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Large Group Teaching
This document provides an outline for a session on teaching large group lectures. It discusses expectations for the session, definitions of key terms, delivery techniques, student perspectives, ideas for starting, maintaining engagement during, and finishing lectures. Practical activities, resources, theories of learning, and ways to push boundaries are also presented. The overall message is that engaging students through interactive delivery and activities is important for large group lectures.
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Large Group Teaching
- 1. Centre for EducationalDevelopment Centre for Educational Development ORHEP Project ORHEP Project Large Group Teaching Centre for Educational Development www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 1 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 2. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Session Outline • Expectations • Starting Points – Definitions etc. • Practical • Ideas www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 2 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 3. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Learning Outcomes • To have an understanding of the basic principles of working in a lecture room. • To have resources which you can follow up to learn more. • To have some ideas of how to push the boundaries of your current practice. www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 3 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 4. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project What messages does the lecture room give? • To learn is to acquire information • Information is scarce and hard to find • Trust authority for good information • Authorized information is beyond discussion • Obey the authority www.orhep.brad.ac.uk From Wesch (2009) ALT-C Keynote This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 4 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 5. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project • What comes to mind when thinking of teaching a large group lecture? Notes: www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 5 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 6. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Definitions • What do we mean by large group? • Over 30 = , over 50 = , over 100 = – The number which places a constraint on what we think we can do? My own comfort – The number which places a constraint on the types of activity we can do? What is actually possible. www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 6 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 7. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Definitions • What do we mean by lecture? – Write you definition on a piece of paper. – The way we deliver? – The content we deliver? – The physical space we are in? – Can it be whatever you want it to be? www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 7 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 8. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Delivery “The classroom lecture is a special form of communication in which voice, gesture, movement, facial expression, and eye contact can either complement or detract from the content. No matter what your topic, your delivery and manner of speaking immeasurably influence your students' attentiveness and learning.” Barbara Davis. www.orhep.brad.ac.uk http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/delivering.html this website also includes some really useful tips for delivery. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 8 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 9. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project The Dr Fox Effect “In a critique of student evaluations of teaching, professor of law Deborah Merrit summarized the Dr. Fox Effect as it was observed in the first experiments, in which American actor Michael Fox gave a lecture to a group of ten under the guise of "Dr. Myron L. Fox": "The experimenters created a meaningless lecture on 'Mathematical Game Theory as Applied to Physician Education,' and coached the actor to deliver it 'with an excessive use of double talk, neologisms, non sequiturs, and contradictory statements.' At the same time, the researchers encouraged the actor to adopt a lively demeanor, convey warmth toward his audience, and intersperse his nonsensical comments with humor. ... The actor fooled not just one, but three separate audiences of professional and graduate students. Despite the emptiness of his lecture, fifty-five psychiatrists, psychologists, educators, graduate students, and other professionals produced evaluations of Dr. Fox that were overwhelmingly positive. ... The disturbing feature of the Dr. Fox study, as the experimenters noted, is that Fox‟s nonverbal www.orhep.brad.ac.uk behaviors so completely masked a meaningless, jargon-filled, and confused presentation.” (Wikipedia) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 9 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 10. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Student perspective 1 • 59% of students find their lectures boring half the time and 30% find most or all of their lectures to be boring. (Mann & Robinson, 2009) • „And how many times have we students heard “unfortunately this is quite a boring part of the course, but it really is important”‟ • What makes a good lecturer? Enthusiasm, approachable, understand the learning perspective of students, give their time after lectures, www.orhep.brad.ac.uk open- minded, motivated, engage in a process of sharing, passion. (Rieutort-Louis, 2009) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 10 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 11. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Student Perspective 2 • For new students: contrast with school / college • More self-reliance is required, e.g. What to do, note taking, information overload • Depersonalised / anonymous • Peer factors – „fear factor‟ of speaking / asking questions in a large group www.orhep.brad.ac.uk – behaviour This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 11 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 12. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Starting • Talk to students before you start, establish rapport • Grab their attention. Signal the start • Announce the objectives. www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 12 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 13. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project During • Voice: vary tone, conversational style. • Language: simple, concrete, use anecdotes • Well Organised Material (but don‟t overdo the prep!) • Enthusiasm • Clear visual aids www.orhep.brad.ac.uk • Vary activity... This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 13 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 14. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Finishing • Finish forcefully – don‟t let it fizzle out – “Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.” Dorothy Sarnoff • Summarise / conclude • Be prepared to talk to students afterwards (if you have time). www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 14 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 15. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Activity • Quizzes / Questions (show of hands, team, paper based...) • Short writing activity • Short reading activity (e.g. read an article) • Debate / student presentations (prepared in advance for a particular session) See Davis, SEDA Special 13 • Write own exam question based on material presented earlier in lecture. www.orhep.brad.ac.uk • Pair discussion, Buzz groups, Snowballing, syndicate groups. (Gibbs & Habeshaw1989) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 15 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 16. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Resources for the lecture • Demonstrations • Models • Video • Images • Case studies • Worksheets • Journal Articles • Videos on large group teaching at Nottingham http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/largegro www.orhep.brad.ac.uk up/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 16 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 17. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Planning & structuring the lecture • Think: What learning are you trying to stimulate? How does this lecture link to others? What added value is there in your presence? • Do: Break the lecture up into sections, provide opportunity for student –lecturer & student – student interaction, be explicit. • Remember: what are you doing? What are www.orhep.brad.ac.uk students doing? This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 17 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 18. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Theory • Underpinning is based on constructivism, e.g. Piaget, Bruner, Biggs – learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. • Reflective practice www.orhep.brad.ac.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 18 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 19. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Pushing the boundaries • Wesch - vision of students today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=PlayList&p=3D942C2F6C BAE121&index=0&playnext=1 • Student response systems for Q&A, quizzes. • Use of Twitter / SMS / email etc. for getting student Qs or feedback during the session. • Think outside of the walls: use the campus as a learning space & Simulations e.g. Anthropology 101 class: http://www.youtube.com/user/mwesch?blend=7&ob=4#play/uploads/4/JgbfMY-6giY • Replacing lectures using technology, e.g.www.orhep.brad.ac.uk podcasts and have seminars instead. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 19 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 20. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Summary • Teaching a large group is NOT just about delivering non-stop for 50 minutes with the students being passive. • Students need to engage through: – the way we deliver, – the resources we use – the activities we integrate. • Teaching is as much an art form as www.orhep.brad.ac.uk science, it is very close to acting - so enjoy it!! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 20 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
- 21. Centre for EducationalDevelopment ORHEP Project Bibliography • Davis (nd), Practical Ideas for Enhancing Lectures, SEDA Special 13 • Gibbs & Habeshaw (1989) Preparing to Teach, Technical and Educational Services Ltd, Bristol • Mann & Robinson (2009) Boredom in the lecture theatre: an investigation into the contributors, moderators and outcomes of boredom amongst university students, British Educational Research Journal, 35(2) pp. 243 – 258 • Rieutort-Louis (2009) What Makes a Good Lecturer? Academy Exchange Issue 8 • Smith (nd), Lecturing to Large Groups, SEDA Special 1 • Young, Robinson & Alberts (2009) Students pay Attention! www.orhep.brad.ac.uk Combating the vigilance decrement to improve learning during lectures, Active Learning in Higher Education, 10(1) pp. 41–55 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License - 21 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ www.orhep.brad.ac.uk
Editor's Notes
- #6 Activity: Quick word association from audience, shout out. Don’t think too much just your 1st thought.
- #7 Activity: Show of hands for over 30, over 50, over 100 studentsDo something's not scale up from smaller groups.
- #8 Write down you definition of a lecture. I will ask for contributions in 2 minutes.
- #9 Do we agree? show of hands for yes.
- #10 In pairs come up with 5 pitfalls. Often easier to start with the ‘not to do’.
- #11 The consequences of being bored included students missing future lectures and there was also a significant association between level of boredom and grade point average. The most important teaching factor contributing to student boredom is the use of PowerPoint slides.
- #13 Ask them
- #14 “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theatre.” Gail Godwin, author in The Odd Woman“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” Mark Twain
- #15 Pt.1 - Classic example is in American films when a buzzer sounds and the teacher is left shouting out final instructions as the students leave.Dorothy Sarnoff was an image consultant.
- #16 Do reading activity
- #18 Get them to answer the last of the think questions? E.g. Relevant authority on content, able to explain if they don’t understand, can judge levels of understanding and adapt presentation, can explain in different ways that different learners may find useful.
- #19 Give the example that even though I am standing in front of you and you all hear the same thing the meaning you take from what I say is ‘coloured’ by your previous experiences and each of you will leave with a slightly different understanding.e.g. Abstract scientific concepts
- #20 Can you think of your own ideas. Work in groups of four to come up with a list of how to push the boundaries with the lecture slot.
- #21 e.g. Get involvement / activity 1st, to get you thinking, to set a tone (you can’t just be passive).