First Steps Toward Increasing Student Engagement During Lecture Timothy F

First Steps Toward Increasing Student Engagement During Lecture Timothy F. Slater

Citation: The Physics Teacher 46, 317 (2008); doi: 10.1119/1.2909759 View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.2909759 View Table of Contents: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aapt/journal/tpt/46/5?ver=pdfcov Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers

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This article is copyrighted as indicated in the article. Reuse of AAPT content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP: 152.117.151.73 On: Mon, 31 Oct 2016 20:57:36 or the Patricia Blanton, Column Editor F Watauga High School, Boone, NC 28607; New Teacher [email protected] First Steps Toward Increasing Student Engagement During Lecture, Timothy F. Slater, University of Wyoming

ave you tried to repurpose mate- tive, “It’s not what the teacher does providing students with complete Hrials you’ve gotten from another that matters; rather, it is what the stu- copies of lecture notes, give them lecturer or publisher that you thought dents do.” In a learner-centered teach- fragmented notes to be completed could express a concept exceptionally ing environment, the role of lecture is during a lecture to give them an ex- well, only to find when you used the radically shifted to a focus on guiding pert-like skeletal structure on which same materials, they did not have the students through meaningful learning to build their understanding. dramatic effect on your students you experiences. The pathway to giving The central part of a learner-cen- desired? It would be easy to conclude great lectures is to say less and change tered approach is to ask questions. that student apathy is to blame. But, if listener behavior from passive to active! The questions posed should be students listening to your lecture take Teachers who have navigated the road nonrhetorical questions and should on the same bored appearance and pas- to student engagement rarely go back be at a cognitive level requiring sive disposition often observed when to teaching mostly by telling. more thought than just relying on you are showing a video, consider Lecturing about science and tech- preexisting declarative knowledge. whether your instructional approach is nology has a distinct advantage over Classrooms of students respond- designed to intellectually engage stu- other disciplines in that demonstra- ing quickly, and in unison, can be dents. An information-download lec- tions can be provocative, provide il- mistaken for meaningful dialogue. ture has often been described as…the lustrative clarification, and excite the Questions should be intellectually process by which the teacher’s notes get learner with unexpected phenomena. challenging and be carefully crafted transferred into students’ notebooks with- Research on the actual effectiveness to lead the students to deeper levels out passing through the brains of either. of demonstrations shows the most of understanding. Questions such as That brilliant set of lecture materials important part of the demonstration “does everyone understand?” and “do that you thought would be perfect is asking students to predict (in writing) you have any questions?” provide the might need to be adjusted to meet what they expect to see and predict the lecturer little insight into whether or the learning styles of your students to effect of changing particular variables. not the audience actually compre- actively engage them in developing It is the act of predicting and rational- hends the ideas being presented. conceptual understanding. izing these predictions where most of An easy-to-understand yet dif- The first step toward refocusing the the learning occurs. So, stop and take ficult-to-implement teaching skill is teacher-centered lecture to a learner- the time to ask, “What do you think to ask meaningful questions and then centered classroom is to accept that you’ll see?” patiently WAIT. Researchers that care- much of the responsibility for learning Students in the most basic of learn- fully track classroom dynamics have resides squarely on the listener—not er-centered learning environments do found that an instructor who too on the lecturer. Lecturers can motivate, more than mindlessly recopy notes quickly provides clarifying informa- inspire, and build a series of experiences projected by the lecturer; they add tion or responds to the first person that make the discipline more acces- notations and fill in missing pieces who answers a question completely sible; but teachers cannot do the learn- to partially completed forms or dia- squashes further discussion and diver- ing for the students. This notion has grams distributed to audiences at the gent thinking. The common advice encouraged me to promote the perspec- beginning of a lecture. Rather than is to wait at least 10 seconds before

The Physics Teacher ◆ Vol. 46, May 2008 DOI: 10.1119/1.2909759 317 This article is copyrighted as indicated in the article. Reuse of AAPT content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP: 152.117.151.73 On: Mon, 31 Oct 2016 20:57:36 Thisarticle iscopyrighted asindicatedin thearticle.Reuse ofAAPTcontent issubjecttothe termsat:http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloadedto IP: alternate between males and females. names from female names to easily a color code that distinguishes male dents’ names on ice cream sticks using students questions. Others write stu at random from a hat to ask specific mented students accountable needs to be imple be effective, a few rows are required to respond. To contemplated because only the first systems don’t actually need to be questions without accountability back in the classroom realize that a few sessions the students farther the first few front rows. After just discussion with only the students in cepting several other answers. correctness of a response before ac answers and to avoid affirming the to explain the reasoning behind their equally important to ask responders without looking at the students. It is coffee, or flip through lecture notes away from the class, taking a sip of before accepting responses is to turn ers be certain that 10 seconds elapses useful strategy to help fidgety lectur ceptually challenging enough. One seconds, then the question isn’t con answer your question in less than 10 tion. If everyone in the audience can saying anything after posing a ques 4. Do have them work in teams on mini-case studies studies mini-case on teams in work them have Do 4. your follow to how for structure a listeners give Do 3. understand they if out find and stop periodically Do 2. bridge a as it use and know they what out find Do 1. A lecturer must avoid holding a with ill-defined variables. ill-defined with lecture. feedback. listeners give and them. teach to trying are you what to . Some lecturers draw names

Teacher 318 system that holds all the

To Do List ToDo ”To Do” List for Creating Engaging Classroom LecturesClassroom Engaging Creating”To for List Do” ------152.117.151.73 On: Mon, 31 Oct2016 20:57:36 collaborative learning groups to solve plete understanding. audience will develop a more com social conversations with peers, the The underlying hope is that through the audience’s conceptual growth. voting allows the lecturer to monitor response systems. The outcome of the choice, or even use electronic peer- or lettered index cards to indicate a indicate their answers, using colored or four fingers close to their chest to perhaps by holding one, two, three, the audience to vote anonymously to the question a second time. We ask discussion, they are asked to respond correct.” After a short collaborative their neighbor “why their answer is articulate the reasoning, and convince student and to SHARE their answer, second step is to PAIR with another after discussion with a peer. The understandings that might result their initial thinking with any new idea so that they can actively compare people actually commit to an initial vote on an answer. It is crucial that tion and individually commit to and asked to THINK about the ques think-pair-share choice question to students in a nature of students, pose a multiple- Breaking the students into small, To capitalize on the innate social format. Students are ies and elect a spokesperson to summarize analysis. summarize to spokesperson a elect and ies stud mini-case easy seemingly consider to groups Ask notes. add can listeners which to images/graphs and titles slide ONLYthe with handouts PowerPoint Provide questions. Think-Pair-Share listeners give and stop Periodically lecture. your into far getting before questions if” do you would “what to responses share, then write, to audience the asking by lecture a Start - - How To Do It Better It ToDo How the students will readily talk to one last century. Our experience is that ing techniques implemented over the successful and fully evaluated teach a meaningful task is one of the most their learning and course grades. can see how these aspects improve engagement of your students if they dramatically improve the intellectual Adding these pedagogical tools will students to analyze using novel ideas. expertise to build rich scenarios for know; rather, it is to use their unique not to simply tell students what they most valuable role of an expert is scenarios. justify decisions as well as evaluate to use their knowledge to create and cognitive levels by challenging them ask students to work at the highest appearance of being simplistic and The best case studies have an initial itly presented to them in the lecture. scenarios that have not been explic synthesize several ideas or evaluate study tasks ask audience members to be solved through case studies. Case viding students with dilemmas to in meaningful conversations by pro Engage collaborative learning groups posed at the right conceptual level. minutes at a time if the questions are another and stay on task for several The bottom line here is that the The Physics Teacher Physics The

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