{"id":13108,"date":"2013-02-15t08:00:56","date_gmt":"2013-02-15t13:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/?p=13108"},"modified":"2013-01-28t12:31:57","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28t17:31:57","slug":"ask-professor-pedagogy-tips-for-engaging-lectures-in-large-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.imrbdigital.com\/2013\/02\/ask-professor-pedagogy-tips-for-engaging-lectures-in-large-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"ask professor pedagogy: tips for engaging lectures in large classes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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ask professor pedagogy<\/strong> is a twice monthly advice column written by 2022年世界杯中国小组赛积分 staff. one aspect of our mission is to cultivate dialogue about teaching and learning, so we welcome questions and concerns that arise in the classroom; particularly those from vanderbilt faculty, students, and staff. if you have a question that you’d like professor p to address, please send it to us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

dear professor p:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

i\u2019m taing a large lecture class (about 150).\u00a0 most of the time my fellow tas and i grade and lead discussion groups, but in a couple of weeks, my professor is out of town and i will be giving one of the large group lectures.\u00a0 i haven\u2019t lectured before and am really nervous.\u00a0 also, i sometimes see students falling asleep or playing games on their computers when the professor lectures and i suspect they\u2019re not always getting much out of the lectures.\u00a0 what can i do to keep the students awake and engaged in my lecture? they\u2019ll be tested over the material and i want to make sure they understand it.\u00a0 i haven\u2019t done much public speaking before and am getting anxious about this lecture<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

learning to lecture<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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dear learning to lecture:<\/p>\n

you are not alone! a lot of people get nervous speaking in front of large groups of people.\u00a0 it\u2019s great that you\u2019re already trying to think of ways to encourage student learning in your lecture.\u00a0 the good news is there are many ways to alleviate those fears, to assess what students are learning during a lecture, and to take some pressure off yourself.\u00a0 here are few things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n

15-20 rule.<\/strong>
\nno matter how well intentioned, students often lose focus about 15-20 minutes into the lecture and again 10-15 minutes after that.\u00a0 when you plan your classes, add an activity that shifts attention.\u00a0 use the 20 minute attention span as a rule of thumb: in a 50 minute lecture, use one change up in the middle; in a 75 minute lecture, use two.\u00a0\u00a0 you can use a variety of techniques as this \u201cchange-up\u201d to help up assess what the students understand, what needs more clarification, give the students a change to practice, or to help drive home a particular point. \u00a0(the \u201cchange-up\u201d in lectures<\/em>, by joan middendorf & alan kalish)<\/p>\n

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be confident in your knowledge, but don\u2019t make stuff up.<\/strong>
\nas the ta, you know more about this material than the students do. \u00a0be sure to make your content clear, but do not \u201cdumb it down.\u201d \u00a0if a student asks a question you can\u2019t answer, don\u2019t panic.\u00a0 if you can, ask them to speculate on the answer given the material you\u2019ve just presented (or other course material).\u00a0 this gives them a chance to think through the answer while applying course material.\u00a0 even if they do not come up with an answer, they\u2019re still practicing course material.\u00a0 you could also speculate in the same way, but make it clear that you\u2019re speculating: \u201cwell, given that we know x, and y happens in this type of situation, i suspect that z is the answer.\u201d\u00a0 if you don\u2019t feel comfortable speculating (and even if you do), be sure to admit that you do not know the answer and that you can look it up and get back to them. students can almost always tell when you\u2019re making up your answer and will appreciate your honesty.\u00a0 also, by telling them that you\u2019ll get back to them with an answer, you demonstrate your interest in the material and in their education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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you might also be interested in our upcoming events on\u00a0teaching large classes: <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n