Transcript Lesson 1 - OoCities

Methods of Teaching
Economics
Lecture 1
General Strategies
• Do not read your notes
– Very mechanical; students know
• Prepare yourself mentally for class
– Come early and prepare your thoughts, listen
to relaxing music, etc.
Opening a Lecture
• Avoid a “cold start”
– Talk to students informally before class, etc.
– Helps keep the voice (tone) conversional
• Minimize nervousness
– Nervousness is normal
– Use relaxing techniques to keep your mind
calm
– As you get experience, this goes away
Opening a Lecture
• Grab students’ attention
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Provocative question
Startling statement
Unusual analogy
Striking example
Personal anecdote
Dramatic contrast
Powerful quote
Short questionnaire
Demonstration
An Example
• The world is full of contradictions!
• Mikhail Gorbachev is still a communist.
• Why does he live in California?
• Isn’t the U.S.A. a symbol of capitalism?
• Does he have an agenda?
Opening a Lecture
• Vary your opening!
– Prevents the opening from becoming stale!
• List the Objectives for the course
– Lets students know what you are planning
• Establish rapport with your students
– Warmth and rapport has positive affect on
students
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Keep an eye on students
– Do the students look confuse?
• Try another example
– Are you boring your students
• Maintain eye contact
– Students know you are paying attention to
them
– But don’t stare for long periods of time!
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Vary your lectures
– Students need to pay attention to learn
– Students lose attention about 10 minutes of listening
– Ask questions
– Play the devil’s advocate
• Look at the other side of the issue
– Use visual aids
• Slides, graphs, charts, video, etc.
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Explicitly organize your lectures
– Use an outline
– The form of this lecture
– Students can easily catch up, if their attention
wanes
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Be enthusiastic about the material
• Use facial expressions
– Students know if you are bored or do not like your
subject
– If you are bored with the subject, then why should
students be excited about it?
– I had several very boring professors
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Be conversational
– Use informal language
• Colorful language, expressive adjective, use first or
second person (I, we, and you)
– Be direct
– Be natural
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Use anecdotes
– Anecdote is a short story
– Anecdotes help break up monotony
– Students pay better attention
– Can use for key points
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Move around the room
– Keeps students’ interest
– Breaks up monotony
– Can use gestures
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Laugh at yourself when you make a
mistake
– Drop notes, mis-pronounce words, etc.
– Helps keep students at ease
Capturing Students’ Interest
• Keep track of time
• If time is running out, don’t speed up the
lecture up to finish
– Most professors do this; even me!
Mastering Delivery Techniques
• Vary your speaking pace
– If you go too slow, then students become bored!
• Vary your voice
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Pitch
Volume
Duration of words
Intonation
Intensity of your voice
• Lawyers do this!
Mastering Delivery Techniques
• Use pauses
– Used as punctuation
– To mark a thought, sentence, or paragraph
– Add emphasis, before or after a key idea
– Take a sip of water or coffee after discussing
an important idea
Mastering Delivery Techniques
• Avoid saying
– "um"
– "well"
– "you know"
– "OK"
– "so"
– Watch yourself on video tape
– Silent pauses are more effective
Mastering Delivery Techniques
• Breathe normally
– Normal breathing prevents vocal strain that
affects the pitch and quality of your speech
– Keep your shoulders, neck, and jaw relaxed
– Keep your eyes fully open
Closing a Lecture
• End with a conclusion
– Students know the lecture had a purpose
– They have closure
– End with a thought provoking problem or
question
– Avoid “I almost forgot.”
Closing a Lecture
• Keep your voice strong
• Lift your chin up
• Keep your eyes facing the audience.
• Be sure to stay after class for a few
minutes to answer students' questions.
Improving Your Lectures
• Assess how the lecture went and which
parts need improvement
• Record your lecture
• Watch yourself on video tape
– Watch for good and bad traits and
mannerisms
• Talk to a speech consultant
Economics Instructors
I violated most of these suggestions.
• The best suggestion is to pick a good
professor and emulate him or her.