A road map for lecture writing

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A road map for lecture writing

• Clare Milsom
• School of Natural Sciences and Psychology
• Liverpool John Moores University

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Learning outcomes By the end of this session you
will be able to Identify techniques to apply
when giving lectures. Recognise how to plan and
structure a lecture.

• Structure of the session
• General issues to consider when giving lectures.
• Strategies for engaging the students.
• How to plan and structure a lecture the road
  map.
• Hand out contains all the information you need
  and a copy of the slides are on the HEAPN PGwT
  website

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http//www.youtube.com/watch?vt3ae9w4yQr0 Issue
s when teaching and learning in lectures What
challenges are faced by students when learning in
lectures? What do you think are the challenges
for lecturers? 10 minutes groups of two
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(No Transcript)
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Good teaching encourages active learning and
takes account of different learning styles.

• I dont believe in using visual aids I just
  stand up and deliver my lecture and if the
  students dont understand then its not my fault
  
• hmmmm?

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HEA What makes a good lecturer? essay
competition Frequency of key attributes cited
from 26 essays
Encourages interaction involves
students 34 Engages inspires captures
attention 32 Applies learning links to real
examples 24
Quotes from psychology student essays Three
magic ingredients intelligence, interaction and
inspiration. Show respect for audience, use
technology available to fullest extent, and make
time for up and coming peers. It is essential
for a lecturer to speak to students rather than
at them using powerpoint slides or text books.
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Actively involving the learners

• When we are actively involved in the learning we
  become more effective learners.

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Attention span
Low periods of attention are when the new neural
connections that are formed during the learning
period are being strengthened (Dwyer 2001).
Hypothesised pattern of student level of
performance. Bligh (1998)
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Ideas for active, student centred lecture

• Jot down three ideas specific to your teaching

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Ideas for active, student centred lecture

• Keep in simple to begin with..
• Read notes take two minutes to look through your
  notes.
• Read a friends notes swap notes and spot things
  to add to your own notes.
• Write down a question get the question exactly
  right so that it addresses what you are really
  interested in or confused about.
• Ask your questions ask all the people around you
  until you have satisfactory answers.
• Tackle a problem numerical, case study.
• Read some material.
• Short test.
• Complete a hand out fill in gaps, label a
  diagram.
• Predict the outcome of an experiment.
• Make a diagnosis.
• Estimate the cost of a design choice.
• List and prioritise.

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Ideas for active, student centred lecture

• Then use an electronic voting system

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How many lectures did you give in the last year?

• More than ten
• Five to ten
• Less than five
• None

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How many did you write from scratch?

• All of them
• Most of them
• A few
• None

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How do you feel about lecturing?

• Confident
• Uneasy
• Terrified
• All of the above
• None of the above

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What do you feel about your teaching

• A great opportunity
• A necessary evil
• A bit of both

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Enough said, buckle up heres the map!
Establish your destination
Plan the journey
Select your route
Setting out
What if you get lost?
The journey itself
Arriving at your destination
Reviewing the trip
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• 1. Establish your destination
• Learning outcomes
• The overall purpose of the session is the
  learning outcome. Make sure it links with module
  LO and programme aims.

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2. Plan your journey

• Sorting out the context find out
• Where your topic fits into the syllabus
• How the module will be delivered
• About the students
• How your material will be assessed
• Remember what is was like when you were
• a student but also remember that you were
• a high-flier. Make your pitch to the more
• typical student.

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3. Select your route

• How much information to include?
• Think clearly about what you want to achieve.
• One sentence stating the content and purpose.
• Three to four main points.
• 10-15 minutes per point (attention span).
• Select appropriate support materials.
• Example?

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4. Setting out

• Beginning
• Start on time. http//video.google.co.uk/videosear
  ch?qpsychologyexperimentwww_google_domainwww.g
  oogle.co.ukhlenemb0aq0oqpsychologyEXPERIM
  ENqSOCIALpsychologyexperimenthlenemb0
• Stimulate interest

Today, Ill look at various forms of
psychotherapeutic provision within the community
and consider what is good practice. Why do
people confess to crimes they did not commit?
If you want to persuade jurors, you must be
clear, right? Maybe not. New research shows that
a sales pitch is more persuasive when it confuses
the customer.
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4. Setting out (cont.)

• Beginning
• Provide a general overview
• Piagets view of child development has strongly
  influenced education theory. Today we will cover
  his keys ideas and link them to stages of
  cognitive development.
• Set expectations
• Project your personality

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5. The journey

• Tell em, tell em, told em
• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion
• Throughout check on understanding
• Who can tell me a social problem arising from
  drug use
• Did you have any questions about the
  neuropsychological aspects of Schizophrenia?
• Watch class for non verbal cues of confusion.

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6. Arriving at your destination

• Closing the lecture
• Take home message refer back to session
  aims/learning outcomes.
• Summarise material and preview what lies ahead.
• Today I have identified five phases of the
  reflective thinking process. Next time we will
  see how these phases can be useful for our
  understanding of human learning.
• End on time.

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What is a learning outcome?

• It is the specification of what a student should
  know after a period of supported study
• It is the specification of what a lecturer
  intends to cover during a period of supported
  study
• I am confused 1. and 2. seem to be saying the
  same thing.

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A learning outcome helps to

• Focus on the learners behaviour that is to be
  changed.
• Serve as guidelines for content, instruction and
  evaluation.
• Convey to the learners exactly what is to be
  accomplished.
• All of the above.

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What does SENDA relate to?

• Health and safety
• Work life balance
• Disability
• Employability

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What does Special Educational Needs Disability
Act require?

• Not to treat a disabled person less favourably
  for a reason relating to their disability.
• To make reasonable adjustments if the disabled
  person was otherwise at a substantial
  disadvantage.
• To anticipate adjustments needed rather than
  responding to specific issues.
• All of the above

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Which font size should you use for your slides?

• At least 20 point
• 12 point
• 8 point
• Doesnt matter as long as it all fits on the slide

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How you can you make sure that your presentation
is accessible to all students?

• Make copies of slides available
• Ensure good contrast between text and background
• Do not use colour alone to convey information
• All of the above

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7. What if you get lost?

• Problems with AV equipment
• Difficulties with your presentation
• Challenges from students

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8. Reviewing the trip

• Student evaluation one minute questionnaire

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• Self evaluation

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• Part 2
• Please consider the diverse needs of students
  attending your lecture. What approaches might you
  consider to aid the learning of
• A student with a severe hearing or sight loss
• A dyslexic student
• A non-native speaker of English

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Problem scenario

• Part 1
• The lecture course that you are scheduled to
  start next session will be on Friday afternoon
  from 2pm to 3pm. It is to a large, first year
  group and the only room big enough is a steeply
  tiered lecture theatre. It is an introductory
  level course and you know that some of the
  students will already be familiar with some of
  the material you need to cover whilst for others
  in the group it will be completely new.
• What approaches do you think would help you to
  help the students to learn? Please work with a
  small group of colleagues to design a the lecture
  plan for this situation. The topic of the lecture
  is not necessarily important here but if you want
  to focus on a particular topic please do.