Jessica's Reading Notes #1

The reading for today focused on technology in the classroom and lecturing. I found the technology somewhat helpful, but I already knew a lot of the information being a “digital native” although I particularly liked the section on how to avoid the annoying squeak of chalk on the chalkboard. I did, however, find the lecture readings more useful and relevant to my future teaching plans and current worries and anxieties I have going into the fall semester.

It was discussed several times throughout the readings that there is no correct way to lecture and teach a class. The “less is more” concept when lecturing is an important one to master. I know when preparing speeches, I tend to put too much information into it and need to make drastic cuts to get within the time constraints I am allowed. Teaching a lecture is essentially making a speech. It involves preparation, knowing your audience, practice, and enthusiasm on the topic. Davis provides an entire chapter on how to deliver a lecture. It was a preview of what I will be teaching all semester to my students in Comm 110. If I cannot give an effective lecture, I should probably rethink teaching Public Speaking.

Regardless, that chapter gave good tips reminders for me of what to include and not include to keep my students engaged throughout the semester.

Both Davis and Lang stressed the importance of preparation, organization, and clarity of lectures. They mention that each lecture should take at least two (and up to ten) hours of preparation and to stay about two weeks ahead of my students in the readings (Davis, 140). I would like to hear more from others who have teaching experience about how they go about preparing for a lecture. How long does it typically take them to prepare? How far in advance do they plan out lectures? How structured do they make their lectures? What tips and advice to they have for someone starting this process?

I also really found the readings about personalizing the lecture helpful. I particularly liked the example Davis gave about having freshmen in a large lecture classes. During the second week of the semester, a professor invites upperclassmen to leave for the last twenty minutes and goes over effective study habits, campus resources, and how to utilize office hours and study groups in a class for the new students (p. 164). This is a great way to get to know the students in your class and make yourself more accessible to those freshmen students who are still learning the college culture. Another example he gave was forming “leaning dyads” (p. 169) where students came to class with a few questions about the reading. The students then formed pairs or groups and asked other students the questions to test the readings for the day. I thought this was a good way to make sure students keep up on the reading, find what they thought was important, and see if there are any concern areas within the material. What are different in class activities others have found to be effective or not effective? I want to focus on aspects that are supplementary to lectures that foster group dynamics, communicating effectively, and public speaking..

As far as the technology readings go, the main part I found useful was the statistics about learning with PowerPoint. My friends in education classes were told “only bad teachers use PowerPoint” but I think if used effectively and not over used, they can be an effective tool to engage students in the classroom. What are other’s opinions of PowerPoint in the classroom? What about other forms of technology in the classroom? What has been the most beneficial I past experiences?