1. How do I provide interactive
learning activities for a large class?
The following suggestions come from Teaching
Tips for Large Classes at the University of California—Santa
Barbara:
"Include active learning strategies in
large classes by using two-minute dyad discussion groups,
asking students to share personal experiences related to course
content, formalizing study groups, giving group assignments,
using peer feedback groups or computer software that allows
for anonymous peer review of papers, having a fishbowl discussion
group at the beginning of each class, asking students to write
answers to discussion questions before class begins, requiring
small group office hours, or asking for one-minute papers
at the end of class."
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
at Penn State also offers practical ideas for creating a small
class feeling in large classes in an online article entitled,
"Teaching
Large Classes Well." And the Berkeley
Compendium of Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence lists
general good practices in teaching large lecture courses.
2. How can I make my presentations
more interesting?
The Berkeley
Compendium of Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence offers
the following suggestions for having an interesting presentation
style:
- Relate the course material as a story
- Begin with an incident, example or anecdote
- Focus lectures around a common object or event)
- Open with gusto and finish strong
- Focus on five or six different students around
the room
- Exaggerate everything about your presentation
- Begin your lecture with a joke of the week
- Vary the pace and instructional activities of
the course
- Invite guest speakers to your class
3. How can I make my lectures
more dynamic?
How to Speak: Lecture Tips
from Patrick Winston, a 45-minute videotape available from
the Derek
Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University
emphasizes a number of strategies, including how to start a lecture,
asking questions, using the blackboard, overhead projections,
and props, and "how to stop."
The Berkeley
Compendium of Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence also
lists the following ideas for giving lectures that are easy to
outline.
- Let students know what you're going to discuss
and why
- Write an outline on the blackboard before you
begin
- Give students a list of questions
- Outline your lecture on the blackboard as it
develops
- Structure a lecture as you would a journal article
- Use "closed lists" whenever possible
in your lectures
- Organize your lectures into 10-minute segments
- Schedule a break if your class exceeds one hour
- Pay attention to your boardwork
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4. What is the best way to get
students to participate more in class?
Facilitating student participation requires a student-centered
focus to instructional design. Establishing learning goals that
specify measurable and observable student outcomes, developing
activities that actively engage students in the learning process,
and focusing class time on those activities are likely to increase
student participation.
5. How can I adjust my curriculum
to incorporate more student-centered learning?
Volumes have been written on this topic. Here are
a few resources that will help you modify your instructional design.
Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active
learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ASHE-ERIC
Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, D.C.: The George
Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.
This book offers suggestions for making classes
more interactive and engaging and, therefore, more student-centered.
Strategies include the modified lecture, questioning and discussion,
and promoting active learning through writing, problem solving,
debates, drama, role-playing, and peer teaching.
Davis, B. G. (1993). Tools
for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
This book represents expansion of the ideas
offered online in the Berkeley
Compendium of Suggestions for Teaching with Excellence.
McKeachie, W. J. (1999). Teaching
tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university
teachers (10th Ed.). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
This book is a classic that addresses course
preparation, the first day of class, basic skills such as
leading discussions, lecturing, testing and grading.
6. Is seat time really critical?
Absolutely—particularly if you conceptualize
"seat time" as instructional time when students are
actively engaged with classmates and the instructor in considering
the material to be learned.
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