Lecturing is the most used and abused method of teaching. For students, it can be a truly exciting learning and personal experience . . . or it can be boring and intellectually deadening. When used properly it is an excellent means of building a base of factual information, synthesizing points of view, providing an overview or conceptual framework, integrating experiences from diverse areas, and promoting enthusiasm and interest.
True -- all things cannot be taught by the lecture. True -- all teachers cannot use the method equally effectively. True -- students vary in how well they learn from the lecture. However, these statements can be made about any method or technique of instruction.
It cannot be denied that the lecturer "born with" charisma, wit, warmth, sparkle, and dynamic enthusiasm has a head start. Nonetheless, the fact remains that students are also motivated by organization, clarity of communication, scholarship, and good classroom management. These are qualities that any teacher can improve with effort and commitment.
Trying to learn too much, too fast, interferes with learning.
Most of what is learned during the lecture will be forgotten rapidly unless special effort is made to help retention.
Learning new information influences our perceptions of previous learning; previous learning and experiences constantly modify new learning.
Material that is meaningful to the learner is learned more quickly and retained longer.
Seeing the organization, structure, and relationships of new material is crucial to learning and retention.
Verbal repetition, rehearsal, and imaging aid short- and long-term memory.
Students learn better when they know how well they've done so far; the more immediate and positive this feedback is, the better.
Motivation is at least as important as intelligence, peer influence and teaching in college student learning.
Using some type of visual information along with the verbal presentation more than doubles the learning.
Maintaining attention may be the most crucial task of the lecturer.
Attention and learning are best during the first third of an hour lecture and poorest during the middle third.
A break or change in activity near the middle of an hour learning sequence raises the learning efficiency of the total period.
Learning is influenced by physical comfort, size and shape of the room, and where the student sits in the room.
Lecturing requires very careful and thoughtful preparation.
Presentation, though varied from person to person, demands the same care and thoughtful considerations as preparing.
Don't waste the first 10 minutes - this is when you establish a set for what will follow.
Focus attention on the selected key points of the presentation and anchor these to previous learning and experience.
Every key point in a lecture should be reinforced with an example, illustration, or application.
Plan some student participation activities in every lecture.
Use visuals, handouts, demonstrations, pre-reading, homework, and questioning. These encourage thinking, promote attitude change, help maintain attention, and help you communicate clearly.
Constantly remind yourself that each student has unique background experiences, needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles. To be effective, teaching must reach out and touch these differences.
It is absolutely essential to have at least one rest, break, or major change in a 50 minute lecture session.
Showing your own enthusiasm and excitement stimulates students to want to learn. You can do this in various ways but you cannot fake it.
Content must be relevant to student needs, interests, background, experiences and current world to really be accepted as important.
Concentrate on clear communication, at the appropriate level for the learners involved. This is perhaps the most critical issue in lecturing.
Be aware that everything you do in the classroom communicates a message to the students. Make sure your non-verbal cues do not negate the verbal messages.
Learn to read students' non-verbal and verbal evaluations of your performance. Both will help you improve.
Solicit feedback on your lecture performance from peers, students,
superiors, and professional developers. Add this to self-evaluation
and you will have a sound basis for improvement.