Lecture Is Dead!

Long Live Lecture!

How and why to make class time more exciting and rewarding for your students.

Rob EbyBlinn College – Bryan, TX Campus

Lecture is Booooring!๏ So add commercial breaks !

๏ First 10 vs. last 40 recall is laughable.

If All You Do Is Lecture

15%

35%

Ten and Two, Hike!๏ 10 minute lecture 2 minutes to chew on it

๏ Similar to commercial breaks

๏ BUT you engage the students

๏ Think of a TV program

What type of commercials?

๏ Minute papers

๏ Clickers – poll anywhere and such

๏ Turn to classmate

๏ Example in book

๏ “What is wrong here?”

๏ Group quizzes

end of or after class ideas๏ Minute papers

๏ What do you think was the goal today?

๏ Clearest or muddiest point?

๏ Write your own question

๏ Exit quizzes

๏ Solve and Classmates Grade

Make Them Read!

๏ Readings or videos out of class

๏ GUIDE THE READING!

๏ Follow up with quizzes

๏ Help students learn how to learn

Public Speaking 101

1. Multiply by three

2. Subtract five.

( ) 3 5f x x

1. UNDO Multiply by three

2. UNDO Subtract five.

1( ) 5f x x 1 1( ) ( 5)

3f x x

Pictures!๏ Not just any pictures Good pictures

Why is the sum of the first n odd numbers always a square?

Pictorial Superiority Effect๏ Our brains are hard wired for pictures

Things written in text are not considered a picture

72 Hours after exposure๏ Recall from hearing only

๏ Recall from hearing and picture

Pictorial Superiority Effect

( 3)( 5)x x 2 2( 3 13)( 5 42)x x x x

2 2( 3 13)( 5 42)x x x x

2

2

2 2

(13)( 5 42)

(3 )( 5 42)

( )( 5 42)

x x

x x x

x x x

Brain Rules๏ The brain seems to rely partly

on past experience in deciding how to learn new things

๏ Make sure they understand what is new each time

๏ Our senses evolved to work together

๏ We learn best if we stimulate several senses at once.

Patterns and Connections๏ We are better at seeing

patterns and abstracting the meaning of an event than we are at recording detail.

๏ Emotional arousal helps the brain learn.

๏ So make it emotional.

Memory and Brain Rules๏ Most memories disappear

within minutes

๏ How do we make sure it gets into long-term memory?

๏ Incorporate new information gradually

๏ Repeat it in timed intervals

Brain RulesBabies are the model of how we learn

๏observation,

๏hypothesis,

๏experiment,

๏conclusion

Darn Kids these days!

๏ This is not just about “kids these days” this research is decades old

๏ Brains more wired for linear bursts than deep thinking (always on etc.)

Most Desired Skills - Forbes

๏ No. 1 Critical Thinking

๏ No. 2 Complex Problem Solving

๏ No. 3 Judgment and Decision-Making

๏ No. 4 Active Listening

๏ No. 5 Computers and Electronics

๏ No. 6 Mathematics Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics and their application.

Find out more!