Tips and techniques to build interactive learning into lecture classes
Have you ever looked out across your students only to find them staring at their computers or smartphones rather than listening attentively to you? Have you ever wondered what you could do to encourage students to resist distractions and focus on the information you are presenting? Have you ever wished you could help students become active learners as they listen to you lecture?
Interactive Lecturing is designed to help faculty members more effectively lecture. This practical resource addresses such pertinent questions as, “How can lecture presentations be more engaging?” “How can we help students learn actively during lecture instead of just sitting and passively listening the entire time?” Renowned authors Elizabeth F. Barkley and Claire H. Major provide practical tips on creating and delivering engaging lectures as well as concrete techniques to help teachers ensure students are active and fully engaged participants in the learning process before, during, and after lecture presentations.
Research shows that most college faculty still rely predominantly on traditional lectures as their preferred teaching technique. However, research also underscores the fact that more students fail lecture-based courses than classes with active learning components. Interactive Lecturing combines engaging presentation tips with active learning techniques specifically chosen to help students learn as they listen to a lecture. It is a proven teaching and learning strategy that can be readily incorporated into every teacher’s methods.
In addition to providing a synthesis of relevant, contemporary research and theory on lecturing as it relates to teaching and learning, this book features 53 tips on how to deliver engaging presentations and 32 techniques you can assign students to do to support their learning during your lecture. The tips and techniques can be used across instructional methods and academic disciplines both onsite (including small lectures and large lecture halls) as well as in online courses.
This book is a focused, up-to-date resource that draws on collective wisdom from scholarship and practice. It will become a well-used and welcome addition for everyone dedicated to effective teaching in higher education.
Acknowledgments xi About the Authors xiii Part One: A Conceptual Framework for Interactive Lecturing 1 Lecture versus Active Learning: Reframing the Debate 3 The Lecture 4 Active Learning 5 The Debate: Lecture versus Active Learning 7 Reconsidering the Debate: How We Frame It Matters 12 Conclusion 13 Notes 14 2 Integrating Lectures and Active Learning 15 The Interactive Lecturing Model 16 Engaging Presentations 17 Active Learning 21 Conclusion 28 Part Two: Engaging Presentation Tips 3 Setting Goals 33 References 34 TIP 1 Big Why, Little Why 35 TIP 2 SMART Lecture-Learning Goals 38 TIP 3 Student Characteristics Analysis 42 TIP 4 Presentation Persona 48 4 Creating Content 51 TIP 5 Sticky Note Diagrams 52 TIP 6 Brainstorming 55 TIP 7 Logical Patterns 58 TIP 8 Rule of Three 62 5 Structuring the Session 65 TIP 9 Linked Lecturettes 66 TIP 10 Select-a-Structure 68 TIP 11 Bookends, Interleaves, and Overlays 71 TIP 12 Lecture Plan 73 TIP 13 Double Planning 76 6 Leveraging the Language 79 TIP 14 Aristotelian Triptych 80 TIP 15 Signposts 82 TIP 16 Internal Previews and Summaries 87 TIP 17 High-Impact Language 89 7 Designing Effective Audiovisuals 92 TIP 18 Template Temperance 94 TIP 19 Less Is More 97 TIP 20 Context Keeper 101 TIP 21 Invisible Slide 103 TIP 22 Slide Replacements 106 8 Crafting Handouts and Supplements 108 TIP 23 Lecture Map 109 TIP 24 Content-Rich Handout 114 TIP 25 Infodeck 118 TIP 26 Annotated Reference Page 121 9 Demonstrating Readiness 124 TIP 27 Out Loud 125 TIP 28 Lecture Supply Kit 127 TIP 29 Dress for Success 129 TIP 30 Book and Check 131 10 Generating Enthusiasm and Interest 133 TIP 31 Lecture Preview 135 TIP 32 Meet and Greet 138 TIP 33 Icebreakers 140 TIP 34 Keep the Lights On 142 TIP 35 The Hook 144 TIP 36 Value Display 147 11 Managing the Session 149 TIP 37 Terms of Engagement 150 TIP 38 Classroom Technology Policy 153 TIP 39 Silent Signals 156 TIP 40 Every Minute Matters 158 TIP 41 Extensions 160 12 Presenting Like a Professional 163 TIP 42 To Script, or Not to Script? 164 TIP 43 Weatherperson 167 TIP 44 Pedagogical Moves 169 TIP 45 Voice Modulation 172 13 Asking and Answering Questions 174 TIP 46 Write a Question 176 TIP 47 Echo Chamber 178 TIP 48 Wait Time 180 TIP 49 Right Means Right 182 14 Signaling the Takeaways 184 TIP 50 The Synthesis 185 TIP 51 The Connector 187 TIP 52 The Power Close 189 TIP 53 The Graceful Goodbye 191 Part Three: Active Learning Techniques 15 Actively Preparing 198 ALT 1 Active Reading Documents 200 ALT 2 Know-Wonder-Learned 204 ALT 3 Two-Minute Question-Development Talks 209 ALT 4 Individual Readiness Assurance Tests 212 16 Anticipating and Predicting New Information 216 ALT 5 Update Your Classmate 217 ALT 6 Sentence Stem Predictions 221 ALT 7 Guess and Confirm 227 ALT 8 Preview Guide 232 17 Listening for Information 237 ALT 9 Advance Organizers 238 ALT 10 Lecture Bingo 245 ALT 11 Listening Teams 249 ALT 12 Live-Tweet Lecture 253 18 Taking Notes 258 ALT 13 Guided Notes 260 ALT 14 Cued Notes 264 ALT 15 Coded Notes 269 ALT 16 Note-Taking Pairs 274 ALT 17 Sketch Notes 278 19 Rehearsing Information 288 ALT 18 Translate That! 289 ALT 19 Think-Pair-Share 293 ALT 20 Snap Shots 297 20 Applying Information 302 ALT 21 Thick and Thin Questions 304 ALT 22 Support a Statement 309 ALT 23 Intrigue Journal 313 ALT 24 Real-World Applications 317 21 Checking Understanding 320 ALT 25 Pre-Post Freewrite 322 ALT 26 One-Sentence Summary 327 Alt 27 3-2-1 331 Alt 28 Rsqc2 336 22 Reflecting and Metacognition 341 ALT 29 Punctuated Lecture 343 ALT 30 Post-Lecture Knowledge Survey 347 ALT 31 Lecture Wrapper 352 ALT 32 Lecture Engagement Logs 356 References 363 Name Index 379 Subject Index 383
ELIZABETH F. BARKLEY is professor of music history at Foothill College, Los Altos, California. She is a scholar, educator, and consultant with over 40 years of experience as an innovative and reflective college instructor. CLAIRE HOWELL MAJOR is professor of higher education at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her expertise is in teaching and learning in higher education and in qualitative research methods.
