In my CRWR 200 class, TAs who are interested in lecturing share close reads or presentations, perhaps 20 minutes or so. Before they present, I go through their slides and offer a few suggestions. After the lecture, we meet to discuss my observations and their experience. Here are a few topics I’ve discussed with TAs, pre- and post-lecture:
Clarity:
It seems obvious to say, but students feel comfortable if they know where the lecture is going. So it can help to lay out what territory you’re planning to explore right at the top of the lecture. It’s like going on a car ride — much easier to relax if you know where you’re headed.
Audibility:
Those large lecture classes are usually held in big halls where it can be tough for students to hear the lecturer. Though you might hate microphones or the sound of your voice in them, it’s worthwhile using one, whether it’s the kind you pin to your lapel or the handheld kind. Even if you can project and have a loud voice, a microphone can add some much-appreciated vocal support. Be sure to test it first and find the right volume that isn’t too low and isn’t feeding back. You can also use the microphone when students ask questions — the handheld is particularly good for this — so that everyone else can hear the question and stay on track. .
Pacing:
Remember to go slowly. This can help you remain calm, and also aid student comprehension. I have sometimes observed student lecturers rushing through material just to get the darn thing over with. I get it, but this results in students getting lost and failing to pick up the thread of the talk. This then leads to a chain of other challenges. Ask a question and no one answers? Perhaps it’s because they got lost somewhere along that speedy journey — so much for the “group participation” bit you’d planned for. Speaking slowly and using repetition to review / re-iterate ideas is ideal.
Visuals (PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.):
Having images and/or text as support for your lecture is useful. Keep text on the slides simple and brief since students — especially in a CRWR 200 course — will want to take notes. If there’s a lot of text on a slide, students will be clacking away on their keypads instead of listening to what you have to say. Too much text and they won’t be able to get everything down before you go to the next slide. Note: if you’re ever wondering whether you’ve given students enough time to get their notes down, you can always ask before going on to the next slide.
Focus:
One of the biggest challenges with lecturing is finding and maintaining a focus. There’s a tendency to want to cover a ton of material in a short time and jump around a lot. When a lecture is more focused, the lecturer is able to spend more time exploring an idea, looking at examples, and maybe even allowing for a short discussion or writing exercise.
Exercises:
Some writing exercises work better than others. I’m not sure I know what the secret is to choosing the best writing exercise, but it may help to test out the one you want to use on a few friends in advance of including it in your lecture.
Some questions you could ask yourself about the exercise:
Will students understand what’s expected of them in this exercise?
Is it doable in the amount of time I have allotted?
Would they require any specific items to complete the exercise — paper, writing implements, access to the internet?
Sometimes a small adjustment or tweak can make the exercise that much more suitable to the class you’re going to be visiting.
Follow Up:
Since the course instructor will be present at your talk, it can’t hurt to follow up with them to find out what their impressions were. It’s tough to know how things are going when you’re in the moment, doing your thing, so outside eyes and ears can offer perspective. You could even have someone film the lecture so that you can observe yourself afterwards.
With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to prepare an engaging lecture that inspires you students to write and keep writing!
Tariq, these are great points and super-helpful reminders, even for someone like me who has taught 200-level classes multiple times. Thanks for sharing!
This was a very helpful list of guidelines for incoming TAs. I am a TA for the first time this year and am really looking forward to opportunities to develope my teaching skills and practice lecturing. I really appreciated the warning around trying to cover too much material in a short period of time. Though I have never done a TA job before, I have some teaching experience and I find that when I am nervous or not confident in my teaching abilities I will try to compensate by packing the lesson with as much content as possible. As this blog post clearly outlines, this is often a mistake and leads to students feeling lost and confused. I agree that it is almost always better to focus on a specific topic and go as deeply into it as possible, allowing for discussion and commentary. I also really appreciated the questions for reflection that Tariq asks us to consider before assigning a writing exercise. I find that different writing exercises work with different groups so knowing the students we are working with is very important, as is knowing our intention behind the exercise and accounting for any technical requirements that it may need. Overall, this blog post was very helpful. Thank you Tariq!