I have been in many lectures over the years and I have seen my fair share of good ones and bad ones. The ones that I enjoyed most stood above the others because of the enthusiasm of the lecturer. Along with this enthusiasm comes a majority of the ideas laid forth in Lang’s On Course text and Davis’ Tools for Teaching text. It seems that when the instructor appears excited about what they are teaching, they incorporate a variety of ways in which to grab the audience. However, when the instructor had seemed bored, I felt bored along with them. In fact, I have had instructors that would cut their lectures short because they was bored by topics outside their specialty. I actually got a lower grades in courses with instructors that apparently did not enjoy the material.
Had the ineffective lectures incorporated ideas presented by Lang and Davis, the lectures could have been salvaged. For example, if the lecturers would have created a sense of community, as Davis suggests, the class may have contributed more to the conversation and she/he might have had a re-invigorated appreciation for the material. Furthermore, as both authors suggest, had these lecturers used relatable examples, aside from just using the ones from the textbook, the students may have related to the material more. That is something that Lang touched on quite nicely. There is no need to regurgitate the entire book, since the students have the ability to read. Another issue, based on the last, that could have been fixed, would be for them to know the audience. Numerous times I have had lecturers teaching introductory courses during summer sessions that typically teach advanced undergraduate or graduate courses and did not change the way they presented the information. Had they used a less jargon and scientific conversational style, the material would have been more understandable and thus more engaging.
My advisor has told me a number of times that I have a good speaking style and that I am relatable, but that I tend to go too fast, cover too much material, and assume that everyone already knows what I know. Therefore, while I have my speaking skills handled, I can apply some of the things the authors suggest, to strengthen my weak points. Both authors mention covering 3-5 major points during a lecture. I think keeping this in mind will help me with the issue of covering too much material and also being too fast. During past talks, I have typically had to rush through my topics because I tried to fit too much in and the main points get lost in the material. Finally, understanding that I know more about my topic than most students will make me take time explaining the basics. This should help me from going over the audiences' head and losing them altogether. When an audience is lost, the lecture will lose all effectiveness.
I also worry that I will speak above my students’ heads. One strategy I plan to employ is to frequently reflect on my own undergraduate learning experiences. This is similar to a couple points that Davis made (e.g., empathize with beginners). But to expand upon Davis, when constructing lesson plans I will try to remember how I first learned the material that I will be teaching: Did I read it in a text book? Did I read it in an empirical journal article? Did a teacher explain it to me? Did I learn it from my personal experience conducting research since I was a graduate student? Did I understand it the first time I tried to learn it? Once I learned it, did I forget it and have to relearn it? I think keeping the answers to these questions in mind should help explain course material to novice students.
ReplyDeleteI have also had people tell me that I tend to go too fast and try to cover too much material. In my case, I think that these traits may often be a function of presenting short, single session, lessons as compared to having your own class for an entire semester. Lang touched on a few points that I will take into consideration, though. As you mentioned, keeping the lecture centered around 3-5 concepts or ideas seems like a concrete way to prevent crushing students with too much information. Also, instead of rushing through any uncovered material, Lang suggests to simply finish the lecture. When and if this did happen, it may be helpful to post online notes for any uncovered materials.
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