Both students and toddlers are a bit…
Even the most ardent proponents of pre-recorded lectures among us choose to do a live lecture sometimes. In this blog post, I'll be sharing some tips on how I like to run a live lecture that's worth our students coming to campus for. So, let's dive right in!
When it comes to lecturing to students, I like to think of myself as a parent taking a group of toddlers for a walk. And just like with toddlers, there are a couple of things I keep in mind to make sure my students are able to keep up with me.
First of all, I adjust my pace so that my students can follow along. Just like how toddlers can't be expected to keep up with an adult's pace, students can't be expected to grasp abstract concepts as quickly as experts can. So, I take my time and explain things as clearly as possible. A great explanation should use simple language, have a clear structure that shows the relationships between concepts, and include storytelling, examples, analogies, and metaphors. But don't confuse being clear with dumbing things down! The goal is to introduce new ideas at a pace that students can digest. After all, there is no virtue in making students feel stupid by showing off how much one knows.
So, how do you know what the right pace is? This is where my second rule comes in: keep checking in with your students throughout the lecture. Just like how you wouldn't walk off with a toddler without making sure they're by your side, you shouldn't lecture without periodically assessing your students' comprehension. The last thing you want is for your students to miss a key concept at the beginning of the lecture and feel lost for the rest of the time, or worse, to misunderstand an idea without realizing it.
To practically evaluate your students' comprehension, I like to use an audience response tool like Mentimeter, Kahoot, Slido, or a similar product. At the end of a topic or segment, I have my students answer a few short multiple-choice questions that test their understanding of the underlying ideas or common mistakes. Once around 80% of all students have answered, I stop the poll and project the questions on the wall. Then, we go over the questions together, discussing the answers in more or less detail depending on the students' comprehension levels. In large-scale, public higher education, the general rule is to move on to the next part of the lecture once enough students have understood enough about the previous topic.
Even though higher education students are adults, they still share a lot with babies - they're both trying to learn about the world around them! As educators, our job is to meet them where they are and guide them on their journey at their own pace. By following these tips, you can make sure that your live lectures are engaging, interactive, and worth your students coming to campus for.
Special thanks to Jasmijn Loos for her input for this post.
Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash
