EMU Graduate Assistant Orientation Programme
September 30th, 2005
Effectiveness
in Teaching
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Konrot Dip Ed, Dip ALPTE, PhD, LCST
EMU Education Faculty, Dept. of Education
Introduction
I
have a difficult task to
achieve today…
– Lecturing about how to lecture
effectively and present myself as
a case…
 If
you enjoy it, try to do what I have
done
 If not, then try not to do what I have
done today…
How did I prepare for this lecture?
I started by
asking
several
questions
Question 1
What
were/are my
objectives in general?
–To be effective and
affective in life….
Question 2
Who
am I ?
–How much do I know
about myself?
Question 3
 Does
my audience know who I
am ? How much do they know
about me?
– What are my limitations?
I can not possibly know about
evertyhing!
Neither can you!
– What are my strenghts?
– Which personality traits can
define me the best?
Question 4
 Who are my listeners ?
How much do I know
about them?
–What are their limitations?
–What are their strenghts?
–Which personality traits
can define them
individually the best?
Question 5
What
are my
resources?
What
are their
resources?
Question 6
 What are my
responsibilities as a
professor/teacher?
–Recorded (contract, bylaws etc.)
–Unrecorded (social factors,
personal choices etc.) …
Question 7
 What
am I going to do on
stage?
–What shall/must I talk
about?
Question 8
 What
this
are my objectives for
session?
– ‘All sessions’ planner- a
routine practitioner
– ‘This session’ planner- a
possible routine breaker
Mid-session advice from an old
man…
BREAK YOUR ROUTINE
Question 9
 What
will be my
performance like?
 What
will be the reaction
of the audience?
On stage fright
and
reading the minds of the audience
before the performance starts !…
Who is this guy?
How islong
will this
What
he trying
torture
last? I’ve
to do?
got an
What
amappointment
I suppose
with to
mydo?
girl-friend!
Who are they?
Encounters of the first kind !
Why are they
here?
What do they
expect me to do?
What if I won’t be
able to staisfy their
expectations?
????
The hell with this
TA Orientation
Programme! I’ve
got better things to
do! am I?
Who
What am I doing
here?
What am I suppose
to do?
It is certain that I can’t
meet the expectations of
the guy who is thinking
about something more
interesting! But what can
I do to attract his
attention?
And the next step
R
A
tI
R
 Searched
A
tI
for general objectives
 Searched for relevant material
 Constructed a synopsis
 Prepared a draft presentation
 Reviewed the ppt presentation
 Rehearsed the ppt presentation
 Made changes and amendments
 Rehearsed again
R









A
tI
Prepared an alternative presentation
Rehearsed the alternative ppt
Compared the presentations
Decided on the final draft
Rehearsed the final draft
Made changes and amendments
Decided on the presentation to be used
Pleased with the final version and went to
bed for a good night’s sleep at dawn still
knowing that it is not the final version yet!
Woke up and came here!
How long did it take to prepare
for an hours’ lecture?
Face value..
Seven days & at least 21 hours!
Real value..
34 years
How much will I earn for this
lecture?
Face value..
NONE
Real value..
Experience, academic
fulfilment &
professional achievement
My objectives for this session
To help you understand what I &
some other colleagues think about
effective teaching.
 Explore this topic by focusing on
classroom teaching, mainly
lecturing, because:

– We do it most of the time
– We were taught that way
– Seems an easy way to teach
BUT is it easy as it seems?

Were you happy to be taught that way?
– I give you three minutes… Go back to your
school / university days and write down
your good and bad experiences…


Try to remember your ‘good’ and ‘bad’ teachers
and/or lecturers…
Try to recall the subjects you enjoyed and
learned the most and the ones you hated and did
not learn as much..
Today, I will be talking about lecturing in teching.
BUT please be aware that I do not
intend to give the impression that
effective teaching means effective
lecturing.
Today, I will be talking about lecturing because,
Lecturing is widely used especially at
the university level.
Effective teaching should include other
teaching tecniques and means besides
lecturing to enhance learning.
BUT today, I shall leave other aspects
and focus on lecturing styles only in
the hope that we may improve
classroom teaching at least in cases
where one needs to employ lecturing
as a tool to convey information on a
given subject or a topic.
Overview
Why do we lecture?
Pitfalls
associated
with lecturing!
Patricia Hayes Andrews, Department of Speech Communication, Indiana
University, Bloomington
http://www.indiana.edu/~teaching/lectskills.html
Published by the University Office for Learning Resources, February 1989
Why do we lecture?





Exercising/gaining control of the
class
Highlighting major ideas
Setting the stage for forthcoming
activities
Showing one's own interest and
enthusiasm for the subject
Providing a role model of good
public communication skills.
Pitfalls associated with lecturing
(Patricia Hayes Andrews, 1989)







Trying to cover too much material
Failing to prepare adequately
Being perceived as disorganized or
unclear
Inadvertently encouraging student
passivity
Ignoring student feedback
Failing to formulate good examples
Displaying distracting or poor delivery
Lecturing- Direct instruction
Main advantage

Logarithmic/Geometricly increased
– Saves time for the students. Lecturer provides listeners
with concise and organised information which he/she has
collated over a long period of time (may be over the
years). Students need not have to wait that long and live
the same experiences the lecturer had in the past in order
to acquire that piece of information.
BUT BE SURE TO USE IT
selectively, sparingly and cleverly!
A. Konrot
Prepare before you start teaching

Know your objectives

Know yourself

Know your students

Know your campus resourses

Define your responsibilities
When I was just a young TA
I asked my mentors how I shall be…
Will I be bright will I be dull???
Here’s what they said to me:
Don’t you worry much!
What ever will be, will be!
The future is
yours to see!
You just don’t worry…
What will be,
will be!
Words & Music by Jay Livingston
& Ray Evans
Recorded by Doris Day, 1956
Lyrics by A. Konrot
The original lyrics of the
song is rather deterministic!
Que sera sera…
What ever will be, will be!
not
The future is
Que sera sera …
What will be,
ours to see!
will be!
Of course,
What will be,
will be!
but
If you prepare ‘adequately’,
you may see the future!
I wish you all the best
with your new venture,
which
I hope to see
will be
your career in the future...
Thank you...
Where to Get More Information

http://www.indiana.edu/~teaching/lectskills.html

IU Teaching Handbook: Section 2 — Teaching
MethodsConsulting services, other sources
www.indiana.edu/~teaching

Handbook For Teaching and Laboratory Assistants, The
Graduate School And The Office of Instructional Support
and Development

www.umass.edu/cft

http://www.uregina.ca/tdc/difficult%20students.htm
OR
Search for
“TA Handbook”
on a seach engine such as
Goooooogggle!