LECTURE SKILLS

PRESENTATION SKILLS

Almost all teachers and teaching assistants will need to lecture some of the time. An effective lecture can stimulate and involve students; however, a boring, poorly planned lecture becomes another requirement through which students must suffer. Lectures are useless as a learning tool if students do not pay attention during them. While some assume that lecturing is easy, effective teachers realize that lecturing well is often difficult and time-consuming. Planning an effective lecture, one that conveys information and captures student interest, involves analyzing both the subject matter and the learning styles of the students. Because they place students in a more active role, informal lectures that assume a conversational tone often are more effective in promoting student learning than formal lectures. The following suggestions work equally as well in large and small classrooms.

Lecture Skills

PLAN AHEAD.

 Let students know as far in advance as possible which class periods will consist of lectures. Students who know what format class will take can prepare themselves mentally for the role appropriate to that format. Since effective instructors remain flexible in their approaches to student learning, sometimes they must quickly or unexpectedly alter their teaching methods to meet their students' needs. Students will respect teachers who plan ahead and, if necessary, clearly communicate the reasons for any changes that might occur.
 

Each time you choose to present a lecture, explain to your students why the lecture format is suitable for that particular class meeting. In order to show students that you value their input, allow opportunities for your students to suggest possible lecture topics, justify their choices, and write questions they have about the topics as a homework assignment. Incorporating well-organized and thorough student plans for lectures and explaining why you chose particular topics will encourage them to evaluate the lecture process and to participate during lectures. Always prepare other material or an additional activity in case your lecture is shorter than you intended. Students will become bored if you try to draw out material you already have discussed at length. Some suggestions for discussion questions you could use here are: "What do you make of all this? How does what I've said today fit with the material we've already discussed? With what you read in the textbook(s)? What new questions does the lecture raise?"

An effective tool to check how your lecture has been received is the "1 minute paper": save the last 5 minutes of the class period for students to write down their reactions to difficulties with or questions about what you have said to turn in to you before they leave. Use this information to diagnose misunderstandings or clear up misunderstandings in the next session.
 

EXPLAIN AND MODEL FOR STUDENTS HOW TO BEHAVE DURING A LECTURE.

Teachers should tell students that they are expected to ask and answer questions and also state when questions are appropriate. For example, some instructors prefer students to hold their questions until after the topic is covered. Others, however, use a more conversational approach in which they encourage students to raise questions at any time during the lecture.
 

If you wish students to hold their questions until after you make certain points, tell them to write their questions down as they think of them. To insure that everyone actively participates in your lectures, have each student write at least two questions during your lectures and ask them to share their thoughts. Do not wait for volunteers; try to call on as many students as possible. You might write some of their questions on the board and discuss which questions are similar. Student questions can reveal how successfully you conveyed information and can help you determine the material on which you need to focus.
 

Because students do not trust their ability to judge which parts of a lecture contain crucial information, they often attempt to copy word for word an entire lecture. Unfortunately, frantically scribbling notes inhibits their ability to engage with the material and to formulate questions.
 

Emphasize key points for your students (e.g., You will need to know these three steps in the order in which I have presented them.) So that your students can focus on listening rather than copying definitions, hand out a glossary, put specialized terms on the board, or explain special terms in a way they can understand and remember. To help your students develop effective listening skills, occasionally ask them to listen to your lectures without taking notes. Then, have them individually or collectively summarize the main points of your lecture. If they are hesitant because they think they might miss crucial information, tell them that you will fill in any gaps in their summary. Those students who write down every word their teachers say are the same people who use magic markers to highlight entire pages in their text rather than a few key passages. You can help these students reduce their study time and also enjoy their class time if you show them how to determine key points in the material you present.
 

Most importantly, students need to know what teachers expect them to learn from lectures. Before each lecture, teachers should clearly state orally and write on the board, chart, or transparency the specific behavioral objective(s) they wish students to meet. Effectively stated behavioral objectives contain three ingredients: the acceptable performance (end behavior), the conditions in which the behavior will be demonstrated (observed by the teacher), and the level of performance expected (primarily for evaluation purposes).
 

When preparing your instructional objectives, you should ask yourself the primary question, "How should the learner indicate that the objective has been achieved?" In other words, what will the student be able to do as a result of the learning experience? The best objective is one that is open to the fewest interpretations. If you are lecturing on Housman's poetry, for example, your objective might read: The student will discuss how Housman's poems treat the transience of life and the inevitability of death, or, The student will compare and contrast the rhythm and meter in Housman's "When I Was One and Twenty" and Hopkins' "Pied Beauty." If you are lecturing on photosynthesis, your objective might be: Explain why a high percentage of photosynthesis occurs in the ocean and state what organisms make this possible, or, State the probable origin of the chloroplast in the higher plants, or, State the probable origin of the chloroplast in the higher plants, or, Explain the role of chlorophyll in photosynthesis.
 

DECIDE ON THREE OR FOUR KEY POINTS

To cover and organize material around these themes. Students need a clear framework based on some major themes in order to grasp and retrieve the ideas. Relating points to an outline and summarizing frequently can help students organize their thinking about the topic and see how different parts of the class are connected.
 

Provide a written as well as an oral outline of your lecture. To insure that your students are paying attention, ask them to summarize the points you have made so far in the lecture. Make sure that you encourage your students to discuss the common thread that runs throughout your lectures. Ask them to determine the relationship between your current lecture and your former lectures.
 

DEVELOP ILLUSTRATIONS, STORIES, EXAMPLES, AUDIOVISUALS for major learning points. Restate the point after the example or illustration (e.g., tell a story about a nursery school teacher and a one year old to illustrate a point in child development).
 

Use examples to which your students can relate. (Telling a story about graduate school probably will not appeal to students who are undergraduates.) If you are lecturing on why a certain skill is important, bring in evidence to which your students can relate. For example, if you are explaining that most jobs require effective writing skills, bring in a wide variety of classifieds that emphasize written communication ability. Do not expect your students to rely solely on your word.
 

CAPTURE STUDENT INTEREST in the beginning of the lecture. Read a powerful quotation, state a question that will be answered in the lecture or a strong generalization which contradicts common thought, introduce puzzling facts, tell a personal anecdote, give an example, tell a joke, or do a demonstration. Plan to set the stage by telling students what will be covered in that class session (e.g., "How many of you drank a soda this week? What did you do with the can? Today we will be talking about the economic impact of recycling").
 

 

 

PACE LECTURES in 15-20 minute segments. Doing the same thing for more than 20 minutes without a change of pace or transition causes students to tune out and lose interest. Instructors do not need to be entertainers, but they do need to change their pace at regular intervals.
 

Punctuate your lectures with rhetorical questions, vivid examples, or demonstrations. Pace-changing transitions often occur easily if you link them to the presentation of your three or four key points. See the section on student involvement for suggestions on how to keep students actively involved in the lecture. (Caution: Too many changes can make the material confusing.)
 

DEVELOP A GOOD SUMMARY of major learning points at the end of the lecture and connect those with what is coming next.
 

You can encourage your students to participate by asking them to summarize for you (e.g., "Robert, state one of the key points we have been discussing today." "Jennifer, can you add to Robert's thoughts?)".
 

DEVELOP AUDIOVISUAL AIDS and use instructional technologies to support the interactive lecture

Presentation Skills

In order to present an effective lecture, a teacher not only must prepare effective examples and illustrations but also must use a stimulating style of delivery. Students will not listen to even the most carefully planned lectures if they do not find the teacher's delivery style appealing. Stimulating teachers find ways to present material that keep students interested.

MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT with the class. Eye contact captures student attention. Also, it allows the faculty member to observe student body language so that a sudden increase in doodling or increase in whispering can be used as a signal that the teacher needs to stop and ask for questions. Eye contact is one reason why reading lectures is ineffective.

VARY VOCAL TONE, GESTURES, SPEED OF TALKING, AND POSITION IN THE ROOM. Pauses or changes in voice tone for emphasis can keep students involved. Walking around the room to make eye contact with those in the back helps to capture their attention.
 

When you do and say everything in the same tone and manner, your students might not be able to pay attention, even if the subject matter is interesting.
 

BE ENTHUSIASTIC. Inexperienced teachers may have difficulty displaying enthusiasm without feeling like they are being insincere. They might wonder whether their attempts at enthusiasm seem forced. However, effective teachers consistently show interest in and enthusiasm for both their subject matter and their students.
 

Remember that your attitude toward the class sets the tone for your students. If you come in and say, "Okay, let's get this over with. I know it will be boring, but we have to get this done," your students will live up to the expectations you have set for them. They will be bored. Try to remember what made you like the subject you are teaching and share your interest with your students.
 

AVOID DISTRACTING GESTURES. A faculty member who clears his or her throat after every sentence or jiggles keys or coins in their pockets can be distracting to students.
 

Remember that clothing also can be distracting. If you wear clothes that are uncomfortable your students will sense your uneasiness.
 

GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR PRESENTATION. Even experienced teachers need to reevaluate their presentation skills periodically. Audiotaping and/or videotaping can reveal how teachers come across to their students.