Teaching in the Lecture Theatre Or teaching to large groups

Neil Currant, Academic Development Advisor, LDU

n.currant@salford.ac.uk

Session Outline

Expectations Starting Points – Definitions etc. Practical Ideas

Learning Outcomes

To have an understanding of the basic principles of working in a lecture room.

To have resources which you can follow up to learn more.

To have some ideas of how to push the boundaries of your current practice.

What messages does the lecture room give?

To learn is to acquire information Information is scarce and hard to find Trust authority for good information Authorized information is beyond

discussion Obey the authorityFrom Wesch (2009) ALT-C Keynote

What comes to mind when thinking of teaching a large group lecture?

Notes:

Definitions

What do we mean by large group? Over 30 = , over 50 = , over 100 =

The number which places a constraint on what we think we can do? My own comfort

The number which places a constraint on the types of activity we can do? What is actually possible.

Definitions

What do we mean by lecture? Write you definition on a piece of paper. The way we deliver? The content we deliver? The physical space we are in? Can it be whatever you want it to be?

Delivery

“The classroom lecture is a special form of communication in which voice, gesture, movement, facial expression, and eye contact can either complement or detract from the content. No matter what your topic, your delivery and manner of speaking immeasurably influence your students' attentiveness and learning.” Barbara Davis.

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/delivering.html this website also includes some really useful tips for delivery.

Student perspective 1

59% of students find their lectures boring half the time and 30% find most or all of their lectures to be boring. (Mann & Robinson, 2009)

‘And how many times have we students heard “unfortunately this is quite a boring part of the course, but it really is important”’

What makes a good lecturer? Enthusiasm, approachable, understand the learning perspective of students, give their time after lectures, open-minded, motivated, engage in a process of sharing, passion. (Rieutort-Louis, 2009)

Student Perspective 2

For new students: contrast with school / college

More self-reliance is required, e.g. What to do, note taking, information overload

Depersonalised / anonymous Peer factors

‘fear factor’ of speaking / asking questions in a large group

behaviour

Starting

Talk to students before you start, establish rapport

Grab their attention. Signal the start Announce the objectives.

During

Voice: vary tone, conversational style. Language: simple, concrete, use anecdotes Well Organised Material (but don’t overdo

the prep!) Enthusiasm Clear visual aids Vary activity...

Finishing

Finish forcefully – don’t let it fizzle out “Make sure you have finished speaking before

your audience has finished listening.” Dorothy Sarnoff

Summarise / conclude Be prepared to talk to students afterwards

(if you have time).

Activity

Quizzes / Questions (show of hands, team, paper based...)

Short writing activity Short reading activity (e.g. read an article) Debate / student presentations (prepared in

advance for a particular session) See Davis, SEDA Special 13

Write own exam question based on material presented earlier in lecture.

Pair discussion, Buzz groups, Snowballing, syndicate groups. (Gibbs & Habeshaw1989)

Resources for the lecture

Demonstrations Models Video Images Case studies Worksheets Journal Articles Videos on large group teaching at Nottingham

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/largegroup/

Planning & structuring the lecture

Think: What learning are you trying to stimulate? How does this lecture link to others? What added value is there in your presence?

Do: Break the lecture up with into sections, provide opportunity for student –lecturer & student – student interaction, be explicit.

Remember: what are you doing? What are students doing?

Theory

Underpinning is based on constructivism, e.g. Piaget, Bruner, Biggs learning is an active process in which learners

construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge.

Reflective practice

Pushing the boundaries

Wesch - vision of students today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=PlayList&p=3D942C2F6CBAE121&index=0&playnext=1

Student response systems for Q&A, quizzes. Use of Twitter / SMS / email etc. for getting

student Qs or feedback during the session. Think outside of the walls: use the campus as a

learning space & Simulations e.g. Anthropology 101 class: http://www.youtube.com/user/mwesch?blend=7&ob=4#play/uploads/4/JgbfMY-6giY

Replacing lectures using technology, e.g. podcasts and have seminars instead.

[Your ideas here]

Summary

Teaching a large group is NOT just about delivering non-stop for 50 minutes with the students being passive.

Students need to engage through: the way we deliver, the resources we use the activities we integrate.

Teaching is as much an art form as science, it is very close to acting - so enjoy it!!

Bibliography

Davis (nd), Practical Ideas for Enhancing Lectures, SEDA Special 13 Gibbs & Habeshaw (1989) Preparing to Teach, Technical and Educational Services Ltd,

Bristol Mann & Robinson (2009) Boredom in the lecture theatre: an investigation into the

contributors, moderators and outcomes of boredom amongst university students British Educational Research Journal, 35(2) pp. 243 – 258

Rieutort-Louis (2009) What Makes a Good Lecturer? Academy Exchange Issue 8 Smith (nd), Lecturing to Large Groups, SEDA Special 1 Young, Robinson & Alberts (2009) Students pay Attention! Combating the vigilance

decrement to improve learning during lectures, Active Learning in Higher Education, 10(1) pp. 41–55

For further advice please contact the learning development unit (LDU) or come to one of our workshops.

LDU-Queries@salford.ac.uk www.ldu.salford.ac.uk