Over a cup of coffee: February 23rd edition

Register by Thursday for the Teaching Commons workshop: Online Discussion Boards: More Bang for your Buck. The workshop is this Friday (Feb. 26) from 12:00-1:30PM in the Lincoln Park Student Center room 324.

DeBlogs, the DePaul University blog, posts a number of entries from students on both campuses. The site offers insights on how students work, including this post concerning student methods for gathering survey data.

Tomorrow's Professor Blog sets out to "propose that educators should recognize the related need for empowerful teaching-teaching that blends empathy and intellectual engagement, that empowers students to find rich, diverse, and personally meaningful answers to the question, why did you go to college?"

ProfHacker asks how we can incorporate elements of play into adult learning.

Faculty Focus posts articles on increasing presence in online classes and re-energizing your classes and yourself.

Over a cup of coffee: February 16th edition

New Teaching for Learning video released: Teaching Without a Net: Effective Use of Discussions

Sharon Guan, Director of Instructional Design and Development, posts on improving Powerpoint presentations.

Lots of work going on with virtual tours. Google Earth has added more data to the visualization software, including an oceanic showcase and historical WWII imagery. OnlineUniversities.com lists 100 virtual tours.

The Teaching Professor reviews Problem-Based Learning.

Faculty Focus writer Noralyn Masselink from SUNY Cortland offers some ideas for communicating expectations of edited writing.

HASTAC Blog reminds us of frequently mentioned 21st century literacies.

What Makes a Great Lecture? Use of Lectures in a Hybrid PBL Curriculum

Engaging students in a class session can be done in any number of ways, and lecture remains one of the most popular instructional strategies. Azer (2009) recognizes this, and offers ideas for how to maximize the effectiveness of lectures. While Azer focuses on lectures in the context of problem-based learning in medical courses, most of his recommendations can be applied to lecture in a range of disciplines.

Azer (2009) suggests that a great lecture should empower the audience and keep them focused; move the audience and make them more willing to learn more about the topics discussed; and provide new insights and stimulate thinking and analysis (p. 110).

This requires us to know something about our audience, including asking questions such as (Azer, 2009, p. 111):

• What do students already know about the subject?
• What other subjects have students learned and how does this relate to the current lecture?
• What examples will encourage deeper learning?
• How will the lecture differ from readings or other course materials?
• What stories or analogies will make the content more clear?

Azer (2009) suggests beginning a lecture with an open-ended question that will get students interested in the topic and intellectually curious to learn more (p. 112). Furthermore, you can engage students by showing them how to apply the knowledge they are gaining, showing how the content relates to knowledge from other disciplines, and by listening to and addressing learner needs (Azer, 2009, p. 112).

Finally, Azer (2009) lists a few common mistakes that can spoil a lecture but are relatively easy to correct (p. 113):

• Relying too heavily on Powerpoint slides or using too many of them
• Presenting only factual information
• Not assessing students’ previous knowledge
• Leaving out real world examples or applications
• Not leaving enough time for questions

To address these concerns and further engage students in a lecture, visit the Teaching Commons pages covering:

• Engaging Students
• Getting to Know My Students
• Classroom Assessment Techniques
• Matching Learning Goals to Assignment Types

References

Azer S.A. (2009). What makes a great lecture? Use of lectures in a hybrid PBL curriculum. The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences, 25(3), 109-115.

Over a cup of coffee: February 8th edition

The Teaching Commons posts an update page on engaging students through discussion.

ProfHacker readers offer their advice on encouraging a class environment where everyone is expected to contribute to discussion.

Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for Teaching Excellence offers a number of audio podcasts covering teaching and learning using technology (Requires iTunes). Their website also includes a number of video tutorials on topics like writing a syllabus, writing course objectives, and integrating discussion boards into a class.

Over a cup of coffee: February 2nd edition

Visit the DePaul Haiti Relief Efforts page to see what relief events are happening around campus.

Inside Higher Ed reviews a study in which there was a considerable impact on student plagiarism if students were asked to complete an online plagiarism tutorial.

The IDD Blog author Jean Bryan offers ideas for getting students talking in synchronous online sessions.

Faculty Focus asks us to write with students in order to model good practice and demonstrate the writing process.

The Chronicle of Higher Ed. posts the results of a survey on what is being read on campuses across the country.