By, Edwardo Mojena
I keep it in variety, from lecturing then students will debate amongst each other, after I will do a tactical exercise on what we went over.
Hi John,
Good way to help everyone get settled into the course and feeling comfort. A smile or laugh really helps to set the stage for the upcoming class session.
Gary
Some ways that I believe an instructor can make their lectures more effective for students is to have them actively participate. Include them within the lectures by getting them directly involved. Ask questions and look to them for answers, have them reinstate parts of the lecture, create activites that correspond to the lecture, even allow the students to present some of the covered material, recite and repeat, and repeat and repeat, and repeat. I believe communication, participation and interaction is the key.
I like to start the class off with a joke or a funny story. During class I ask for student input for discussions. I try to adjust my lectures accordingly
Hi Tina,
Good way to connect all aspects of the course content to the lives of the students. This way they get both content and application.
Gary
After the lecture the students have a task they have to complete pertaining to the lecture. It maybe an out of class assignment. After the class, I e-mail the students a class agenda to reiterate what was taught in the class today,what to look forward to the next class period, and what assignments are due for the next class period.
Students e-mail me back and thank me.
Lectures can become very boring to a student if you do not involve them in the lecture. The techniques that I have used are first I have the Power Points on the portal, that way they can download the presentation and follow along on their computer, I also put stars on my Power Points to let them know this is material that will be on a test. The other technique I use is walk the room and ask them questions pertaining to the lecture. The response is great, even the quiet students open up.
Teaching medical terminology, I give examples to my students on experience working in the clinic. For example: the word dermatitis (a patient came to the Drs. office complaining of a itchy rash on her arms, the dr wrote in the patients chart the diagnose of dermatitis)
Have the material prepared and give a lot of examples to make sure the student understands. Plus, give life experience that is related to the course material ( if applicable)
Hi Clarence,
Good strategy. You are offering your students variety and change of pace which is important to keep them engaged.
Gary
Hi David,
Critical thinking is such an important part of learning. The more opportunities you can provide your students with such opportunities the better prepared they will be to be successful in their careers.
Gary
I change state in the room as much as possable to keep students awake and concentrating. Then come beck to the lecture after some other activity.
By incorporating critical thinking into the lecture you would be able to make the learning more effective. Give the students a situation that makes them use their critial thinking skills and they are more likely to remember the information the correct way.
Telling stories about yourself and your family can add to the rapport that you have created with the class.
A good way in preparing and delivering effective lectures is by providing discussion in class or dialogue between facilitator and students. This seems to be very effective. I tried powerpoint slides and noticed that learners are not as engaging or full participants in class.
Diana
Hi Harold,
This is a great way to share and reinforce knowledge acquisition for students. You are offering them a number of different ways to acquire the content and this is critical for them if they are going to see relevancy and application.
Gary
Hi Ralph,
I think you are going to see an increased engagement on the part of your students with the use of mini-lectures. Let me know how they work for you.
Gary
The most effective ways to maximize the students absorbsion of information in a lecture is to use annicdotal data, memory triggers and rythmic sayings that can be sung into memory - as in the case of stories turned to song from our childhood (Ring-around-the-rosey).... These and other memory triggers ease the understanding and aid in memorization of technical material (specifically)
Since I teach 3d development, the lessons are often 15 minutes a piece since each lesson unit is built on the previous one I have taken the habit of recording my voice and what I do on on my computer and present that in video form. This has several advantages for me such as being able to pause and expand the technical knowledge on certain lessons in the lecture as well as being able to show students one on one with problem solving solutions. Then at the end when the lesson is finished they can take a copy of my video home and apply the lesson to there own projects. I have found out that when returning to class there is more comprehension and less problems with the development of there own projects.
This technique may not work well with all class types however in classes that have a tactile core to them I have found it very helpful.
I like the concept of using mini lectures. It's something I need to try. I tend to use powerpoint to incorporate visual material to go with the information I am giving and try to elicit student discussion on questions related to the point I am talking about. But breaking the lectures into smaller units with discussion and activity is something I need to try.
