Comments on: Is ‘lecture’ a 4-letter word?

By: Miss Teacha

Miss Teacha — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:24:04 +0000

I think i’ve lectured more this year than EVER in my life-and i still hate it! LOL! And what you’ve said is sooo true, its not a four letter word. It you structure it right, you ask questions, students add in comments. Today we had such a good discussion, I had to calm the students down b/c everyone wanted to comment/ask questions.

By: Lessons from fake blogs

Lessons from fake blogs — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:03:33 +0000

[...] Yesterday MissTeacha asked me what my classroom looks like, in particular economics. Here is an idea of how I am going to teach about advertising when they return from their 2-week stages (woohoo – they get 2 weeks of work study, which they love, and we get 2 weeks to gain strength before the last few weeks of school, which we need) next Wednesday. It’d be great if that blog were still up, but since it’s not I may recreate one like it to present to them, or I may just share the story of BIXI, show some videos (BIXI marketing videos and those that are but maybe don’t look like marketing videos). We’d have a conversation, either full-class or in smaller groups, about advertising – it’s purpose, deceptive qualities, how it plays with our emotions – I’d then have them explore this post at Fagstein’s blog “Why do Marketing Companies Hate Themselves?” along with it’s accompanying links with various reactions to the BIXI marketing campaign. Then we might debate – good, solid campaign vs. dirty, rotten scheme or is it better to market by any means necessary or to be truthful at all times, something like that. Eventually down the road (though our school year is almost over so we don’t have much time…) I’d love for them to create their own sneaky marketing campaigns. [...]

By: Miss Teacha

Miss Teacha — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:34:36 +0000

So your economics class is mostly student collaborations & projects? I just like to be sure I understand this completely: You rarely lecture. Would you like to share some of your teaching pedagogy/strategies/activities with us? What does a typical lesson look like in your classroom.

By: Tracy

Tracy — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:16:39 +0000

Lola, you’ve explained my intention with this post wonderfully. Thanks so much for adding to the conversation!

By: Lola

Lola — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:00:53 +0000

Nightwalker, please tell us how to teach about nullification (specifically, the crisis with South Carolina) and federalism by exploration! I’m dying to know!

Look, we concede that discovery is an ideal way to learn. Building knowledge together is fabulous, too. Practicing a skill is terrific. But no one can “discover” federalism. We can look for examples once the explanation is over, sure, but you gotta admit that lecturing about such abstract concepts is not “a comfortable resort” but a logical starting ground. And a great teacher who creates an awesome learning environment will lead a fabulous, interactive lecture!

Holler “uncle” or show me how I’m wrong–I’ll be satisfied either way!

By: Tracy Rosen

Tracy Rosen — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:40:24 +0000

Thanks for dropping by Angela! You've collected some great posts at The Cornerstone, I'm honoured to be included. Tracy Rosens last blog post at [site]..Gotta Celebrate

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:56:28 +0000

LOVE this post! I’ve featured it in this month’s accolades at The Cornerstone:

http://thecornerstoneforteachers.blogspot.com/2009/03/cornerstone-accolades-march-2009.html

By: Tracy

Tracy — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:04:40 +0000

I think you are right, Kate. Because we model that it is ok to challenge and question the students are comfortable with it and turn a lecture into an exploratory activity.

Nightwalker, read some more of my blog posts and you will see that my teaching style is very student-centered. In fact, lecture is not a comfortable resort for me and other teachers who hold the same assumptions about lectures as I described in this post. That was the whole idea behind the post – I assumed that lectures were uni-dimensional, teacher centered, and boring and I was proven wrong by the level of engagement of my students.

I will respectfully argue your point that “everything is planned before hand and chances of unexpected events are slim”. For sure, the basic content is planned but there was no way for me to plan the questions and level of inquiry that my students had.

By: Nightwalker

Nightwalker — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:47:24 +0000

Although lectures may be a comfortable resort for a teacher as everything is planned before hand and chances of unexpected events are slim, it is wiser to devise one's teaching to be a true learning through exploration instead of explanation. Acquisition occurs by doing not by "viewing". Lectures are long explanations while learning is deep exploration! Nightwalkers last blog post at [site]..Why do teachers teach?

By: Kate T

Kate T — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:10:13 +0000

On the rare occasion that I lecture, I find that because we have been modeling the cooperative model, students feel free to engage in a discussion with me as the lecture progresses. The lectures we all dread - both giving and listening too - are the painfully one sided, power-pointy (or back in the day over-heady), brain dumps from a teacher who isn't really aware of whether or not the listeners are engaged. I'm delighted that your lecture went well today. I am certain it is because you are a teacher that students feel respects their time, intelligence, and attention. Kudos. Kate Ts last blog post at [site]..If I had a theme song