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Lecturing Effectively in the University Classroom

As long as class sizes continue to increase and university budgets tighten, lecturing will remain adominant teaching method (Perry in Perry & Smart, 1997; Brown & Race, 2002). Knowing how

to lecture well, therefore, is a crucial skill to master. Effective lecturing is characterized by

enthusiasm and expressiveness, clarity, and interaction (Murray in Perry & Smart, 1997).Consider using the tips below to introduce students toand stimulate their enthusiasm about

your course material.

Structuring the Lecture Clearly

Show students the big picture. Explain how the lecture relates to previously-learnedmaterial and the course themes and goals in general. Begin the class with a short review

of the key points from last class, and end with a preview of the topics for next class

(along with a reminder about any readings or assignments to be completed).

Tell them what youre going to say, say it, then tell them what youve just said.Before discussing the days topics, provide an overview of what will be discussed. Aftercovering the topics, end with a restatement of the key points. When speaking, repeat

yourself to an extent that would be redundant in writing to facilitate student note-taking.

Keep the lecture outline visible for students. Write it on a corner of the blackboard orleave it up on an overhead. Return to the outline periodically to show your progress

through the material and to reinforce key points.

Make explicit transitions between topics with mini-summaries. Link current materialto previously-learned content and future lectures. Be explicit about how one topic

connects to the next, or ask your students to explain the connections. By linking new

material to previously-learned content, you help students understand and organize thisnew information in their minds.

Cover only a few main points in each lecture. Plan to cover only three or four points ina fifty-minute lecture and four or five points in a seventy-five-minute class. Select key

points that introduce, complement, and/or clarify the course readings, assignments, and

goals. Focus on presenting central points or general themes that tie together as manytopics as possible; students will be able to associate details with these main points on

their own. Avoid merely repeating the course readings; instead, elaborate on this content

using new examples and sample exercises or problems. For more information about

selecting and organizing content, see the Course Content Selection and Organization

CTE Teaching Tip.

Preparing your Notes

Avoid writing out a complete lecture script. A script is too time-consuming to prepare,and it will prevent you from maintaining eye contact with the students. As you read, yourvoice will project downward, and you will appear disengaged from the class. Your ability

to be spontaneous will be hindered. Also avoid using visual aids as your notes; your

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reading from an overhead or computer screen will not keep the students engaged, since

your visual focus still will not be on them.

Do prepare some notes. Experiment to find out what kind of notes work best for you,e.g., detailed outline, list of major points, tree diagram. Your notes should include key

definitions, proofs, solved problems, examples and analogies. If you think you might getnervous in front of a large class, make sure you know exactly what you are going to say

at the beginning of class.

Be flexible when following your notes. Watch students level of interest and confusionto determine how much time to spend on a topic and what level of explication is required.

Your notes should be flexible enough to let you adjust the depth and order of the contentbased on students feedback. Your notes are there if needed, but the lecture should arise

out of your interaction with the students, not the notes themselves.

Include delivery notes. Use wide margins so you can add notes about audio-visual aids,questions to ask students, last-minute examples, and instructions for hands-on activities.

Keeping Students Engaged

Design your lecture in ten- to fifteen-minute blocks. Adult attention spans average tento twenty minutes, so change pace every fifteen minutes or so to relieve monotony and

recapture students interest. Intersperse mini-lectures with discussions or other activities.For suggestions about alternatives to lecturing, see the CTE Teaching Tip Varying Your

Teaching Activities: 9 Alternatives to Lecturing.

Actively involve students in their learning. Ask them to help you demonstrate ananalogy to explain an abstract concept. Give them practice problems or a writing exercise

to do on their own or in pairs. Have a brainstorming session with the entire class or insmall groups. Show a video clip prefaced by your instructions about what to look for.Give a multiple choice quiz. Have a question and answer session. Prepare questions

beforehand that promote class discussion and reinforce key concepts. Use such activities

to regain student attention and deepen their learning. The CTE Teaching Tip ActiveLearning Activities has more suggestions for actively involving students in their

learning.

Be sure to stress why the lecture material is valuable for the students. Relate thecontent to students interests, knowledge, experiences, and needs as much as possible.

Use metaphors, analogies, and examples that appeal to the students and will help them

understand the material. Making the material relevant is critical for keeping studentsattentive, and it will help them retain the information.

State your key points as learning objectives for the students. Share these objectiveswith your students: By the end of the class, you will be able to . State the objectives

as concretely as possible, using action verbs (e.g., draw, solve, explain) rather than vagueverbs (e.g., learn, understand, know). After you have prepared the lecture and again after

you have delivered it, check that you have in fact accomplished these objectives.

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Use students questions. While preparing the lecture, anticipate students questions.Incorporate the answers into your lecture, or introduce an activity that allows students to

discover the answers for themselves. During the lecture, use students responses andquestions as jumping-off places for your next point or to begin a spontaneous discussion.

Attend to students feedback about how the lecture is going. Watch their nonverbalcues (yawns, chairs shuffling, whispers, glazed looks), or ask for their feedback

informally or formally. Just because you are speaking does not mean that they are

attentively listening.

Delivering the Lecture

Check out your classroom in advance. Familiarize yourself with the layout of the desksand the front of the classroom. Decide where you will stand and how you will move from

one place to another. Find out whether the classroom has audio-visual equipment orwhether you will have to request it from the Audio Visual Centre.

Practice your lecture beforehand. For your first few lectures, practice to ensure thatyou have an appropri ate amount of material and activities for the time available. Then

record your timings after class so you can discern the pacing of your style. Students

questions and learning activities can take up to 50% more time than you may first think.

Take along a bottle of water. The water will soothe a sore or dry throat. Taking a sip isalso a good way to buy thinking time before responding to a student question.

Maintain regular eye contact with your students. By doing so, you create connectionswith them, are able to gauge their note-taking, and discourage distracting class noise.

Use a conversational tone. Think of the lecture as an opportunity to speak with thestudents, not to or at them.

Convey your enthusiasm for the material and the students. Vary your vocal speed andpitch, as well as your facial expressions. Smile often. Consider using humour when

appropriate.

Ask the students periodically if they can hear and see everything. Make changes toyour volume and visual aids as necessary.

Move around the room, and use natural gestures. This movement is especiallyimportant forengaging large classes. Changes help to refocus students attention, butremember to move with purpose so you avoid distracting your students.

Encourage students to take notes. The process of writing notes helps them rememberthe lecture content and stay attentive to whats going on. To help students make good

notes, provide a clear structure for the lecture, and use a pace that allows them to keep up

(remember not to rush when using pre-prepared visual aids). Rather than writingextensive notes that students must copy word for word, write key terms on the board or

slides to facilitate students own processing of the information, or provide skeletal course

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notes for the students to annotate. Pause regularly so that students can ask for

clarification.

Interact with your students to create positive rapport with them. Arrive at class earlyso that you can welcome students. Address them by name as much as possible. And plan

to stay after class to chat with students and answer their questions.

Using Visual Aids (blackboard, overheads or computer presentations)

Use visual aids to stimulate and focus students attention. Multimedia aids usingsound, colour, and/or animations have an even greater power to attract and maintainstudents attention, particularly in large classes where the impersonal situation makes

students feel less involved. Visual aids should be a support for, not the focus of, your

lecture. They also should not replace your personal interaction with the students.

Make each visual count. If you are using overheads or PowerPoint, aim for twelve totwenty slides for a fifty-minute lecture. Be conscious of speeding through the slides

and/or overloading students with contentcommon problems with these types of media.

Reveal visual information gradually rather than all at once. This keeps studentsfocusing on your oral development of each point, instead of rushing to copy down the

material. Alternately, you could show all the points, then go back to explain each one.

Consider creating visual aids during the lecture. Solving problems, showingprocesses, or building models in real time is often clearer for students than seeing

completed work. You can also create visuals to reflect the outcomes of interactiveexercises, thereby validating the students input. The act of writing also helps you to pace

the lecture appropriately.

Write down key words and names. Students will try to write down everything they see.If information does not need to be copied down, mention that to the students, or consider

whether it is important enough to include in the first place. Consider providing handoutsthat give an outline of the lecture material for students to annotate.

Check the equipment before class. Electronic equipment can break down ormalfunction, so have an alternate plan ready. Equipment problems will negatively affect

your credibility, even if they are beyond your control. Make sure, too, that you know how

to operate the equipment.