Effective Lecturing Facilitated by Dr Kate Exley Overview

Effective Lecturing Facilitated by Dr Kate Exley

Overview n Introduction n n n Purposes - Why do use ‘lecture’style teaching? What are the important features of a large group session? Selecting and structuring the content Interaction in lectures Delivery and managing the process Final remarks

What has changed?

Why Lecture? n History n n n Traveling scholars seeking rare information Scholars would copy word for word Derived from the Latin - Lectare - “to read out loud” …. transmission model. (picture University of Bologna 12 th Century)

Why Lecture? n n n n Consistency Efficiency Community ? ? ? Please add 3 other reasons?

The Lecture format (adapted from work by Noel Entwistle) v Coverage x n Map n Illustration n Attention span concerns n The Lecture as a communication v Detailed information x

Holding attention in Lectures "Extensive exposure to television and video games may promote development of brain systems that scan and shift attention at the expense of those that focus attention. ” Peter Jenson

The Lecture as a communication Lecturer Giving out Student Receiving Student Acting upon

Practical Focus 1. Selecting and structuring content 2. Devising engaging tasks for learners 3. Delivery and managing the process

1. Selecting Content Must Should Could

Structuring Content 2. Sequencing material (Baume) Develop your lecture moving from the : n n Simple Big picture Concrete Practice to to Complex Detail Abstract Theory

3. Common Lecture Structures George Brown n n Classical Problem centred Comparative Serialistic Progressive - story telling

Classical n n n Introduction Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Conclusion

Problem-centred n n n Introduction - description of the problem Strategy / alternative 1 Strategy / alternative 2 Strategy / alternative 3 Conclusion - “I am taking approach 3…”

Comparative n n n Introduction - comparing A and B Comparison of feature 1 Comparison of feature 2 Comparison of feature 3 Summary

Serialistic n n n Introduction A, then A goes to B B, then B goes to C C, then C goes to D Etc Final remarks

Progressive - story telling Personal connection n Setting the scene n Unfolding the narrative n Concluding the story n Emphasising learning points (Care - can appear unstructured) n

Why have ‘interaction’ n n n n n To keep attention To check understanding Try things out in practice To compare different views Feedback to the lecturer Accommodate diversity Foster Deep learning Give the lecturer a minute etc

Why have ‘interaction’ e. g. from literature Mulligan, D. and Kirkpatrick, A. (2000) How much do they understand? Lectures, students and comprehension, HE Research and Development, 19 p 311 -335 Steinert, Y. and Snell, LS (1999) Interactive Lecturing : Strategies for increasing participation in large group presenations, Medical Teacher 21, p 37 -42 Stuart, J. and Rutherford, R. J. D. (1978) Medical Student Concentration during Lectures, The Lancet, 312, P 514 -516

The debate… (Educationally aware Staff and Learning (not just activity) breaks needed to see results) e. g. Andrews, T. M. et al (2011) Active Learning Not Associated with Student Learning in a Random Sample of College Biology Courses. Cell Biology Education – Life Sciences Education, 10, P 394 -405 http: //www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC 3228657/ Butler and Dee (2013) Active Learning Requires Learning – Not just activity, 120 th American Soc. for Engineering Education Conference and Exposition, Atlanta, USA http: //www. rosehulman. edu/media/1011238/ASEE_Active_Learning_Revised _2. pdf

Some suggestions n n n n n Buzz groups Mini-quizzes Deciding, e. g. voting Individual tasks Demonstrations Video & other Visuals Interactive handouts Instant summaries etc

Handouts n n Power. Point slides Skeleton notes Gapped handouts Interactive handouts

Quick tasks in handouts e. g. n n n n Answer a question or problem Set a question Represent information differently (e. g. graph) Order, prioritise, sequence, ideas or concepts Estimate, predict, classify, justify an outcome Draw and label diagrams Complete the table etc Find an example of. .

Handout Tasks - Example 1 Please work with 2 colleagues to Please work in pairs n n List the most important points in the points lecture from List the 3 three most important the lecture. Why have you selected these points? Why have you selected these points

Handout Tasks Example 2 Please workwith 2 three colleagues to Please colleagues to n n 1. Describe the symptoms of a cat with a kidney infection List the three most important points from the 2. lecture. How might you test for this? Why have you selected these points 3. What treatment would you prescribe?

Handout Task - Example 3. Please work on your own for 2 minutes 1. Plot the given data on the graph provided 2. Identify the point of intersection 3. What does this tell you about consumer preferences

Handout Task - Example 4. Read the extract provided (interview with parent) and discuss with a colleague 1. What are the main fears this mother expresses about her child starting school? 2. As a class teacher, how could you address her concerns? 3. What School policies/practices could reduce her worries?

Handout Task – Example 5. n 1. In pairs discuss What are the 3 most common skills asked for in graduate job adverts? ------- 2. Explain how your course has helped you to develop one of these skills 3. Explain how you developed one of these skills through your extra-curricula interests & activities?

The practicalities n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it.

The practicalities n n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it. How will they work?

The practicalities n n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it. How will they work? n n n Alone or in pairs? For how long? When in the lecture will the interaction be? Will everybody do the same thing? Etc What CLEAR instructions will you give to your students

The practicalities n n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it. How will they work? n n n Alone or in pairs? For how long? & when in the lecture? What will the end point be?

The practicalities n n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it. How will they work? n n n Alone or in pairs? For how long? & when in the lecture? What will the end point be? n An answer? A decision? An example? etc

The practicalities n n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it. How will they work? n n n What will the end point be? n n Alone or in pairs? For how long? & when in the lecture? An answer? A decision? An example? etc Do you need to hear back from the students?

The practicalities n n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it. How will they work? n n n What will the end point be? n n Alone or in pairs? For how long? & when in the lecture? An answer? A decision? An example? etc Do you need to hear back from the students? n No? (I will show them the answer. )

The practicalities n n Know why you want students to ‘do’ it. How will they work? n n n What will the end point be? n n An answer? A decision? An example? etc Do you need to hear back from the students? n n Alone or in pairs? For how long? & when in the lecture? No? (I will show them the answer. ) But if you do, how will you manage that?

The Big Problem is. . Students don’t want to answer questions and talk to you, in Lectures

Encouraging students to take an active part n n n n n Provide ‘low stress’ thinking time Give non-verbal cues to show this isn’t a rhetorical question! Write up the question Model an answer Start a list. . Get them to write before speaking Clearly value the answers you do get Buzz groups Pyramids etc

Alternative approaches for getting student responses n n n n Voting and reverse voting Nominated spokesperson True/False, Yes/No cards Acetate sheets to display written response Quick posters Roving reporter! Electronic response handsets

Using electronic handsets n n n Distribute a handset to each student Receiver attached to pc Design ‘MCQ’ style questions in ‘Power. Point’ style software Students can respond anonymously The distribution of responses can be displayed visually in a variety of formats How have/could you use these in your sessions?

Evidence for practice e. g. s n n Patterson, B. et al, (2010) Evidence for teaching practice : The impact of clickers in a large classroom environment. Nurse Education Today, 30, P 603 -607 Mayer, R. E. et al (2009) Clickers in college classrooms: Fostering Learning with questioning methods in large lecture classes, Contemporary Educational Psychology 34, p 51 -64

Quick re-cap n To be clear about n n Consider how you can n n What you are trying to achieve? Use questions and tasks to encourage active learning Plan any interaction / activity thoughtfully Use a range of approaches to maximise participation e. g. interactive handouts Have a go and review

To find out more “Giving a Lecture : from presenting to teaching” Kate Exley & Reg Dennick 2 nd edition (2009) Key Guides for Effective Teaching in Higher Education Routledge. Falmer : London