5. Lectures

The Feedback Lecture
The feedback lecture outlines a structure that may well be adapted to each discipline's method.

Introduction

Objectives

Pretest

Lecture with Outline I

Discussion Questions, Exercises (or)

Small Group Activity

Lecture and Outline II

Post-test

(Source: Shirley Ronkowski's adaptation of Osterman, Christensen, and Coffey's "The Feedback Lecture". Kansas State University Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development: Idea Paper No. 13, 1985.)

Questions
Joe Cuseo of Marymount College listed the following six research-grounded guidelines for effective questioning to encourage active student involvement in classroom discussion:

1. Clearly focused (i.e., tied to specific content and asks for a specific thought process rather than generic, unfocussed questions like, "Any comments about what we've discussed thus far?")

2. Allows for open-ended responses (i.e., responses that involve more than a single word or phrase, thus encouraging verbal elaboration).

3. Promotes divergent thinking (i.e., a diverse number of potentially correct answers is possible, thus reducing students' fear of not providing "the" one correct answer the instructor is "looking for".)

4. Evokes higher order thinking (i.e., application, synthesis or evaluation, rather than rote memory).

5. Places students in a reality-based or problem-centered context (i.e., a realistic situation requiring problem-solving or decision-making).

6. Sufficient pause or wait time follows question delivery. (ref: Mary Budd Rowe of Miami University)

Pacing
In longer classes, pacing between lecture and activities, individual and small group, helps students to sustain their attention, and assimilate what is being presented.

Classroom Assessment Techniques
CATs help instructors informally check how students are comprehending the lecture, and provide feedback for what needs reviewing or emphasizing. (Page 13 in notebook)

Teaching Students How to Learn
"Strategies" outlines ideas from research about how to teach students how to learn while delivering content. Integrating Student Success concepts, like demonstrating a reading and study method like SQ5R, or a notetaking method, may not take too much time away from lecture, and will make a huge difference to students' knowledge and performance.

Active Learning
As a mode of brainstorming , "Active Learning", #5, from "Lesson Plan Considerations" provides a few suggestions.

Strategies
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Gerry Lewin