to real world situations.
I believe you need to be prepared for delivering an effective lecture. The students pick up on things easily and will question you about it, so on needs to be prepared.
Peggy,
Great to hear! I know you are going to have fun using these techniques and your students are going to benefit from your efforts.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
After completing module 4, I plan now to revisit areas that I have not tried before. My favorite was the tree diagram! There were other very good ideas and tips that I would like to try out to keep myself and my class engaged in the content and ultimate goals.
I find when giving a lecture. You have to throw in questions that make the student think and respond. Sometimes you want the question to be on the negative side. That way the students will give back valid responses.
I prepare my lectures 6 weeks in advance. I also teach the student how to effectively take notes for each mod-class that I teach.
Dana,
You have to develop and refine a lecture technique that works for you and your students. It sounds like you have found this approach to be effective and efficient for you all so keep up the good work with it.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I try to keep the outlines simple. I don't put too much information on the powerpoint. It seems to overwelm some students. I hold questions until the end of lecture because sometimes the questions seem to confuse some of the students.
Delivery is in small sections and with question and answer session between sections.
When I lecture, it is only after I have went over my delivery several times. I do this to sharpen my technique and it also keeps the material fresh and gives the ability to answer questions without seeming to have to think about it. We are supposed to be the master of the subject nothing worse than tripping over a lecture. I keep finding new ways to deliver the subject to the students, the material does not change just the delivery.
Jerry
