what is a good lecture?

WHAT IS A GOOD LECTURE? Dr.T.V.Rao MD

WHAT IS LECTURING?• Lecture: a discourse given before

an audience or class, especially for instruction, as we teach our Students • Discourse: a verbal interchange

of ideas; formal, orderly and usually extended expression of knowledge and thought on a subject.as we do in many Seminars and interactive classes

Etymology of lecturing ( Brown 2002)

• As the etymology suggests, the origin of the lecture is generally accepted to be found in the medieval pre-printing press era. Books were scarce and extremely valuable, which made the lecturer the absolute gatekeeper of specific knowledge, and the student had to commit what was read aloud to memory from the outset.

I was doing the same for many Decades HOWEVER Many are doing for Centuries

•Remarkably little has changed over the centuries, and lecturing is still the most widely used teaching method in higher education.

Our System of Teaching including Teaching Medicine

Depend on Lecturing • Lectures are still the mainstay of

higher education teaching, and often they are the only practical and cost-effective means of ensuring that curricula can be delivered in full to large numbers of students. The lecturing style and technique is also often used successfully in conferences and workshops.

Lectures are not simply didactic it is to Promote Skills and Stimulate

our Students•Though no longer used to spread the content of a single book, lectures are generally used to teach new knowledge and skills, promote reflection, and stimulate further work and learning.

In the appropriate context, • They are an effective way of providing information that is not

available from other sources• They can be cost-effective for transmitting factual information to a

large audience• They provide background information and ideas, basic concepts

and methods that can be developed later by private study, or in small tutor-supervised group activities• They can be used to highlight similarities and differences between

key concepts• They can be a useful way of demonstrating processes.(Bligh, 2000)

Many reasons for choosing the lecture, Among them …….

• When there is no workable alternative due to size of group, venue, etc.• When the programme stipulates it, such as at a conference or as part of an

undergraduate programme• When part of the purpose is to set guidelines for assignments, exams, etc.• When the aim is to present broad outlines of a subject and factual

information• When the aim is to illustrate process and/problem-solving strategies• When you want to model academic practice you wish to encourage

•When you are invited.as happens in Guest lectures

Carefully thought-out learning outcomes are essential before preparing a lecture.

• What do you want the audience to learn?• What are the key concepts that

need to be addressed?• What essential skills and

competencies should participants have on leaving the lecture?• How will all this be clearly

communicated to the audience?

A good lecture at the right time: To our Students

• Facilitates learning of the key basic principles of the subject• Fits coherently into the overall

teaching programme is relevant, well presented and holds students’ attention is organised into a logical structure supports and builds on previous learning is stimulating and provides food for thought.

Beginning lecturers Beginning lecturers or presenters need to ‘realize that the nature of an audience changes with its size. With fewer than 20 people, discussion is possible. With more than 50, a performance is expected, and an audience can turn vicious if it does not get one. Start your career teaching to small classes.’ ( AS WE CALL MICROTEACHING )In this module we will look at techniques to break a very large group into smaller groups, and other ways in which you can avoid the (thankfully rare) ‘viciousness’ to which he alludes. Winston (2008)

The main characteristics of a good lecturer are that they:

• Present the material in a clear and logical sequence• Make the material accessible,

intelligible and meaningful• Cover the subject matter

adequately are constructive and helpful in their criticism demonstrate an expert (and authoritarian) knowledge in their subject

The main characteristics of a good lecturer are that they:

• Prepare the lecture appropriately• include material not readily

accessible in textbooks• are concise• illustrate the practical applications

of the theory presented• show enthusiasm for the subject• generate curiosity about the

lecture material early in the lecture.

The main characteristics of a good lecturer are that they:

•A good lecturer presents the audience with opportunities for meaningful engagement with the subject material and with their lecturer.

Be clearNot to be Repetitive

Make sure that you can be heard and that you and your visual aids can be seen. Make it a rule to use simple and explicit language, unless you wish to be deliberately ambiguous to promote reflection and enquiry. Pace your delivery so that the audience can engage with the material and take notes.

Make sure the material is covered

• Provide readings to cover the module, with questions to help identify the key aspects (but bear in mind the points made in the section on hand-outs later in this module).• Give an outline and some guiding

questions before a lecture.• Provide background information

and further reading on the web.• Use an online discussion forum for

further discussion.

Be knowledgeable•Now your subject and be

willing to share your authority. As well as giving information, pose thought-provoking questions and provide signposts for learners to follow up with their own investigations.

Be interestingI Still Love My Teachers

• Don’t read or worse still dictate. Speak to the audience not at it. Make good eye contact and establish a relationship with participants. Vary your style, vary your delivery and vary the ways in which you involve the audience.

AUDIOVISUAL AIDS• Even the most high-tech audio-visual

aids will not transform a lecture. They are a very powerful teaching tool but they can be counterproductive if they are irrelevant, confusing or just distracting. AV aids should be used to enhance the lecture by offering clarification of material in the lecture, and are particularly useful for students whose preferred learning style is visual. AV also stands for Added Value.

Avoid:•excessive detail•complicated ‘busy’ slides•reading out your slides•talking to the screen.•

Remember! Technology can fail

Be powerful Stand Alone and Teach

Work on your presentation style

• Your job is not to entertain — but you don’t have to be boring.• Think about how you use your voice for emphasis, contrast,

exaggeration, negation, etc. Your voice is a tool for gaining and holding attention.• Participants in any part of the room should be able to hear you

clearly. Avoid:• – speaking in a monotone• – looking or sounding bored • – using vocalised pauses (‘you know’, ‘okay’, etc.)

Leave them with a message

• Lectures should have a planned ending – not just a last word for that day (or worse, just running out of time). Your ending should include:• A summary of the main points• A recap of the key questions

posed/answered the ‘exit thought’ you would like your students to take with them

We Teachers Need Skills • Like most techniques in teaching

and learning, lecturing requires its own set of skills, which can all be learned and refined through practice and reflection, but the single most important element of an effective lecture is that it should be a meaningful engagement for the audience and speaker alike.

Personal Connection and Individual Involvement

• One of the primary ways Jobs was effective in reaching audiences was his remarkable ability to establish a personal connection between himself and each audience member. Instead of speaking to a group as a whole, he seemed to speak to each individual as if he were having a familiar, one-on-one conversation

Be Bold:• Care about your subject, and

how important it is for each listener to “get it.” Where possible, find something in your talk you can be passionate about, and let that passion show. Give the listeners reasons to listen. E.g. say “What I’m going to tell you now changed my life…”

ARE WE TEACHERS BY ACCIDENT OR PASSION

• Today Majority of us are Teachers by Accident, and Few by passion, However teaching is a Art can be

perfected with passion, Being a Teacher living without a passion makes the Life of Disappointing

•Dr.T.V.Rao MD

A presentation without you leads nowhere

•As you can see, terrific design, great images, skilful use of media and a strong script aren’t everything, when it comes to an effective presentation. No, the most important element is you.

References

• What Presenters Can Learn From Steve Jobs By Toke Kruse • IMPROVE YOUR LECTURING NHS• Google Images

For More articles on human Empowerment Visit me at …..

•Program Created by Dr.T.V.Rao MD to make many Passionate Teachers to make Students better

Humans to change the Society • Email

•doctortvrao@gmail.com