INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / OCTOBER 30, 1990

 

 

Lecturing: Some Myths and a Few Truths ...continued

what the particular learning
experience is about, and then
choose the approach that makes the
most practical sense. The factors
that enter into the decision are not
only cost and acceptability, but also
such things as the skill of the
instructor and the rapidity of
change in the subject area. For
example, because courses in
pharmacology need to be
constantly updated, it makes less
sense to use computers in this area
than in anatomy where the content
is less subject to change. The truth
of the matter is that we should use
the right tool for the job, and often,
the right tool is the one with which
we are most skilled.

 
   

Myth #2:

Good instructors do not have
to bother much with
lecture preparation — they
can dicsnen. wing it.

Yhap cciie..... ommenisnstiitizss

 

To reiterate an old adage, the
purpose of teaching is to assist
learning, and the truth is that the
most apparently spontaneous and
exciting lectures are often as
carefully prepared as any other
public performance. It is true that
accomplished lecturers can usually
get up and entertain on very short
notice, however, that is not what
teaching is about. Good lecturers,
who decide to wing it, quickly tum
into bad lecturers. The absolute
worse case occurs when lecturers
decide that they are simply going to
spend an hour "telling the class
about..." The stream of
consciousness approach may have
worked well for James Joyce, but he
was not trying to teach. In my
experience, the most effective
lectures are those that are given
plenty of preparation; they are

you look like; it's what

seldom disastrous. Lecturers, who
know their topics may well feel
very confident, but if they do not
take time to prepare, the results are
often less than effective.

Having carefully prepared a

lecture, it is then necessary to stick
to the outline. Many
brilliantly organized
lectures end in chaos

    

simply because the lecturers depart
from their original game plan. The
simple truth is that teaching is a
demanding activity, and to do it
well requires careful preparation. I
would not make such an obvious
statement, if 1 were confident that

everyone believed it.
Myth #3:
It does not matter what

you say that counts.

Psychologists tell us that about half
of the initial impact a presenter has
on an audience is based on what
the presenter wears. Before 1am
accused of failing to recognize the
importance of inner beauty, of
pandering to fashion, or of
attempting to impose a bourgeois
dress code on the academic
community, let me say that
lecturers should be allowed to wear
whatever they choose, provided it
does not violate standards of public
decency and provided the lecturer
is aware of the impact it will have.
Some instructors will decide that
the way they dress is a personal
statement that they do not wish to
modify. However, lam not so
confident in my own skills that I
will pass up any opportunity to
help students learn more
effectively. The truth seems to be
that lecturers should present
themselves in a manner that
students find comfortable and does
not distract from the learning
process. For example, if you are
lecturing to medical students, then
dress like a doctor; if you are
lecturing to auto mechanics, then
dress as if you are the chief
mechanic.

   

Student evaluations are
merely popularity contests —
the instructor who tells the
best jokes wins. Favourable
student evaluations are not

correlated ea

 

 

This myth is popular with lecturers
whose ratings fall somewhere
between unsatisfactory and
appalling. Unfortunately, when

Continued

 

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