Please read TSSFFAP Chapter 7 (Herodotus Had it Right: From Lecturer to Story Teller) and do online quiz.Attend any lecture at NSU and analyze it in terms of the TSSFFAP “good lecture” suggestions. To what extent did the lecture reflect the TSSFFAP “Keys to a Good Lecture” standards? What kind of things did the teacher do to make sure that students paid attention, enjoyed the lecture, and learned something from it? What did you think went particularly well? What would you have done differently? Post your comments here.
The lecture was well presented. Started the class off with asking students how they were doing and what they have been up to. The lecture notes were presented on a white board. The lecture lasted about an hour, but it was not just straight talk, about every 5- 10 minutes he stopped and asked the students questions, giving everyone to voice there opinion and keep them drawn into the lecture. Also, he provided humor and a handful of jokes when lecturing. The information was presented in a timeline setting, linking past lectures to present to give a big picture look. He was discussing Imperial Russia from the death of Catharine the Great to Nicolas the I. Talked about when Napoleon invading Russia, he linked him with another familiar historical figure Hitler and explained some similarities. When talking about the Duma, he linked it to the U.S.'s Congress and so fourth giving the students a better picture of what he was talking about. When speaking he did not just look at one place the entire time, he made eye contact with everyone in the room, shifting around when lecturing. Also, used hand gestures when he was talking about something important. It was an interesting lecture, kind of like story time in kindergarten, but the adult version.
ReplyDeleteGood summary, but make it clear how the lecture fits/doesn't fit the TSSFFAP keys to a good lecture.
DeleteThe lecture lasted roughly 45-50 minutes. Several times the instructor stopped or paused the lecture for whatever reason for a period of mere seconds. I found this quite effective as it gave time for his words to really sink in. The instructor carried an axe to really capture the classes attention. At times he would actually tap the axe on the instructors desk to focus attention on him. The class was covering the Nat Turner rebellion in which many axe murders were committed. An excellent use of visual and auditory methods to focus attention from the class.
ReplyDeleteNot to hard to guess what instructor this was...
DeleteI attended a Dr. Grettler lecture here on campus. He covered the big three mentioned in the class book. Firstly, he gave a brief introduction where he explained what we needed to get from the lecture and where it would eventually lead. Secondly, he kept a fairly clear and logical structure. Dr. Grettler managed this by going through the event of Nat Turner's Rebellion step by step in chronological order. Then he ended with the effects of the rebellion. Finally, in order to keep the students engaged in his lecture, he brought an axe to class. He talked to it, slammed it on desks, and even tripped over it at one point. This is only one memorable lecture that I have witnessed throughout the semester. Dr. Grettler does a good job of teaching almost every day.
ReplyDeleteYep. A lot more consistent than me....
ReplyDeleteI feel like all I have to do is say the name of the lecture I attended and that should be enough, it’s famous, or at least NSU infamous. I had Dr. Grettler’s, Nat Turner Rebellion (1831) lecture Monday. Need I say more? I will, it’s a blog. Dr. Grettler’s ability to forecast where he is going with material, while reinforcing what he’s already covered, is a great lecture strength of his. To relate the high points to our text he: (1) has a hook, that big ax! (2) Role play…he talks to the thing (3)Energy…yes (4)Visual aids…already covered that one (5)Humor…Mr. Ouchy & Mr. Bite-y. The rebellion story is not a particularly happy story for either side involved. Dr. Grettler does an excellent job with analyzing the event from both sides, through his analogies and storytelling. I might have slept through a history lecture or two in my day, but not this one.
ReplyDeleteA lecture that I attended on campus was for American Government class. The professor here did a pretty good job throughout the lecture on keeping students involved. One of the things that the Professor was missing was a hook. He never set the stage for the rest of his lecture and didn't really grab the students attention. There was an outline on the board so that all the students knew what we were going to be covering in the class even before he told us. Also the Professor used information already covered in class to relate it to what we were learning. The Professor also related the information we were learning to things that were relative and current. Learning about organization of the House and Senate while using our own state representatives and examples. Also this Professor used of anecdotes during his lecture to give small mental breaks so that he did not drone on about government for fifty straight minutes.
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