Teaching Tips Summary Chapters 4,5,

Content Reading as Active Learning Facilitating Discussion Making Lectures More Efficient

Reading as Active Learning Reading is often more effective for learning than listening to lectures. Textbooks can provide a well organized frame of reference in contrast to web/photocopies/etc. Study questions can increase the depth of processing.

What’s the Problem? Making students read the assignments.  Students tend to read over the pages, not really taking in what they read.  Often don’t read at all, unless they believe they need it.  Announce Quiz  Refer to the assignments  Let them write summaries  Lecture style? Making the students process what they read.  “Study” question as opposed to “fact” questions.  Teach them more effective reading?

Facilitating Discussion Discussions as active learning. How to start discussions? How to solve common problems? How do students learn from discussions?

Active Learning In lectures students are often passive and don’t process the presented material. Discussions encourage students to participate and be active. Can keep their attention longer than a lecture (cf. next chapter).

Handling Discussions Getting started  Questions, controversy, case study etc. Making progress  Students solutions vs. teachers solutions  Focus on solution before the problem is understood. Handling non-participants/monopolizers.  Asking questions the right way.  Make the monopolizer shut up :-)

Learning Through Discussion Discussions can provide valuable learning, but  Students must understand why discussions are valuable  All the aforementioned problems need to be solved Is this a useful approach for more “fact” oriented engineering/science subjects?

Effective Lectures Lectures are less effective than discussion and reading, but:  Provide a conceptual framework  Focus on key concepts and ideas  Summarize/organize material  Present up-to-date information

Planning Lectures Presenting facts vs. methods Adjust lecture style to maturity of students/class  From less material/more examples to more material in bigger blocks Using several media/representations to show the same thing can eventually reach more students.

Planning Lectures (2) Learning objectives vs. coverage of topics Find balance between subject structure and students’ knowledge  Introduction should in some way highlight what is important  Don’t overload with new facts  Frequently summarize  Check students’ understanding

Processing Content Post some start-up problem to focus students attention Give motivation for the content and show enthusiasm Post questions to make students think Taking notes can help the students in forming their own understanding of a topic.  Pace of lecture must be adjusted