A+ Best Tips

Academics have a tendency to lecture, as this is the way we learned. Some things, indeed, need lectures. But most of us can improve our lectures. Here are some simple ways that lectures can be improved.

Vary the voice style.

Move around the room.
There’s Joe’s picture plane. (He says that teachers tend to stay within a “window” away from the students, like there is a piece of glass between them/us and the students.) I go to a part of the room where I am not normally. Or I take two parts and move back and forth between the two spaces.

Keep lectures short.
Of course, I think 15 minutes is short and the students think 30 seconds is short.

Start the lecture with a question that the lecture is aimed at helping the students to answer.
For example, You will have to write an essay later giving examples for this question: “How has the world changed from Old English to Middle English times?” One of the examples you could discuss is women’s roles. Then I give my Old English lecture on women’s roles.

Include an activity or assignment immediately after the lecture that involves the lecture.
Example, “List five things that differ from Old English literature/culture that you could note and write down as we read through Medieval literature.”

Prepare a handout.
This could be the main points OR
it could be the important concepts left blank with some of the notes filled in.

Tell stories.
People like jokes; they like stories. Give them something they can relate to and let them hang the information on that.

In the discussion of content of literature of the era, I talk about informing the uneducated. One part of this was the stained glass windows, which told stories from the Bible and acted as a picture Bible.
I bring a picture of a stained glass window that matches what the literature is about.

Relate the new information to previous information.
Remember that OE/ME essay you have to write? This is the second half of the information you need to use.

Create an activity or an assignment that applies the new information to the overall themes of the course.
We are looking at the intellectual and moral aspects of literature. What part of the contextualization would help us identify these?
–Answer: Content. This is the section that lists things like “strong belief in faith” and “plays that instruct illiterate masses in morals and religion.”

Students WANT to give us what we want. They are just not always sure what that is.

Here is an excellent suggestion from Mike (a history teacher) that I am going to incorporate regularly into my classes:

I have found that after the first test of the semester, I select the best student essay answer and present it to the class, not identifying the student. Preferably, if there were several essay questions, I select the best of each and present it on the screen–this tells the students what I consider a well-formed essay and also what content I thought was appropriate and addressed the question best. And it came from a fellow student, not the professor.

Another windfall from this is the student whose essay is displayed is very proud and encouraged and wishes to keep up the same standard in the future.

This is my favorite paper to teach because my students enjoy it (as much as they enjoy any paper) and overall they do a very good job with it.

To Begin
Talk about why people need to define the words they use.

Dating
An example I give here is two people dating. One says, “I love you.” The other says, “I love you, too.” Both think the other person understood what they said and agrees with it. But, in this case, the first person means, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” and the second person means, “I like being with you till somebody better comes along.”

Challenger
Another strong example is the issue of the Challenger explosion. The engineers working on the Challenger wrote the administration and said “the secondary O-rings” have problems. Administration wrote back and asked if the primary O-rings were good. Yes, they were, but the secondary O-rings were problematic. Administration decided that as long as the primary O-rings were okay, there was no reason to worry about the secondary O-rings.

The issue here was that administration heard “secondary” and thought “back-up.” The engineers were saying “secondary,” which was the official name, meaning “second kind of.”

Because the two groups did not understand each other, the Challenger launched and blew up in sight of everyone standing there and an entire school whose teacher was on the ship.

Sometimes the difference in definitions can make a life and death difference.

This illustrates to the students why they might need to define words, even words they use all the time.

Real life examples of definition paragraphs
I also give examples of definition paragraphs from real life. This is growing over time and you could probably come up with your own set of real life definition paragraphs.

Abstract Nouns

Then I give definitions of and examples of concrete and abstract nouns.

It is important that students know the difference between abstract and concrete nouns because they need to know what they are going to be defining.

Students Begin

Then I have the students choose an abstract noun to write on.

To help them think through, as a visual/kinesthetic prewriting activity, I have them look up definitions for their word online. I usually have them look up multiple definitions for the word. An easy way to do this is put “define x” into Google. Then the first one is web definitions for the word, if such exist. Here they are looking for any quote on the topic.

Then, still as part of their prewriting, I have them look up quotes on the word. Here they are looking for a quote they agree with.

This is a good time to go through MLA internal citations and Works Cited for electronic sources. Only these two sources are used in the paper and most of the students do a good job with this. It’s much easier for them to say something like: “Princeton’s definition of honor is…” Or Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” (”Health”).

Definition Paragraph

I discuss with the students types of definitions. I have the students use the definition they found and add to it or define it more precisely.

I also have them use the quotation they found, if they wish.

I suggest they start off with questions or a personal anecdote which tell why they are interested in this word.

A student example of beauty.

A student example about love.

Three Examples

The next three paragraphs are, I tell them, examples of this word that match their definition of the word. And, since I told them to pick a word that means something to them, most of them have examples from their lives or the lives of those they know.

This is where their imagination and creativity can run riot, giving many details. I often get long papers because I allow them to choose their topic and their examples.

Conclusion

Obviously there ought to be a concluding paragraph to tie it all together. What should go in it? They can remind the reader of the definition. They can say what the word does not mean. They can recap the illustrations. They can add an example that was too short to give in the illustration paragraphs. They can give an example that is NOT their definition and say why it is not, ending with their definition again.

Online examples

This is one I wrote in class with the students watching, to show them the thought process I went through.

This is a student definition/illustration paper written in class.

You should ask for these things on the first day of class.  And do not think you have them just because they are on some handout the school gave you.  Phone numbers change and people move and accounts get deleted or are unread.

Phone number
Because?

• You might need to call them.
• They might call you but not give a phone number.
• They might call and you can’t understand the number.

Email address

• You might need to get in touch with them at an inconvenient time to call.
• Writing gives you time to review your communication.
• Handouts and exercises for missed assignments may need to be sent.

Preferred name

Because there is not a lot more annoying than being called “Sharon” when you go by “Elizabeth” or “John” when you go by “Mike.”

I know I don’t like it and you would not either.  So make sure you ask students what they want to be called.

As an aside, I tell the story of a high school student who told the sub he wanted to be called Fred.  I knew the sub and she told me, so I called the student Fred in class until he finally admitted he had just been causing problems for the sub and agreed to not do so again.  …It took two weeks of being Fred.

Basic considerations for a textbook:

•  Level of class  (developmental, on-level, honors)
•  Price (and this should not be too high, regardless of your neighborhood)
• Reading level (It can exceed their grasp, but it shouldn’t do that by much.)
• Complexity (Is it really going to be usable?)

Other considerations:

• Visual (pretty colors, pretty pictures)
• Graphical (pretty diagrams, graphs, tables)
• Age (modern)
• Holes in your enthusiasm (It should fill those.)
• Additions not readily available on the internet  (It should give the students something they can’t get for free.)

Things you do want:

• Accuracy  (No major errors in fact or theory.)
• Relevance (Ought to work well for your class and not have to be worked around.)
• Readability (Has to be at a level the students can get.)
• Accessibility  (Information should be chunked, for easier understanding.)

This last year I was introduced to entity and incremental theories of intelligence. In one, the student says, “I am good at this.” (Or bad at it.) In the other the student says, “I worked hard at this and I got it.” (Or didn’t work hard enough and didn’t get it.)

While it is true that some things a student may never get (I, for one, have never gotten geometry.), most things the student can get if they will keep trying.

According to research incremental theorists are more likely to succeed across diverse fields. Someone who is “good at math” may not use the same skills that make them good at math in English because they don’t realize those skills transfer.

The researcher I read said that process-oriented feedback from the teacher can help our students realize that they have incremental intelligence. “Good job! You are becoming a better writer. Keep up the good work.” Or “Study a little harder for the next test. Ask any questions you need to during our review.”

This difference made sense to me. I’ve decided to try it out. This is the first semester I have tried doing incremental encouragement, so I do not know how well it will work. But I think it would have helped me as a student.

My notes
Entity: I am good at this
Incremental: I can do this if I try
How to encourage students: process-oriented feedback
“Good job! You are really becoming a _____. Keep up the good work.”

“Study a little harder for the next one and you’ll do well. Ask any questions you need to.”

If you are a new teacher, this is a concern. No one wants to get to class and find out they can only fill half the time.

There are several things you can do, all of which require work on your part. (Sorry, there are no easy answers.)

Practice out loud.

If you are going to be giving explanations, lectures, or general information, practice saying these things. It will let you know how much time you are going to take. It may also help you determine a better way to say it.

Have activities and exercises.

When you are working on a topic, always have more activities and exercises.

If you think the class will have time to do two activities, have four. If you think the class will have time to do one, have three.

Sometimes I will plan something that takes too much time to accomplish. I can usually have them finish at home or I can shorten the amount they actually have to do.

But sometimes things I think will take a while are a sail-through for the students.

Having activities and exercises helps emphasize whatever you are working on. And it keeps the amount of time in class full.

Also remember that having students work more on a topic usually enforces that topic. Students will remember 10% of what you say and 90% of what they do.

Have a related writing project.

If you are discussing neo-classical literature, you can ask the class to write a paragraph (or more) reviewing the major points discussed in class.

If you are lecturing, you can ask them for the three points they best remember from the lecture.

If you are having them do a reading, you can ask them to summarize the reading in a paragraph.

Have group discussions.

If you have just given a lecture, have them get in groups and discuss what they remember of the lecture. If they know more on the topic, they can share that, too.

Have a quiz.

Ask them to apply what they’ve been learning for the last few classes. For example, if you are reading Swift and have discussed satire, ask them for examples of satire in Gulliver’s Travels.

Or if you have just done a reading, ask them to identify a theme and defend their identification.

One thing that would be good, especially in a required course, is if the students saw why they needed to be in your class. I try to tell them that the class will help them write throughout their college career. I give them a true story of a man who lost over a million dollars ($1,000,000,000) because he didn’t write well so he did not receive a promotion. But I have been given another great idea that I am going to use next time I start class.

This is from Lyubov, a coworker from Russia:

I did this for the first time in my physics class. I told them to get out a note card and write on the top of it their dream.

I give them 4 minutes for this. After they got puzzled I told them that whatever it is, they will have it as long as they will keep the note card in front of their eyes and tell everybody about it. It have to be something what they really really want.

Then the next step is that instead of thinking which way they will have to go to get that dream, they have to think that they already have it. If it is dream to became a doctor, then the student has to imagine that he is a doctor. I explained to students that it will be really helpful for them and why.

Next step: I asked them if physics is a required step on the way to reach their dream and for most of them it was. I told them that it does not matter then if they like physics or not; they have to start getting into it because it is something they have to do to go their way.

My students often come to physics class with the idea that it will be the most boring and hardest class of all.

Next I told them that we do in our life different things that we do not like to do but have to do anyway.

Instead of trying to do stuff that you don’t like, you have to find something about it that you will like. You will do it with pleasure then.

I told them that i do not like to wash the floor and clean the house. I found something that I like about it and every time I do it with the pleasure. I am thinking how everybody will be happy in a clean and spotless house.

I think this was really helpful for my students this fall. Usually it is near 60-70% of the students who do not like physics. This time I started with 1 person out of 25 who actually said that he liked it. Now I have 18 people who are working really hard.

Sometimes when you plan a course, there is plenty the school wants you to do and that you think is important and fascinating. Sometimes, in fact, there is too much to do. How do you keep the coursework manageable, both for you and the students?

Look for redundancy.

Do you have two works from the same time period? Two works by the same author? A work likely read in high school or a previous course?

If you do, there is something you can delete.

Do you have two papers of the same type? Do you have two expressive papers?

Again, if you do, there is something you can delete.

What if there isn’t redundancy in your course?

Keep major concepts over minor ones.

One of the real issue with eliminating in a course is determining the major concepts or issues over the minor ones.

Obviously in a freshman composition course I cannot teach every style of college writing the students may face. Equally obviously in a survey of literature course, I can’t have them read every work, or even every major work, of every period.

So I need to focus on the most important ones.

Students are more likely to have to write a compare/contrast paper than they are a narrative essay. If I need to drop papers, then I ought to drop the narrative (a type they are probably too familiar with) to keep the compare/contrast (a type they will be writing in exams throughout college).

Students are more likely outside of English class to hear a reference to Bunyan than to Herbert. I should deal with Bunyan over Herbert if I am teaching a literature course and need to actually finish a period within X amount of time. Then again, they are more likely to hear about Milton than Bunyan. So I would eliminate Herbert in order to include Bunyan, but eliminate Bunyan to include Milton.

Check your learning outcomes.

If you said the students should have written a compare/contrast paper, then you need to have them write one.

If you said they will have covered all the major authors, you should know who the major authors are and cover them.

If you said they are going to read in all four genres, then you should make sure that the students read works in all four genres.

Follow your learning outcomes or change them to better fit your view of the course.