Ideas on Teaching
Enhanced Lecture Formats
Source: Active Learning: Creative Excitement in
the Classroom
by Charles C. Bonwell and James A. Eison.
ASHE-ERIC Higher Educ. Rept. #1.
Washington, D.C.: George Washington University, 1991.
1. Lecture with Periodic Pauses
- Format: Lecture 12-15 minutes
- Pause for 2 minutes:
- students work in pairs to review, discuss and
- revise their notes
- (repeat this pattern three times)
Last 3 minutes of class: "Write everything you
can recall from the lecture."
Results: ("treatment" and "control"
groups in two different courses over two semesters)
on a 65-item multiple-choice quiz given 12 days after
the last lecture, comprehension and retention of the
lecture material was consistently much better, in
some cases up to 2 letter grades better.
2. Lecture with Immediate Test
-
based on the empirically based observation that people
comprehend and retain material better when tested quickly
and frequently.
-
Format: give a test on that days lecture at the end
of the lecture, every time
Results: doubled the retention of the lecture material
on a test given 8 weeks after the last lecture.
3. "Feedback" Lecture
-
Format: Before class: students do "study questions"
20 min.: lecture
10 min.: small groups discuss teacher-provided question
related to the lecture
20 min.: lecture
After class: students do "study questions"
Results: 99% of students liked the method and 93% said
they in fact did do the study questions before and after
class.
4. "Guided" Lecture
-
Format: 30 min.: lecture (students take NO notes)
5 min.: students take notes on what they remember
15 min.: small groups discuss teacher-provided question
related to lecture
