This Q&A was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond –
Question
Dear Jonas,
I keep hearing that, to be effective in the classroom, I should begin each class by reviewing the previous class, asking if there are questions on the old material, and going over homework. Then, I should list my course objectives for the day, lecture on new material, do examples, ask the students lots of questions, let the students work on problems in class, use multimedia/technology, and perhaps throw in practical demonstrations or experiments. Oh, and I’m supposed to be sure to end each class on time.
So, I really only have one question: how the heck am I supposed to do all of those things in each class and make it through the course material?
Signed: Pressed for Time
Answer
Dear Pressed for Time,
I understand your frustration. The quick answer is that one shouldn’t try to force all of those things into every class, every day. Every subject differs somewhat in the arrangement (for instance, some courses have TA’s who go over homework problems in detail.) I can tell you what works for me. I begin each class by going over homework for 15 to 25 minutes, focusing mainly on the most common concerns and misunderstandings. For more advanced problems and less common errors, I post solutions online or use hand-outs, and ask students to approach me individually with their questions. I either preface the homework by reminding them of the basic concepts, or I remind them of the concepts in the process of going over each problem.
I then take less than five minutes to describe what new material we are going to cover that day, and indicate why we are doing it, and how it relates (or doesn’t) to material that we have already covered. Then, I start on new material, and while lecturing, I try to find places where I can stop and ask the class for short answers to questions to test their grasp of the material and let them immediately apply new concepts or techniques. I do try to include a fair number of examples in my lecture and, after giving examples, I usually have the students work on short, 3-5 minute, problems. Occasionally, I have the students work on longer 10-15 minute problems.
As for multimedia presentations, technology in the classroom, group-work, demonstrations, experiments, and other “teaching innovations”, I, personally, use them sparingly; if a specific topic is best illuminated by one of these techniques, I will certainly use it, but I agree with you that there is not enough time to use all of these very often. What I do believe is important – and the research agrees – is that one should make his/her class interactive in SOME way every day. Maybe in your class, experiments, demonstrations, or having students work in pairs or groups would be more useful on a daily basis than having the students work individually on problems – it depends on the material – and it does take both forethought and adjustments on-the-fly in order to fit in effective class participation. However, I’m sure that you’ll find it’s worth the effort.
Good luck,
Jonas
Quick Tip
When you ask the class a question or to work on a problem, tell the students that they have some specific amount of time to think about it, say 3 minutes. Then look at your watch and make sure that you wait the allotted amount of time, without interruption. This makes certain that you actually give the students a reasonable amount of time, and also guarantees that you won’t waste any class time.