We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
from Activities
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 June 2018
Lectures often get a bad press – they conjure up images of rows of bored faces, someone dozing in a corner of the lecture theatre, droning teachers, and poorly written presentations. But, if the topic and presentation are right, a lecture can be an inspiring and motivating event.
You are most likely to get involved as a way of dealing with a particularly large group and although this is not a valid pedagogical reason for lecturing over any other activity, it is practical. Whatever the reason behind the lecture, you should:
• Plan the inputs and activities in the same way as for a workshop or practical. Do not assume that you will be speaking all the time.
• Check your slides or presentation and look at them as if you are a learner. Are they readable from the back, do they have too many distractions (e.g. animations), are they dull?
• Check that your voice projects to the back of the room or wear a microphone.
• Include some audience participation by asking learners to work with their neighbour on something or turn around to discuss a point (see Buzz groups). Try to break up your speaking every ten minutes or so. You could include short films, audio files, pictures – anything to maintain attentiveness.
• Try team teaching – a change of voice is always welcome.
✓ BEST FOR
• large groups
• providing a framework.
+ MORE
• Learners will probably expect a lecture to be passive so work in some hands-on activity. (See Buzz groups, demonstrations, Presentations, cephalonian method, Building blocks for other ways to improve a lecture.)
: WATCH OUT
• Lectures can cause anxiety in a teacher – try to remember that the learners are all individuals, and try to speak to one or two of them rather than the whole room. If you build in interactivity, remember that you also need to be able to assert your authority when you want that activity to stop.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
