Ten Thoughts on Lecturing

1. Your method of lecturing will differ depending upon the size of the class. In a class of three hundred there is little chance of either eye contact or questions from the students during the lecture. In a class of fifty, it is much easier to use both of these tools.

2. Try to have a coherent unit of material that you can cover in the time allotted for the lecture. This is not always possible, but it is desirable.

3. Prepare the lecture carefully, but do not over-prepare. Remember that you know far more about the material than does the student. Be clear in your mind just what, of the material on the subject you might present, you really want the student to remember. Be sure that you emphasize that material in your lecture.

4. You must have a lecturing style with which you are comfortable. You will develop your style gradually. Probably it will grow out of an amalgam of the styles of professors whose styles you have admired. This beginning, over time, will be transformed into your own individual style.

5. Repeat important concepts, perhaps rephrasing them.

6. If you see you are losing your audience and you can tell by the glazed look in their eyes you must adjust your lecture accordingly to meet the challenge. You just cannot let a lecture die on you.

7. Retain your sense of humor and let it show in class.

8. Above all, and I think that this is more important than everything I have said before, you must communicate to the students your enthusiasm for the subject. This enthusiasm will prove to be infectious.

9. Discipline must be maintained in the classroom. Students must be forbidden to be regularly tardy, to talk with friends while you are lecturing, to prepare and eat lunch or breakfast in class, etc. You must be in charge.

10. Finally, don't be afraid to tell a student who asks a question that you don't know the answer. Just say you will look it up and tell them the answer at a later time. "To me, the secret to good lecturing, and good teaching for that matter, is genuine enthusiasm for the subject and for the process of teaching. If you are not personally excited about your topic, you certainly can't expect a classroom of students to be. You can fake a lot of things, but you can't fake enthusiasm for teaching, it's got to be genuine.

11. "One way to convey enthusiasm is by drawing on one's own flair for the dramatic by having a stage presence. Another way is not seeming overprepared or too polished. Notice I said not seeming overprepared. I try to plan thoroughly for each class, and yet I also try to convey a slight aura of unpredictability. I don't want to give the impression that I'm presenting a lecture that I have presented a hundred times before, although that may be the case.

    "But again, the key is enthusiasm. I would argue that there is no such thing as a good teacher who isn't excited about what he or she is teaching." --David Rembert, Department of Biology.

     

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