Ideas For The Large Science Lecture

By Peter Wetherwax, Instructor, Biology, University of Oregon

This is a list of ideas I've tried to get students more involved in a large class.

Preparation

Annotate your lecture notes with reasons you're doing a particular activity or covering a particular topic. It helps you keep in mind (and therefore helps your students understand) the big picture of the course.

Write down potential answers to open-ended questions. Anticipating your students' answers will prepare you to get the most teaching mileage out of them.

Improving Classroom Atmosphere

During the first week, take photos of students before and after class to help you learn their names. This can even be done in a large lecture class where there are no small group meetings. At first, learn the names of students who frequently participate and call on them by name. With a little work it is possible to learn the names of over 100 students.

Place a suggestion box at the back of the room, and encourage your students to drop discussion questions and course feedback into it. Good questions can be used as a start of the next lecture. This may mean you have to change your plans, but why give up a good teaching opportunity? Suggestions students make (such as "please use recycled paper") can be implemented, giving them a feeling of ownership in the class.

Increasing Motivation

Whenever possible, use case studies to present concepts. Telling the "story" of an actual case can make an abstract concept seem real.

Bring in controversial statements from the popular press to stimulate discussion. For example, in a genetics class, I brought in an article from the Utne Reader, in which a woman suggested that women can reproduce without men and should. The class discussion dealt with the scientific possibility, not the moral issues.

Sometimes for the sake of discussion, intentionally "deceive" the class by either taking a controversial stand on an issue that you may not actually believe, or presenting an explanation that is incorrect but consistent with common misconceptions. In the latter case, the class eventually "sets you straight."

Relevance

On the first day, have students fill out a questionnaire in which they are asked to identify issues related to a topic they think is important. Ask them to explain why the topic and the issues are important. Keep a list of these issues in your lecture notes, and introduce them back to the class as a whole whenever you can.

Present a disputed issue to the class. Take a vote on opinions by a show of hands and have students write down their opinions. Pass out articles or summaries of arguments -- some of which support one side of the issue, and some of which support another side. Students don't have to know that everyone is not getting the same thing. After the students read their arguments, take another vote. Finally, have groups of students fill out a form asking them to clarify the issue and discuss their position on it. At the end of class, take a final vote. Tally the results and share them at the next class meeting.

Another issue-related idea is to have students read original sources outside of class and answer homework questions about them. For example, have students read original research on homosexuality as well as an article from Christianity Today, and answer several questions designed to help them clarify what the studies show and what the opinions are. When students come back to class, have them work in groups and come to consensus on aspects of the issue. An all-class discussion can take this one step further.

Class Participation

Give students a few minutes to think of a solution to a problem or discuss it with their neighbor before asking for discussion.

Present data that could be used to support a concept. Break the class into groups and have the students try to draw their own conclusions from the data. Have them write down their hypotheses and open alternative hypotheses up to the class for discussion.

Present problems for the students to solve in class, then give the students a few minutes to write down the solution in their notes or on a worksheet that they turn in before leaving.

Integrate Homework and Lecture

Primers: Give open-ended homework questions that students are supposed to answer without looking up in a book. Use these questions to start the next lecture.

Have students compare homework problems in class and then come to consensus on the answer to a new question that takes those problems one step further.

End lecture with a problem or question for the students to work on. This question can be used to start or clarify a point during the next lecture. It is not necessary to grade the students' work. If you present a challenging enough problem, many students will try to solve it without the "carrot" of grade points.

Assign homework that uses information from the students' lives. In genetics, I had students do their own pedigrees as homework, identifying dominant traits and how they were passed down.

Involve GTFs

Integrate GTFs into all parts of your course -- not just grading or leading outside discussion sections. Have them give mini-lectures, have them help with small group activities during the lecture, have them take opposing viewpoints to your own to stimulate discussion. GTFs can help in seemingly spontaneous questions or confrontations. For example, my GTF accused me of taking a bite of his sandwich. This led to a discussion of DNA fingerprinting to find the culprit.

Evaluation

Spend ten minutes after each lecture annotating your lecture notes with what worked and what didn't.

Keep copies of students' work that demonstrates superior work as well as common problems.

Have regular discussions with your GTFs to get their input about how things are going, what should be changed, and where to go next.

Listen to the comments your students make to each other before and after class, as well as what they say to you in office hours. Listen for indications that they are thinking about or using this material outside of class requirements.

Annotate quiz questions after you grade a set of quizzes. Identify common misconceptions that need to be addressed as well as problems that may indicate something needs to be changed for next time.

Use the Midterm Analysis of Teaching (MAT) (available from TEP) and always discuss the results with your students.

Email Peter Wetherwax

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