This week’s reading mainly focus on how to teach a course by using technology and traditional lecture. It also talks about how to motivate the students to participate in the class period.
Davis suggests of using schemes to arrange the topics, which include: topical, causal, sequential, symbolic or graphic, structural and problem-solving (Davis, p.137). Within these schemes, I find the symbolic and problem-solving scheme as most useful for a public speaking class. I used a communication model figure to illustrate the communication process to the students in my previous class. It is much easy for them to draw a figure rather than to copy a bunch of words on their notebook. I also showed them a video and ask them to identify the components of communication process from it, which belongs to the problem-solving scheme. Students seem to talk a lot when they are assigned into the group activities like this.
Davis also mentions about design the lectures in ten- or fifteen minutes blocks (Davis, p.143), which I think is quite sensible. He suggests us to cover a single point, provide examples and end with a brief summary for each block. I believe students must have a short span of attention when they are at class. By dividing each chapter into several blocks may help them focus on the course more.
On the chapter of personalizing the large enrollment course, Davis talks about asking students to submit autobiographical information to let both the instructor and the classmates know each other (Davis, p163). I will use this method next semester at the first week of teaching and I will ask them to write their bios at the discussion board on blackboard. I still can’t identify all my students when it comes to the third week. This method may solve my problem!
Wheeler talks about inviting specific students to sit in the front row so that the instructor can have more interaction with the students (Davis, p.164). I agree with this idea as some students prefer to sit in the back all the time. I have no idea whether they have got my lecture or not. By forcing the students sit in the front row will help them focus on the lecture. The only concern is that will the student be willing to do this? As some students have already had their own discussion group, will it be appropriate to break their groups apart?
Davis also suggests about asking the students to write a summary of what has been presented at the last five minutes of the class (Davis, p.172). This will help me learn about what do the students really learned about the class. I will probably use this method next week when to cover a heavy text chapter.
Lang talks a lot about using personal website as a course resources platform for both the students and the instructor. He says that the course website can link to supplemental materials, such as audio files, graphics and online exhibitions. He says these elements can be built into the required reading for the students (Lang, p.53). He also mentions that by having everything saved to the website will speed the process of preparing the course next time (Lang, p.57). It will be much easy to add and delete the course content based on the old materials. If I have time, I will also create a website with these functions, but right now, I think blackboard is doing a good for me.
Both Lang and Davis have talked about varying the teaching methods. I particularly like the part which Lang talks about how to use voice, gestures and movement. He says the instructor should learn to perform and to speak sentence like poems. He asks us to emphasize the nouns and verbs when we speak (Lang, p.71). I think I have to learn to perform this skill as I have been criticized of being as monotone during my first teaching demonstration. I will try to vary my tones to grab the attention of the students.
I hope during this Thursday's class, we can talk about whether or not to arrange the students sit in the front to gain their attention. And if this is possible, how often should we conduct this method? Another topic is to discuss the technology tips that you find useful when you are teaching.
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