Organization is always a key element to deliver content. It is the instructor who has the final considerations about the best ways to facilitate the acquisition or mastery of such content by the students, but the point is that these consideratins need to be based on the instructor's expertise and knowledge about the course. An instructor needs to keep in mind what are the goals and objective of the course and what are the possibilities he has to help his students to achieve them.
Here I present a summary of the main points:
Creating Lesson Plans
After the first day you are, in effect, beginning the process of living up to your syllabus.
Your course syllabus should include at least a rough outline of the course topics and the order in which you will cover them. Before each class, you will have decided what you are going to be teaching during that class. You’ll also need to decide how you plan to deliver the content to your students. Which brings us to the lesson plan.
Preparing a lesson plan:
- Determine the lesson content.
- Develop unit title.
- State your instructional goal(s).
- Provide a rationale (why do they need to learn this?).
- List performance objectives (what do you want them to learn?).
- Decide which delivery methods you’ll use (how will you teach the lesson?).
- Settle on an evaluation procedure.
- List any necessary materials and aids.
- Evaluate lesson effectiveness and suggest possible improvements.
Your delivery methods along with your style – how you teach, or disseminate a lesson – are very important for effective learning. There are many delivery methods, including lecturing, demonstrating, questioning, showing audiovisual materials, developing and/or accessing web sites, and distributing written materials, group projects and team assignments. For example, when teaching technical materials, demonstration videos often provide helpful information to the student.
Effective instructors control the way time is used. Developing your own lesson plans also helps you “own” the subject matter content you are teaching, and that is central to everything good instructors do.
Almost all lesson plans developed by instructors contain student learning or performance objectives, instructional procedures, a list of required materials, and some brief description of how the students will be evaluated (either during the class or at some future time)
Making the Course Relevant
If you are given a standardized curriculum to teach, and even if you are given suggested content and activities, you can still be creative in your planning for instructional delivery. Think through how the training you received was delivered and what were the most effective ways that you acquired your competencies.
Important aspects to keep in mind:
- Would a series of mini-lectures (10-15 minutes in length) and reading assignments give the students the needed content?
- Would a lab demonstration and then class discussion be effective?
- How about a developmental series: build on knowledge, work on application projects, build more knowledge, and work on application?
- What textbooks, monographs, or other reading materials would work best?
- Would a videotape explain some topics better than a lecture?
- Would former students make good guest speakers?
- What about a field trip?
- How can I use integrated learning principles for application of newly acquired knowledge outside of the classroom?
Teaching to Learning Styles
The purpose of delivering course content is to provide students with information that will enable them to acquire the required knowledge and competencies of the subject area. Thus, the delivery selected will be dependent on what the desired outcomes for the course are.
- Will the students be required to have a knowledge base of basic principles? and/or
- Will the students be required to demonstrate mastery of certain functions and skills required in the technical area?
This process allows you to be creative and personalize both the curriculum and your courses
There are many different learning. They can be broken down into four major categories.
- Written Word - Knowledge is acquired best through the written word. Reading is the preferred way of gaining knowledge.
- Auditory - Listening to presented information and retaining the major portion of what has been heard.
- Visualization - Seeing pictures, diagrams, and illustrations enables the learner to grasp the concepts being presented.
- Tactile - Involves touch and manipulative activities. Requires eye-hand-body coordination.
As you select your delivery method you need to keep in mind that by varying the delivery methods you will be focusing on the different learning styles of your students.
People learn in three basic ways:
- Learning by Trial and Error - People learn by their mistakes, and through repetition they learn the proper way of completing a task.
- Learning by Observation - By seeing someone demonstrate the proper way of completing a task they have a knowledge base from which to complete the task themselves.
- Learning by Doing - This is the competency phase of learning. With projects and in laboratories the students develop the skills and expertise to complete the task.
It is important to work around these facts:
- The attention span of most individuals is in the 15–18-minute range.
- We generally only remember about 25% of what we hear.
- We normally only retain 40% of what we read.
- We can listen 4 times faster than we can speak.
Lecture Formats
The lecture is the oldest form of instructional delivery, dating from when people first started communicating with each other. To be a good lecturer you need to be a scholar, writer, producer, comedian, entertainer, and instructor.
Expository Lecture: This lecture is based around a single subject or question. You present broad concepts and factual information. You run the risk with this type of lecture of reducing the students to passive spectators.
· Interactive Lecture: This format is based upon “brainstorming” ideas from students around a central theme or subject. The students might generate several ideas around a computer-programming problem and then you would organize these ideas into informational components and cover the needed supportive information via lecture and student discussion
· Problem-Solving Lecture: This lecture starts with proposing some challenging problem within the field. The lecture can start with “What would happen if……?” The students with your guidance then work toward the solution of the problem. You can deliver mini-lectures concerning the components of the problem that the class is discussing
· Case Study Lecture: A case study is given to the students in printed form. You then offer realistic step-by-step illustrations on how to solve the issues within the case study.
· Combination Lectures: Feel free to combine any and all of the lecture formats discussed above. Different subjects and students require different approaches
Preparing Lecture Notes
There are several ways you can put your lecture notes into order
· Use Your iPad. Put the key words or phrases you want to use as memory triggers in sequence. Highlight the key points you want to make along with illustrations and examples. Scroll through your lecture outline to reinforce in your memory that you are moving through your lecture.
· Summary Sheets. If seeing the big picture is most useful to you, then use a full sheet of paper. On the left side of the paper put your outline. On the right side list the examples, illustrations, or problems that you will present.
· PowerPoint. You can develop PowerPoint slides to move you through the lecture. The points projected on the screen are your cues
· Set up your lecture in 10-15 minute blocks. As you are selecting the content and creating the lecture format create 10-15 minute blocks of lecture time. Cover a single point with examples and end with a brief summary and transition to the next section or activity.
· Budget time for questions. Don’t plan your lectures to fill all of the time. By using the 10-15 minute blocks the students will see the sequence of information being covered, plus you will see how much time you need for questions. uestions are a valuable way of learning about how your students are gaining the information being presented, but that questions can also be used by students to divert or stall a class session
· Tree diagram. The tree diagram works like a flowchart and provides you with pathways through which important points will be made. The tree diagram allows you to make optional stopovers, make useful illustrations, and give examples without you losing the main point of your lecture.
Delivering the Lecture
The lecture is a special form of communication in voice, gesture, movement, facial expression, and eye contact. All of these communications can serve to reinforce the content you are delivering or greatly distract from what you are trying to do.
Suggestions to deliver a lecture:
· Don’t read your lecture. You are trying to create a feeling with your lecture of a natural, spontaneous conversation between yourself and your students.
· Prepare yourself emotionally for class. Spend a few minutes focusing on the information you are going to share.
· Avoid a cold start. Try to get to class a few minutes early and chat informally with your students.
· Grab students’ attention with your opening. Use a provocative question, startling statement, unusual analogy, striking example, personal anecdote, or powerful quote
· Vary your opening. Any dramatic technique loses impact upon repetition. Be creative.
· Announce the objectives for the class. This is a must for each class meeting
· Establish rapport with your students. You must bridge the gap between the front of the room and the students in the seats
· Videotape your lectures. It is a good idea to see how you are really presenting yourself. These tapes can be extremely valuable in improving your teaching. They serve two primary purposes: they illustrate how you are presenting the material and they capture your delivery
· Make notes about the lecture. When you complete the class it is a good idea to immediately make some notes about your observations of how the lecture went
Demonstrations
In the teaching of technical subjects, much of the instruction is offered via demonstration. Demonstration teaching depends upon the observation and manipulation of materials as a method of student learning
Some steps to follow in using a demonstration to deliver content to students:
Before class:
- Break down procedures into small, incremental steps. Research has shown that humans are generally capable of handling only 5 to 7 instructional steps at a time
- Lay out all necessary materials and tools so they’re easy to reach
- Practice the demonstration. You will be surprised how easily a procedure can go awry, even when you have done it many times before
- Select a site for the demonstration where all students can see
- Always have a fallback plan. Demonstrations, no matter how well planned, may fail
During class:
- Put students to work right away in small groups or individually. After a demonstration, the students are excited to try the procedures or tasks themselves. Immediate use of newly acquired knowledge is always effective.
- Circulate through the lab or work area and try to interact with each student. Make sure you spend some time with each student as they are practicing their skill acquisition
- Watch to ensure that all safety precautions are being followed. Many students will put on safety protection when they first enter a lab, but then after a period of time in the lab will remove it, “just for a moment
- Offer positive feedback to students working successfully. Everyone likes to hear a good word now and then
- f there are some common mistakes being made, call the class together to discuss the problem and demonstrate the correct procedure. Make sure to call the class together if you observe a number of students doing the same procedure incorrectly. You may have failed to get your point across in your demonstration, or it may be a particularly difficult procedure that students have problems with
At the end of the class:
- Call the class together and review the successes and areas of concern that you’ve seen. Students many times become so focused on the skills they have to learn in the lab session that they forget they are actually learning.
- Make notes to yourself on how you might improve the demonstration next time. Always keep a notebook on how you can improve your instructional delivery.
Other Delivery Options
· Problem-Based Learning: The course is based around a series of problems that the students work through with you serving as a consultant and director. This approach requires tremendous planning and the careful selection of viable problems. This format is most often used with more advanced courses and students.
· Case Study Learning: studies are presented to the students for their consideration and input. The case studies are carefully developed and selected to ensure that each covers the required course components. The students meet and generate possible solutions to cases presented. This format is also generally used with advanced classes and students.
· Computer-Assisted Learning: Technology has brought into classrooms and laboratories all types of computer assisted learning opportunities. Spend some time exploring what resources are available to you and talk with your instructional media resource center and colleagues.
Lectures with Options: This format is very common because it allows you to use parts of the above-mentioned delivery models in addition to guest speakers, field trips, and small groups.
