Putting yourself into the understanding/ reception level of the students and beginning the lecture with some questions which are clarified in the process of discussion is essential. At the same time keeping yourself updated with the new teaching-learning aids is a vital part of the good lecture. I have started using "Google Classroom" from this year and found it to be interesting and exciting among the students.

Loay the basics are simple a good introduction ( 5 min) a thorough body (with enough feed back moments with quizes and or questions (80 min)and a good end (5 min). authentic knowledge is essential as well as a good story. Works for me and my students for more than 30 years

By motivating them to think and keep them away from traditional methods that rely on conservation without understanding

Make your class more living by having some discussions, quiz sessions, ppt, some practical approach, etc

Putting yourself into the understanding/ reception level of the students and beginning the lecture with some questions which are clarified in the process of discussion is essential. At the same time keeping yourself updated with the new teaching-learning aids is a vital part of the good lecture. I have started using "Google Classroom" from this year and found it to be interesting and exciting among the students.

My way is to give the students real problems of companies which fit into the syllabus. The students try to solve these items in discussion with the company coworkers. They learn to handle real problems, to apply project management and are motivated to improve in theory. They experience that theory is absolute important to invent new steps. (more? look at www.theo-prax.de)

Peter

Hi Loay,

There are several techniques for improving large scale pedagogy :

1-Participative episodes: online voting, rich questioning, asking them to discuss in groups around cafe style seating or if in straight seating with those in front, behind or next to them varying it each time, breaking the lecture into episodes, asking them to produce a small artefact like an image or slogan, and getting them to report back after discussion.etc..

2-Following lectures with break out consolidation seminars.

3-Invite them to ask questions or comment.

4-Invite speakers.

5-Multimodality: video, audio, images, ppt, prezzi, etc.

6-Invitingthem to ask questions on a forum following reflection on what has been learnt

7-Providing further reading..

I think there might be no single answer. It depends on a number of dimensions - I'll pick on subject taught and level of student for example. With physics and mathematics, and for bright students, I reckon the lecture can be more 'self-contained', so long as there are plenty of worked examples and the various great tactics shared above here. Move into social sciences, philosophy or education (e.g. PGCE) lectures for all student levels, and I reckon there needs to be more interaction with the lecturer; furthermore the lecturer needs to be a facilitator to other references and points of view in these subjects. But in all cases, would agree we should not create the perception in the student that when the lecture hall lights are switched off, the lecturer disappears or goes back in the cupboard!

I personally believe that I can't leave my classroom until and unless each and every student not sure about the idea of that topic. I always prefer to go in students level so that they can easily understand and ask questions. I think I am the sole responsible for each student's understanding.

I do not believe much in lectures because I think that students can get good ones on Youtube. At the same time, I know that universities still hire lecturers.

So, I think that lecturers may build interest in what they have to say at a particular lecture (in previous ones) and link new knowledge to real issues (whenever you can).

They used this approach in the past also. I was given my grandmother´s chemistry textbook as a present sometime ago. It dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. Every chapter started with "real" topics and issues related to the chapter´s contents.

I know that it sounds easier to do with the social sciences, but I have seen it done in STEM classes.

Best wishes for you Loay.

On the first day of class I inform my students that our class will be interactive and I expect everyone to participate in discussion. I believe that when students share their experiences with one another, learning takes place...I also have small group discussion between the students because students will listen to each other rather than always listening to me as the professor. I also contribute to the discussions taking place in the classroom, again, hoping that students are learning from everyone who contributes. Thank you.

Hello Loay,

I use a co-operative learning approach to my lectures. Hence, I use structures and designs from the works of Dr. Spencer Kagan such as:

- Jigsaws

-Think-Pair-Share

-Round Robin

-Round Table

-KWL

-Three-Step Interviews

-Numbered Heads

My aim is to help my students use their prior knowledge, share information and experiences relevant to the topic, increase their critical thinking skills and increase their motivation and eagerness to be responsible for their own learning and that of their colleagues.

At the end of my sessions the students not only leave with the required knowledge but with a smile of their faces, better relationships and improved 21st Century Skills.

Ask them questions, give them quizzes, when someone asks a question I ask the other students their opinion, have debates

@loay i allow questions from them and i ask questions to them this usually leads to discussion and input fro learner to esucator and vice versa. I also give topics to them to present in the class.

No i don't leave the hall.i use other teaching strategies as well. Handouts, articles for them to read through and give input.i also use simulation activities.

@maria i also use videos. Vidoes helps a lot.

@Laoy I make my lectures an interactive one whenever I have the opportunity to lecture my students, though my major activity in my institution is counselling. My interaction is more with distance learners, so when I organize talk or give them lectures on issues I feel they need help, I give opportunities for questions and use illustrations to drive my points home. I also give students' opportunity to ask question. I also link them to web sites that will provide more information on the subject of discussion. This makes students active learners'.

Build in retrieval practice throughout.

There is a well-researched and proven effective way of giving a class that requires the instructor to introduce a lot of information at once. It takes more planning and a little creativity, but it has worked well for me. Of course it depends on the age of your audience, and the content, but beginning by activating prior knowledge and gauging that through discussion (informal assessment of student knowledge on the topic), a mixture of small group instruction/activity, and whole brain teaching methods to maintain engagement. It is very important to have guidelines for acceptable discussion/activity practice, and an atmosphere where the growth mindset is already the norm. The key is to get student to feel safe and comfortable with emotional risk in relation to introduction of new concepts to student schema. You'll see amazing things. Good luck :)

The best way to the head is through the heart. In Indigenous epistemologies, learning is relational, so the best way to teach is by forming relationships with your learners. Establish your positionality in-relation to the content by sharing who you are, not what you have proven in the academy or in publications, which is lost on your learners. We learn best from each other, not from a sage on stage, so your learners have to interact with the content in anyway possible (tech, group activities and discussions). Actually get to know your students. Learn their names. Learn what they are interested in outside of the course content. Learn a little about their life experiences. You can cater content and recommendations to not only their academic interests, but you can relate on a more personal level. Undergraduates feel like they do not have a voice and are easily gobbled up by the institution, so do anything you can that nurtures the learning relationship. It is the best way to improve your lectures and ensure your learners are actually listening to you and engaged in the content.

I think to help students in a lecture we need to listen to them, to their preoccupations as much as we can.

Plus you listen to them they will listen to you because each action has an equal reaction in the opposite direction (in arabic

لكل فعل ردة فعل تساويه في الشدة و تعاكسه في الاتجاه)

Interaction is very important and should be fruitful. We need to avoid one-way teaching and make the students active and actors of their learning.

I find it very useful to use mind maps to make concepts more understandable and attractive.

Encourage the students to ask questions. If they don't ask then ask them questions to make sure they understand you. Some students may be shy of the direct interaction, you can get their feedback or answers in form of anonymous sheets of paper. This helps you know more how your students are thinking.

It's also useful to get the continued and early feedback ( positive and negative) from your students regarding the lectures and the way they are providing. This helps to improve and adapt the way of teaching.

It's important to know the profile of your learners from the beginning to know how to act with them and how to adapt your lectures to this profile.

Some competition in the class is also useful. Quizzes in the form of competition between groups can add some motivation and attraction.

Reward creative students to encourage creativity and originality.

Best,

Great question! I would recommend taking a look into active learning. Prince (2004) does a nice job of reviewing and summarizing active learning as an instructional method while equally "examining the evidence for the effectiveness of active learning" (p. 223). This paper is available on RG and I've listed the reference below. Although sometimes active learning strategies stray from typical "lecture," taking into consideration the things that active learning promotes can help take your lectures above and beyond.

I would also recommend Nilson's (2016) text Teaching at its Best as Linda Nilson includes an entire chapter (ch. 12) on lecturing. One particular point that I always try to keep in mind is as follows: "Do not lecture material that simply duplicates the assigned readings or other course materials" (Nilson, 2016, p. 189). If your lecture simply reiterates what's already been read, fostering motivation and engagement (and keeping students awake) will be difficult.

Even simple strategies can be effective, for example, pausing during a lecture, and asking students to turn to a partner and briefly summarize what they've learned before moving on.

Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning really work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223-231.

Nilson, L. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

I use a courseware tool - all presentations and other additional materials are available for students online, including a discussion forum. Just a nice and very effective way of support...

I agree with Reid Evans regarding active learning strategies. In addition to turn-and-talk and of course, student response systems, I find that identifying debatable issues related to the course, dividing up the room into various stakeholders, providing some research/small group discussion time, and allowing a brief "debate" is a great way to engage students and extend the learning beyond texts.

Thank you Dr. Sami Kahn for your contribution to this discussion

You can help your students in different ways one of them for example, using interactive tools to show them a real life example which is related to the lecture subject. By this way you will attract them and they will understand how everything is related to our life. Also, you can use group base method which help them to understand the team work rule ... and so on..

Kind regards

Thank you Dr. Alyaa Al-Barrak

Dear Josef Slowík , Reid Evans , Hayet Si Salah , Jesse Staats , Nina Flores , Peter Eyerer , Abena Baiden , and Madan Biswal , thank you all for your contribution to this discussion

Thank you dear Jan H Jansen , Shakir Tuleab , Kuldeep Singh , Dima Khazem , Robert Illes , Sudatta Banerjee , Beverly Bannon

Yes, I try my best to make my students learn the theme. For this I follow a participatory method of learning. Soon after the class, I encourage students to contact me via mail for additional learning and clarifications of their doubts. I always try to build a learning environment in my classroom through some innovative techniques.

By asking questions of different levels and also giving awareness about the subject scope and market demand.

A good lesson is a product of good planning. Planning requires ample time to organise the lessons in such a way that well--structured activities engage learners. Choosing format of a lesson is the first step. A class can be divided into mini lectures, activities and group work depending on the learning objectives of that lesson and the whole course in general.

Coming to your question, when I plan a lesson I incorporate activities targeting the top tier of Bloom's Taxonomy. Teacher lectures are important but with the help of the flipped classroom format, I give them mini quizzes and seminar questions before hand as well as small activities so that they are engaged with the course literature and bring an active mind to the class.

Thank you Dr. Alia Amir for your contribution to this discussion

I endorse Alia Amir's strategies and can attest to the effectiveness of the mini review quizzes (graded) to keep students engaged by stimulating their recall of previous topic before moving on to the new one. These short graded review quizzes also help to improve punctuality as they are given at the beginning of the class in the first 10 mins and corrected afterwards. See this resources for further understanding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWCoOyuFS5I&list=PLpqgMVhvoDOEx5yc1wkAVtFUWdIoEwheh&index=27

Best,

Debra

Thanks, Debra! I fully agree with your strategies as well, especially using the review questions. Invoking previous learning is important and helps create connection from one lesson to another, one topic to the next.

I regularly use muddy cards changing their format with different groups to test wha I like the best. I have come to the conclusion that for me once in a while, I need muddy cards at the beginning of a course/seminar to ask the students to write down what do they expect to learn from the course. For the end of seminar feedback (and I use them in every seminar) muddy cards, I ask them to write two new things they learnt in the seminar, and one thing they haven't understood. Then I use this information for the next seminar taking care especially of the topics students haven't understood. At the end of each course, I found that for each group project the students had actually used all of those "difficult" concepts quoting me on their slides ;-)

Mission accomplished!

By regularly checking on then both in the class and outside. It is important to involve them, in your way of teaching. If you involve them, connection hits instantly!!!!!!!!!

You are most welcome, Loay Al-Saffar ! I hope it helps.