3 is a Magic Number

Another week gone by and I’m still here to write about it. This week was my introduction to the “grad school experience” others have waxed philosophical about. Reading, grading, and lesson plans seem to have taken over my life, but it’s becoming a comforting routine. And what would any new TA’s routine be without McKeachie?

I found this week’s readings on discussions and lectures to be more informative than previous topics. I’ve selected a few examples to include in this week’s blog.

The following are things I found useful in this week’s reading:

• Facilitating discussion with questions requiring application and interpretation, rather than questions of definition, leads to better comprehension. This seemed obvious when I read it, but I realized that I don’t often use this strategy. As I looked through past lesson plans, few of my discussions allowed students to use application or interpretation. This reading was quite useful in that it led me to change my approach. I am able to put more effort into the process of writing questions so they will best benefit my students. Factual questions are sometimes important, but they aren’t as constructive for the students.

• Students’ attention is highest in the first 10 minutes and near the end of a lecture. This was interesting because I usually struggle to keep students’ attention on days of heavy lecture. I often try to open with an activity to engage students, only to have them glassy-eyed within minutes of the lecture. This information is useful because it can guide how to structure a lesson plan. If an instructor knows when students will most often be attentive, they can gauge when to incorporate the most important aspects of a lesson.
  

There are many things that were useful in this week’s readings can be implemented into my field.

• Preparing discussion questions for class is a standard component of lesson planning. Taking more time to draw up questions students can apply or interpret to their own experiences will help them further understand the lesson. For instance, in Comm 110 students can suggest how aspects of public speaking relate to their future careers. A discussion probing how the material from the text applies to their everyday lives may help me to connect them to the material. They can comprehend that these techniques will help them far beyond their time in the classroom.

• Understanding when a student is most attentive can be an advantage to the instructor. Hartley and Cameron’s (1967) research shows that students are most attentive at the beginning and end of lecture. This can help me to plan my lecture according to when they will absorb the most information. I can plan to lecture in small amounts at the beginning and end of class and hold activities and discussions in the middle to keep them engaged.
  

The following are techniques, theories, or suggestions that I want to incorporate in my own teaching:

• To check understanding after a lecture, I plan give students a minute to write down questions, or comments, to share with their peers. I often ask if anyone has questions, following each section of lecture. After reading the text I realized that this may be ineffective. I want to have students write down questions because they are more likely to participate. I may be able to respond to questions that would have previously gone unanswered.
  

• Incorporating better listening practices into my classroom is another technique I plan to use. I learned a lot from text about note taking during lecture. I want to avoid students’ focus on taking notes in place of actively listening to my lecture. By asking the students to just listen and write a summary for 5 to 15 minutes after, they may be able to concentrate and retain more. I am also going to take McKeachie’s suggestion of asking students to compare their summaries to encourage peer discussion.
  

• Telling students why they are participating in discussion and what I want them to learn are other suggestions I plan on incorporating into my teaching. Like last week’s reading, students understand more if they know what goal is to be met. If they understand the importance of the discussion, they may be more inclined to participate. If they know what they are supposed to obtain from a discussion, they can work to achieve that goal.
  

• I also want to try to include online discussions into my teaching. I find that many students are much more interested in incorporating technology into their learning. I want to use online discussions not only to try to gain more from nonparticipants, but to allow for participation outside of the classroom. I think it would be interesting to have students begin discussion on a message board. I believe that it may facilitate further discussion during our scheduled class time.
  

• Finally, I plan to give students questions at the end of class to ensure they are reading. I have a difficult time with one class because they are reluctant to read the text. Discussions and activities are difficult because many of them don’t know the material. I want to give them a few questions, before chapter readings are due, to help prepare them for discussions. Rather than having quizzes at the start of each class, we can use the time to delve deeper into the material.

Additional resources:

Discussion Formats
This site has list of various discussion activities. We have discussed some of them, but there are a few new activities that I may implement in my own classroom.

Online Discussions
Here is a pdf I came across when looking into online discussions. It gives a few examples and also lists some great sources.

How To Take Effective Class Notes
Taking notes seems like second nature to many of us, but some of my undergrads struggle with taking notes when they aren’t written out word for word. This is a site I may incorporate before my next lecture to give them some tips.