I am a casual Uni lecturer and about to start teaching my 13 week finance course for Trimester 2. I have been allocated the "graveyard shift" of a 3 hour lecture from 5pm to 8pm on Friday nights. I would like to think I am a good lecturer but very open to learning fellow Ozbargainer's opinions/advice/ tips on what makes a great lecture/lecturer?
What makes a great lecture/lecturer?
Cheap Steve on 22/05/2015 - 23:01
Comments
As someone who speaks in public quite regularly my policy is never to give a talk that I wouldn't want to listen to myself.
Same goes when I teach.
Think about your subject, think about what you find interesting about it and why, and try to pass that on to your audience.
Please don't make attendance compulsory
Attendance is never compulsory at lectures.. they don't take roll like they do for tutorials and workshops.
Whilst lectures don't take note of attendance, not providing an online recording or streaming is the equivalent of a 'compulsory' lecture IMO.
As a current student I've only been marked for attendance at tutorials twice.
They've started hitting attendance hard at unsw for arts and education lectures :(
Seriously?
How do they take attendance in a lecture? it would annoy the crap out of me like taking the roll at school but with like 3 times the amount of students
@knick007: they pass around a roll/a few rolls and you mark your name off/get it marked off for you by a mate. This semester we've had tests in lectures that count for squat but are done for attendance purposes. I've also seen handheld card readers where you have to tap your ID card at the door but they don't work that great because they are slow.
Some of the reasons why I chose UNSW was Oktoberfest and lax lecture attendance rules. I guess both of them are void now :(
I think this is something basic, but it really does show up in the lecture when the lecturer is there just for the cash. I had 2 readers at my uni as my lecturer for my courses, one really cared about the student experience, constantly asked and constantly tried to improve. The other one flat out said, he's there for the cash and pretty much copy and pasted from the textbook. I think you can see which I liked more.
I have been allocated the "graveyard shift" of a 3 hour lecture from 5pm to 8pm on Friday nights.
Good luck.
As a current Uni student I'm gonna tell you now that time is never gonna be popular. Especially on a Friday night. Expect <60% attendance by week 5.
Not really anything to do with you it will be that students don't want to be in a 3 hour lecture at 5pm, doesn't matter what day of the week it is…
Tips
Don't speak in a monotone
Don't read from the slides
Make it seem like you are there because you want to be there
Know how to use the technology in the lecture theatre. Don't be that person who spends 15 minutes trying to get the projector to work then calls tech support wasting the first 30 minutes. This is particularly bad in a IT COURSE…. (this is from my experience)
|-> If you aren't sure ASK! If it is a room you have never been in before find out when it is free go in there make sure you can plug in your computer, connect to the internet etc etc.Have short breaks DON'T talk for 3 hours
If it is a 3 hour lecture you have 2 options
Run through the material quickly in say 2hours maybe with a 10 minute break at the 1 hour mark therefore you can finish early.
Do it in 3 but give a 10 minute break every 30-40 minutes. When you have a break don't keep talking talking like one of my lecturers did this semester.
If the lecture isn't already recorded - arrange for it to be recorded.
Added to the above
- Speak slowly, so people can absorb what you say, speaking fast then they miss what you are saying. With that, you need to be suscinct in what you are saying. To do this well record yourself with a phone, and you'd be surprised how well speaking slowly sounds.
- No more than 6 bullet points per slide, if using them.
- Be upfront with what you are going to say. Its not a novel where people need to hang on to hear the punch line etc. So Today I am going to discuss XYZ and how it impacts etc, I will also discuss halfway thru what actions can be taken, and so on. In effect its a summary of your presentation/lecture first. That way those who "know it" already can leave or tune out, those who dont will pay full attention. BTW If they know it they respect you for not wasting their time.
Finance evening lecture you would most likely find is a core unit for MBA. Therefore, a majority would be mature age domestic student. Most balance full time work and part time study. It pay full fee, so they give full attention. If you are there to share your knowledge they would get the most out of you. Yes you will have to keep them interested. Finance is a big area of study, with students with prior industry knowledge you will have lots of questions coming from the left field. Some questions will border on tax, especially around depreciation. To distinguish between finance and tax concepts of depreciation could be a possible hurdle.
If you are teaching domestic students, challenges unrelated to topic could be following:
1. Maths knowledge and skill - Time value of money calculations are not easy if most would have last used maths would be their high school.
2. Ability to use finance calculator. First few weeks be prepared to answer questions on the use of the finance calculator.Having a good sense of humour helps.
If you are proactive to look for ideas, I am sure you will be a great hit. All the best.
I never did work out what the point of lectures was, though of course I didn't do a hands-on subject like medicine or chemistry. To me they seemed a relic of the time before the printing press.
A good lecture for me would be, here are the leading writers on this particular issue- I have given you the page references- goodbye- discuss with your tutor at the next tutorial.
I don't know what the ideal alternative is but I agree that lectures in their current form are, at least for me, extremely inefficient use of my time. Even more so for hands-on subjects like chemistry.
I will nearly always focus and grasp concepts better on my own than have some monotone and/or socially-awkward and/or arrogant and/or boring person regurgitate those same notes they produced when they were hired in 1998 (with minor modifications, of course). The only reason I attended lectures (before recordings) was because it was the only easy way to get the actual content and/or answers to the exams (the expensive textbooks normally didn't cover the syllabus) and having a chance to meet up with friends before and after.
From my uni days I could split lectures between 2 categories. One group (99%) tortured me with boredom and slowly disseminated the information I would later have to rote learn for exams. The other group (1%) mildly entertained me for an hour and generally gave me nothing useful for my end goal (i.e. passing exams).
You might learn more from tutorials and labs but even then its rare to have an engaging tutor. Frankly, most PhDs I've had sucked as teachers. If you can't be self-deprecating or realise areas where students are having difficulty you shouldn't be there in the first place.
I disagree, a good lecturer makes a world of difference. Model your tutoring off this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktfIkfNz99Y. I had a course with him and everyone loved him
Richard has a lot of personality - and that makes a big difference. The content of course makes a big difference as well. As he is a former actuary I wonder how he'd keep his students awake (while still learning stuff) in a much drier actuarial lecture for third or fourth year students. I'm not skeptical that he could do a good job but I can't sit through a movie I like for 3 hours let alone a lecture. I don't want to give a bad name to certain departments at UNSW but lectures were sadly nothing close to that engaging in my experience.
The only college kids attending lectures are those who happen to be on campus around that time with time to kill! You wouldn't just travel in for a lecture (all that time and fare money) when the entire thing is recorded online for you to listen within the comfort of your room. It's not like the lecturer says anything more during the lecture or after which makes you miss out. Now - the tutorials are another thing as non-attendance can result in a Fail. Anyway who'd miss a tutorial when that's the only time you get one-on-one help (not so nowadays with overcrowded classes). Oh, another reason for attending lectures - you're still trying to pick up that girl or guy in class and that's the only time your schedules coincide, so far no luck yet but keep trying so keep attending the lectures. During my time at lectures, the guys sitting far back and high up the theatre were messing about with vibrators during the lecture.
Oh, another reason for attending lectures - you're still trying to pick up that girl or guy in class and that's the only time your schedules coincide,
That is still definitely one for me hahaha
During my time at lectures, the guys sitting far back and high up the theatre were messing about with vibrators during the lecture.
I hope they had a girl with them :P
Some lecturers have such weird foreign accents you cannot understand what they are raving about. One really has to listen so hard.
3 hours is beyond the attention span of most people, However
1/ speak clearly, if you have a heavy accent stay at home and stop wasting everyone's time
2/ engage the students: ask questions, ask their opinions, create debate, you may learn something
3/ make the topic relevant to the real world. What role does this subject have in the students future employment. The object of universities is to create a product that an employer wants. Employers have no need for students that have a great theory knowledge but no practical knowledge.
Good luckI have a problem with your point (1) - if you really mean this, you would've asked Einstein to stay at home and not bother delivering lectures. And that would be a loss to us all.
The funnest lecturers and the ones most likely to keep a student awake were the ones with humour who made us laugh. However, this may not be possible depending on the faculty unit and subject topic.
I've had three hour elec eng lectures at the same hours.
The one's I stayed awake for:
Didn't read;
Were funny (PG jokes using relevant jargon);
Shared interesting projects that relate to the course material;
Applied the material for me (I already had a text book to explain the concept broadly);
Understood the topic; and
Had hints coughverystronghintscough for the exam.
Basically lecturers who shared their passion with the class.
Your material can't be as dry as some of the stuff I studied. Keep it interesting and relevant. A break every hour and a 15 minute early mark (when possible) also helps.
And don't overclutter the slides. The lectures I stayed awake for were those with key words or phrases in the slides and I had to listen and jot down stuff, and funny relevant examples.
i appreciated the sweets that my lecturer gave out occasionally to keep us awake too. Good luck and have fun!
If you have the bare minimum on the slides that is fine but then you need to write up proper notes for exam revision.
Most of my lectures gave us the slides after first year. We just had to copy solutions. Code was always left in because we would still need to modify it to our task to get a working solution.
For slides that have maths equations or code it's easy to overcrowd the slide and cause information overload. Also the people who sit up the back of the hall can't see the smaller font..
The work around is to provide copies of lecture slides online as PDF and format them to allow students to write notes in a separate column.
Teach it not so your students can learn, but so they can teach others.
Ive never really equated lecturers with humour. The ones that try are just embarrassing for everyone. If you can make finance humorous quit your job as a lecturer and go on a stand up comedy circuit. Potentially more money that lecturing.
I think its important to realise that peoples attention span is very short and at 5pm it is not going to be great.
I remember one lecturer who got around this problem by spacing his lectures out by amusing but usually relevant videos/jokes or other things every 15 or so minutes. This kept us awake.
The other thing to note is that lectures like books require the audience to put some effort in. You can read a book and remember nothing and the same can apply to a lecture unless you consciously are trying to process the information given to you. One way to force your audience to do this of course is to ask questions.
Can't really talk for Finance subjects but in my 2 years in Melbourne Uni Science, i can tell you is that if you can engage your students, then you have succeeded.
For example, my Human Physiology class is the only class that i was actually looking forward to attending each week. It was al due to the way the Lecturer engaged the students (400+). He would start each lecture with a joke about relevant material or even better a humerus story from his past relevant to current material. Throughout the lecture he would pull out jokes, interact with students, make demonstrations.
Another major factor was his tone. He was not dull or monotone but fluctuated his tone depending on the importance of a point. When describing critical points he would try and weave it into a story. This worked for me as every time i recall the information the story plays out the main points in the issue.
Hope that helped and good luck :)
- Show interest in the subject your teaching and interest in the students questions - engage with the students.
- Have a sense of humour and tell a few jokes/funny stories/situations relevant to the topic
- Give a few hints about what's important for the exam. (This might increase the attendance a bit but probably wont make an overall difference in the results).
- Give the students an early mark (make it kind of a surprise). They will appreciate it every time.
Don't read the PowerPoint slides. I train teachers and will fail them for doing that. Most people can read faster than you can talk. Any slides you use are to supplement the lesson you're giving, otherwise they can just read a book.
Vary the pitch of your voice as you deliver. Monotone voices will put the audience to sleep.
Engage the audience. Ask questions. I usually bring a bag of Minties to give one to anyone who asks or answers a question.
Anecdotes are always good. If you have a story that relates to what you're teaching, use it. It gives the subject some context.
Deliver your lessons in small digestible chunks, no more than 15 minutes of you talking without a break. You'll be amazed how more engaged the audience will be.
Lol most of my Uni lecturers would fail your course
So true…also need to add in - English capability.
Agree with all but 3 - I'm here to listen to the lecturer not to the students. Obviously if the class has a question, I would like the lecturer to answer - but dont ask the students for the answer.
In the end, there are a whole range of students, meaning a range of capability and therefore a range of what the students want from the lecture.
The lecturer will not be able to please everyone, it's up to the lecturer to decide what is in the best interests of (pick your group here).I'm of the opinion that the lecturer should aim for the upper range of capability - this is where recorded lectures come in….listen again and again until you get it! The whole of lectures are to learn, why make it so easy that it is a waste of time and money?
charisma
Most lectures sucks… Don't even bother with their lectures, which is basically unstructured dumbed down PPT of the textbook.
American university lectures are so much better, I just watch them on youtube for free.
Finance lecturers who gave reliable stock tips…
DO NOT FEEL YOU NEED BE AN ELITIST.
I have always appreciated professors who bring things down to the very basic/student level and not ramble on like they're reading from a textbook or trying to impress us. I can read a textbook/wiki if I wanted.
I need to understand. I need to remember. I need to pass. Yes in that order.
I do not care if you've published 50 papers. Imagine everyone as knowing nothing. Please by all means dumb it down and shortly recap the smallest of concepts as you move along. Yes just like American lectures.
For example, this week alone I have 24 lectures to attend. I will not have the space to ponder on your diction, go through all the pre-reading or the intricacies of theories/formulas/pathways you find interesting.
Simple and Step by step IS THE BEST.
Agree with most of the advice so far, plus:
If you've got the quality of the lectures right, Putting in little snippets about your family life, e.g. the character traits of your family, (talking them up, not down) etc, I found got me listening, and keeps people realising that you're a human too.
I'll tell you about the worst teachers i've had:
They spoke in monotone voices. reading from books/slides, sometimes even just sitting in a chair.
The assessment items were disorganised, not proofread, and just generally unclear.
The content seemed to have no real applicable use. No idea why we were learning it.Now some of the best:
They were vibrant and engaging. They moved around and interacted. Didn't matter if I had any interest in the subject at all. They could keep my attention on the topic.
They liked teaching. One lecturer, at the end of all his classes, has 3 or 4 more minutes and asks the class what aspect of the lecture they enjoyed. then what aspect of the lecture they didn't enjoy. Then asked if anything was not clear or could be improved upon. Stuff like that. Just an informal spit it out if you have something to say. Having had him for a few courses over my degree - it was clear he was constantly striving to improve both the course material as well as his teaching methodology.Any ways, thats all i got off the top of my head at the moment
Best lecturer I had was for the most boring subject ever (some sort of OS programming lecture - even he admitted it was a dry topic).
It was 8am on a Friday morning. We'd all slump reluctantly in, he'd have the place chilled like a freezer (keeps you awake), and would literally bounce back and forth across the stage then entire time.
The energy and enthusiasm coming from the guy was contagious. He'd engage the audience where he could (at a rapid pace - without putting anyone on the spot), slides were to the point and worth writing down.
It showed me it was nothing to do with the topic of the lecture, but the delivery that made it interesting or not.
From the perspective of a mid-30s masters student, I would think it is:
- someone who knows his stuff
- someone who is secure and confident
- someone who enjoys the x hours they are teaching
On a slightly different tangent…
- How good you are is not solely dependent on the response of the students.
- Don't worry if you don't please everyone, or not everyone likes you. There will always be young arrogant kids who will sleep in class or play around 'simply because they can' … and regretfully I was one of those bastards in my undergrad.
All the best !
Depends on the subject matter.
Coming from engineering, two of the best (most engaging) lecturers were ones that would, instead of using a .ppt slide show, they used an overhead projector, and wrote everything from scratch each lecture. Talking as they wrote, writing examples, writing the formulas etc.
I guess everyone is different in they way they learn. I found it helpful seeing it written, with references to things further back up the page, and the lecturer would point using his pen, to this 'value', the shadow of his pen would be projected up on the screen, so you could see exactly what he was talking about, and then he would say "this goes here" (in more detail than that of course), then write it.
Lectures need to flow like a story. There needs to be a definite start (a wind-up), some exciting and interesting bits in the middle and there also needs to be a definite ending or a conclusion.
One way you could make the content relevant to the student is to possibly involve some kind of real life event, or something that recently featured in the headlines. You can construct some kind of story that your students can relate to.
Another thing to consider is student's attention spans — they're usually at the peak at the start and at the end of the lecture. You can take advantage of this by putting the most important information about the lesson content in the beginning and then quickly summarising the entire 3 hour lecture as a quick recap in the last few 10 minutes.