When you think about teaching, what is the first thing you think about?
It is likely that you think about being in front of students, talking to them about the course subject -- in other words, you are thinking about lecturing.
To lecture, you must be part educator, part scholar, part expert, part actor, part comedian, part motivator, part symphony conductor, and part magician (list not exclusive).
In other words -- there are a lot of roles to play as a lecturer. You mix and match those roles as necessary, with the ultimate goal to enhance your students' learning of the course material.
Your goal as a lecturer is not to simply produce all the necessary knowledge about your subject to the students
First, there isn't time. Your subject certainly contains more to know than what you can deliver in three one-hour lectures a week.
Second, as discussed previously, your students will undoubtedly learn more when they do the assignments than when they are listening to you.
You should plan on presenting the material in a form that is well-planned, and that provides students with the essentials from which they can dig deeper by doing assignments, reading the course text, etc.
You should:
motivate the material
introduce key concepts
provide informative examples
teach the students to think in the context of the course material
Lecture 04: Lectures
Your students aren't going to be able to do something just because you told them about it!
Focus on providing them with a baseline of knowledge, understanding that they will actually learn how to apply the skills and knowledge you discuss in lecture when they do the assignments,
Considerations when structuring your lectures
Small class or big lecture hall?
Where in the curriculum does your course fall
It is very different teaching CS 106A, CS 110, and CS 221.
Is your class a programming-heavy course, a theory course, a project course, etc.?
How long is each lecture?
Students can only concentrate for a limited amount of time -- you don't want to stay on one particular topic for too long
Planning your lectures
After you have mapped out the topics and when they will fall during the term, you need to start planning the details of each lecture
Determining how long a topic will take is tricky! With experience, you will learn how to time your lectures better
Practice your lectures! This is especially important early on in your teaching career, and most especially the first time you deliver a particular lecture.
Over-planning is okay, and don't be afraid if you don't get through all the material you have planned for a particular lecture.
Lecture 04: Lectures
Your lectures must have a defined beginning
This seems obvious, but the first few minutes can be critical
Are you going to motivate the material immediately?
Are you going to review something from the last lecture?
Are you going to start with admin (probably not the very best idea, unless it is less than a minute)
Starting the class with an example, or a question that can be answered with the day's material can be a particularly effective beginning.
Chris Piech starts many lectures with examples that can be solved by the end of the lecture -- and he solves them at the end of the lecture!
Students are going to be learning something they haven't heard or seen before (most of the time), so motivating it is an excellent way to pique their interest.
After the beginning of the lecture, you can start to dig into the details of the topic(s) of the day
Craft a narrative
Outline the details the students need to know about the topic
Students respond particularly well to examples
You are teaching them how to think
When you show examples, explain your thought process for coming up with the solution!
Students aren't always going to grasp the concept immediately, and need time to process
Summarize at the end of a topic -- ask what questions they have (they will have some!)
Lecture 04: Lectures
Check for student understanding during the lecture
Ask what questions they have
Have students discuss with a neighbor
Ask them to bring questions for the next lecture (or to ask questions on a forum, e.g., Piazza)
Student response systems
High tech
Clickers (students purchase, rent, or use during class)
Socrative -- students use their mobile devices to answer
"Hi" tech
Hands up or down
Hand up with 1-5 for answer
Hand up with 1-5 for understanding
Think-pair-share
Have students think about a problem or ques- tion, and then pair with another student to discuss it, before finally sharing their thoughts with the class.
Alternative: give the students a problem to solve and tell them to “talk to a neighbor” about the solution.
Give between 3-5 minutes, depending on the problem
I always walk around the class to see how students are doing
Lecture 04: Lectures
Concluding lecture
You might not finish all the material!
If this is the case, still try to do a bit of wrapping-up, summary
Plan a good end to the lecture but don't depend on it
Your conclusion should tie up the narrative of the day
Let student know when they will practice the material (on an assignment, exam, etc.)
Delivering your lecture (more details)
Decisions you have to make:
Will you be using slides?
Are you going to print them out for the students?
Should they read them before hand? (try to provide them beforehand)
Are you going to teach naked (i.e., without slides and only a whiteboard / blackboard)
This takes more practice!
You should almost always have notes
If you are using slides:
Beware Death by Powerpoint
Keep your talking somewhat short, stop often for questions, discussion
Don't read from your slides!
Slides can have lots of information, but there are tradeoffs to this: simple slides are easier for lecture, but not as helpful as a resource later.
Lecture 04: Lectures
Your lecturing personality is critical!
You will find your own style
You may want to mimic other teachers, particularly ones you found impressive or enjoyed
You want to be engaging
If you seem to enjoy the topics, students are more likely to enjoy them
Try not to rush
Determine your own style for how you answer questions -- you will get questions!
Always repeat questions
Plan breaks for long lectures
More than 15 minutes at a stretch is probably too much
Preparing for shorter lectures probably takes more time than preparing for longer ones...
If you have public speaking fears
You are not alone!
You can work on it, and it will become better
Practicing your lectures
Do it! Especially if you are new to teaching.
Have someone else give feedback, but use sparingly
For code -- always check code solutions! They should be solid.
If you are going to live-code, practice actually doing the live coding. It will go smoother in the lecture itself.
The first day of class
Critical, but not world-ending if it doesn't go great
Get to class early to set up, test equipment, etc.
Lecture 04: Lectures
What if? questions from text
Lecture 04: Lectures
Design a lecture on whatever material you want to teach
If you have time, design a 50-minute lecture
If you don't have time, design a shorter lecture (can be as short as 10-15 minutes)
Describe how you will deliver the lecture
What is your beginning?
How will you assess student learning during the lecture?
How are you going to conclude the lecture?
Assignment 4 -- Due Monday, October 30th, in class