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Section
Contents
Ethics
in Teaching
Lecturing
Presentation Suggestions
Learning Technologies
Dealing With Difficult Group Members
Using Concept Maps
Information Seeking Skills
Evaluating Web Sites
Writing-to-Learn |
Lecturing
(Source: Adapted from Davidson & Ambrose, 'The New Professor's Handbook,'
1994)
On occasion, TAs have the opportunity to interact with the class as a
whole. If you're presented with such an opportunity, we encourage you
to consider using many of the active learning techniques discussed elsewhere
in the TA Handbook. You may also wish to consider using a traditional
lecture approach for at least part of the class time. The following section
outlines key points to keep in mind when planning an effective lecture.
Set Objectives for the Lecture
What are the 4/5 main points you want to get across during your lecture?
State the purpose of the lecture and the main points you are going to
cover. This helps the students know where they're heading and how to organize
new ideas. Having set objectives helps both you and your students evaluate
the lecture.
Assess the Audience
Knowing whom your students are and what they are bringing with them to
class will help you to design the format and content of your lecture.
Some questions to ask yourself of your students:
- How large is the group?
- What are the backgrounds of the students? (e.g., year in school, major,
previous education and work experience).
- Is ability expected to be evenly distributed, or might there be a
skewed or bimodal distribution?
- Are the students required to take this course or have they elected
to do so?
- What do the students hope to gain from the course?
- What prerequisites or other related courses have the students had?
- What was included in these related courses? (It would be helpful to
obtain a syllabus or talk with the instructors.)
- Will students be taking related courses simultaneous to this one?
Organize your lecture
Common advice for any talk or presentation is first you tell them what
you're going to say, then you say it, then you tell them what you've said.
- What you are going to say? Introduction: grab the students'
attention by making a comment on the previous lecture, asking a provocative
question, or reading a related newspaper article. Once the students
are listening, tell them the purpose or objective of the day's lecture
and what the key ideas are that you will be discussing what you
want them to get out of it.
- Say it Body: the key points of the lecture should be logically
arranged in a scheme that is most appropriate to the material (Carlile
and Daniel,1987).
- You should also keep in mind the working level of the student and
the diversity of the group in terms of language and cultural experience.
Attempt to use relevant examples, metaphors, and comparisons to link
different pieces of your lecture together.
- Say it again conclusion: this is your opportunity to tie all
of the pieces back together again, to answer the question you posed
at the beginning, or to pose a new question based on what they just
learned.
Evaluation
Use the objectives you outlined at the beginning of your lecture to check
your effectiveness how did you feel about the class, what did your
students get out of the lecture (one-minute paper, questionnaire)? Consider
having a colleague sit in on your lecture and give you feedback on your
performance.
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