3/17/15 EFFECTIVE LECTURES
Center for Faculty Development
Objectives:
•  Upon completion of this webinar, you shall be able
to:
•  Discuss ways one can enhance the traditional lecture
•  Including the mini-lecture paradigm, etc.
•  Identify activities one could use in class to emphasize
lecture information and provide a change of pace
•  Describe good design principles for PowerPoint
Outline
•  Why lecture: Pros and Cons
•  Basics of Lecturing
•  Beginning Lectures
•  Length, Content, and Pacing
•  Enhanced Formats: Mini-Lectures
•  Tips for using PowerPoint
•  Evaluating your lectures
1 3/17/15 Lecture Quotes:
“College is a place where a professor's lecture notes go straight
to the students' lecture notes, without passing through the brains
of either” – Mark Twain
“Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other
people sleep” – Albert Camus
“My lecture was a complete success, but the audience was a
failure” – Anon
Sloman and Mitchell (2002)
Reflection Question:
•  Based on your experience, what are the pros and cons
of lecturing?
Lecture: Pros
•  To present material in an organized manner:
•  One that clarifies the structure of the textbook, adapts complex
information to student’s level, and helps students organize the
readings
•  To add your personal viewpoint on the material, including your
own related research
•  To present up-to-date material that is not yet available in
printed form.
•  Efficient way to disseminate a lot of information to a large group
of people
Nilson, Linda B. (2003). Teaching at its Best. Bolton, MA: Anker, p. 95.
2 3/17/15 Lectures: Cons
•  Passive:
•  If not combined with more active approaches, then you are only
soliciting lower levels of learning
•  Knowledge & Comprehension vs. Application & Analysis
•  Students are simply asked to listen to an expert
•  Students do not play an active role when it comes to their learning
•  Overload of information:
•  Not enough time to process information
•  Students’ attention is easily lost
•  Length is inversely related to amount retained
Some Basics of Lecturing
•  Slow down
•  Vary inflection
•  Look at your students—don’t read the lecture to
them
•  Walk around, move from behind the podium
Some Basics of Lecturing
•  Use humor
•  if this is something you are comfortable with
•  Don’t be afraid to pause for long periods when
soliciting questions.
•  Try to learn student names
•  Give praise and reinforcement
3 3/17/15 Some Basics of Lecturing
•  Do not read PowerPoint presentations to students
•  Use PPT
•  as a tool to keep your information organized
•  to tell a story / narrative about a topic
•  to help your students stay organized
•  to help you stay organized
Beginning a Lecture
•  Recap important points from previous class
•  Helps student with integrating the new information with old information
•  Objectives for today:
•  Highlight what is critical from lecture; helps students to answer “Why am
I here? What is the purpose of today’s content?”
•  Outline for today:
•  Outline the structure of the lecture in terms of main topics, subtopics,
etc.
Length & Content & Pace
•  Length:
15-20
•  Proper time: ______minutes
or less.
•  Short lectures…avoid a hour of straight talking
•  Content:
•  Less is more! Cover less, uncover more!
•  Offer different examples for the same concept:
• Definitions, scenarios, videos, case studies, etc.
•  Pace:
7 (±2)
•  Number of items that can be held in STM is______?
• Change in pace helps one process & reset attention
activities, media, handouts, etc.
• How to change pace?_____________________________
•  Activities allow one to move from STM to LTM (through rehearsal)
4 3/17/15 Why are Including Breaks (changes in
Pace) Important?
•  People have limited attention; this resets attention
•  Limited working memory capacity (can hold 5 to 9 distinct
bits of information for a few seconds)
•  Need time to __________________information
in order
process / rehearse
to retain information!
•  How can one change pace in lecture?
Micro-Activities
Enhanced Formats: Mini-Lectures
•  10-15 minute lecture over core content
•  Vary presentation
•  Examples, case studies, videos, model, etc.
•  In-class assignments or activities
•  Why?
-Opportunities to practice with the concepts & process information
•  Short discussion of results of activities
•  Summary of concepts / review
•  Clarification of misconceptions
PowerPoint Tips and Strategies
•  Amount of text:
•  6x6 rule
•  Better to have more slides with less content for spacing
•  Emphasize points with font features:
•  Bold, underline, etc.
•  Keep design to minimum.
•  Use high contrast text so that information stands out
5 3/17/15 PowerPoint Tips and Strategies
•  Do not employ animation for the sake of
animation
•  It is perfectly appropriate to avoid using animation (play to your
strengths)
•  Employ progressions / animations when
questioning:
•  Avoiding revealing answer
•  Fill-in the blank slides
•  Controls their attention (blank screen as well)
Evaluations
•  Feedback during the lecture
•  “Clickers”
•  Raising hands
•  One-minute paper
•  One or two short questions about specific aspects of the lecture
•  “Muddiest Point”
•  Feedback after the lecture:
•  Supports students’ learning: invite comments about the lecture via
the electronic discussion board
Summary
•  Lectures are still useful
•  Format just needs to be updated
•  The mini-lecture approach is easy to use in classrooms
and facilitates active learning.
•  Don’t be afraid to cover less material in a deeper way
•  Use PowerPoint as a supportive instructional tool
•  Evaluate for continued improvement
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