Teaching & Learning

Many lectures can be designed to follow a similar structure and being aware of this structure can help you to design effective lectures. In this session we will look at some recommended practices for structuring a typical lecture. A central aim is to engage those students that attend so that learners leave with the feeling that the lecture was worth attending.

"Designing and managing in-class discussions is more challenging than the pause procedure or minute paper, but there is convincing evidence that collaborative learning works. This session will model an in-class discussion and discuss some of the evidence that supports this strategy."

"The spacing effect refers to the process of spacing a topic that is to be learned over time, rather than teaching the topic in an intensive session. The implication for our modules is that rather than teaching all of LO1 in weeks 1 and 2 (for example) we should consider if it is possible to divide the topic and teach some in week 1 and then revisit (perhaps in greater depth) later on in the semester. The topic is then spaced out over the semester. The available evidence tells us that this is a more effective strategy. This session will explore this strategy in more detail and present some of the evidence that supports this strategy"

"Having students retrieve information from long-term memory on a regular basis, is known to have a positive impact on learning. This is especially true when learners need to put a bit of effort into that retrieval process. Hence providing opportunities for learners to take tests (e.g. computer based multiple choice tests) can be a very effective strategy. This session will examine some of the evidence in favour of testing and discuss options for using this strategy."

"The generation effect refers to a broad range of techniques that require learners to generate information on a topic e.g. create a presentation or predict an outcome. There is a growing body of evidence which shows that having learners generate information is more effective than if they simply read the information. This session will review this body of evidence and discuss ways in which we could incorporate this strategy into our day-to-day teaching."

"The teaching strategy peer instruction was popularised by Eric Mazur to support the teaching of physics to undergraduate students at Harvard and is now one of the most widely used instructional strategies in undergraduate physics education. It has wide applicability outside of the physics discipline. This session will demonstrate peer instruction in action and discuss some of the evidence in favour of its effectiveness."