Teaching Through Developing Effective Classroom Presentations

Effective instruction begins with solid planning. The first priority in classroom presentations, or instruction, is to develop a curriculum which adequately covers the topic at hand. This requires educational quality informational resources. Most scholastic organizations have approved texts and sources. It is best to utilize these sources as most national and regional testing is developed from approved sources such as these. Using texts also provides an initial framework for the curricula, as the order of lessons is normally determined by the chapter order within the texts. The initial curriculum is a basic outline of topics, not a detailed information guide. This gives the students a timeline for the class, the main subject areas to be covered and assignments which will be due at given times. The rest of the instructional plans will come out of this framework. 

The next level of planning is the individual lesson plans. For each session listed in the curricula, a lesson plan is developed. This takes the basic topic listed in the curriculum and fleshes it out to cover the subject matter in greater detail. Specifically, each of the main topics for that session should be addressed, with enough supporting detail to give a clear understanding of the subject matter. A good rule of thumb when determining whether the detail is adequate, inadequate or excessive is to run it by a novice on the subject matter and see whether or not it appears clear to them at the end of the section. One of the common mistakes made in instruction is trying to gauge information clarity as an expert, when the students will not have that level of understanding in most cases. This makes the use of test subjects, at the presumed level of knowledge of the students, a valuable tool to ensure understanding of the subject matter. If this is not an available resource for the instructor, the alternative would be to assume that none of the supporting information is known to the students unless it has been previously covered in the class or a known prerequisite to it. This may lead to oversaturation, or covering too much information, which is why it is preferable to use a test subject. The use of a chapter outline to layout the main points by topic heading, filled in with details from the paragraphs contained within each heading or subheading generally works well. These points should be summarized, not complete sentences. A firm understanding of the subject matter, plus practice on the lesson plans allows for a greater degree of summarization; less familiarity necessitates greater detail.  

Gauging Ears

When this point in the planning process is reached, the instructor will want to determine the methods of instruction or presentation to be used to supplement or replace lectures. This would include videos, demonstrations, PowerPoint presentations, graphs, charts, guest speakers and student lead presentations, as well as assignments to augment instruction. These are listed within the lesson plans at the point in which they will be utilized. This ensures smooth transition and continuity for both the instructor and the students. It also ensures that the required supplies and equipment are available. Material needs should be clearly thought out and listed so that arrangements can be made ahead of time, should that be required. Never underestimate the importance of planning and forethought, the best laid plans do not work if the resources are not available when needed. The greater the lead time given the less likely it is that problems will arise. Be proactive.

When the planning phase is over, it is time to deliver. Control of the room is a necessity for effective teaching. The methods for this can be vastly different depending on the age of students, setting, position of authority of the instructor and interest level in the subject matter. Since that subject could be addressed in a full course and still lack enough detail, I will not cover it in depth here. Certain factors which contribute to control of the room will be addressed, however. First is demonstrating a competency in the subject. If the students believe that the presenter lacks credibility he/she will have difficulty maintaining control. Don't rely solely on notes; be able to answer questions adequately from your knowledge base. It is also key to present in an assertive manner. Presenters who seem uncomfortable or agitated do not hold the attention or respect of the audience effectively. The ability to project their voice is also crucial to instruction. IF an instructor can not be heard clearly, he/she cannot teach effectively. Fortunately there are products today which allow any presenter to be heard, from wireless microphones and speakers to PA systems and professional sound systems. Depending on the presenter's needs these can be set up to work with computer presentations, videos and audio units as well as microphones. They may also be scaled for small classroom settings to large venues. Once again, it is crucial to plan for the needs of the instructor and the class to be sure that adequate resources are available. 

The final section to be addressed is gauging effectiveness. Often, surveys are used at the ends of semesters or classes to determine the success or failure of methods used. This is highly subjective and may not provide accurate feedback. Testing scores can often provide effective evaluation, as they demonstrate the actual cognition of the students in relation to the subject matter. This, however, has risks as well. If the tests are poorly correlated to the lesson plans, then they will show poorly. This should be avoided by careful planning and development in the sections covered previously. Furthermore, each subject should be looked at on its own merits, not in comparison to other subjects. A high test average in a rudimentary class is not as significant as a high test average in advanced subject matter. Often lower scores may be expected as the difficulty of the subject and detail density of subject matters increases. If possible, entrance testing, or benchmarking, followed by exit testing is the optimal effectiveness gauge, as it provides a baseline for knowledge prior to the class and a demonstration of the knowledge gained through participation in the class. 

The use of these strategies should allow for increased effectiveness in classroom settings. In summary planning is crucial to success, but it must be followed up by good execution and metrics to determine effectiveness. Where plans fall short of expectations or needs, adjustments should be made and the process re-entered until an optimal instructional program has been found.

Teaching Through Developing Effective Classroom Presentations

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Scott Schwartz - SDS Consulting Group - Greenwich, CT - 203-979-9822 - http://www.ctoutsourceservices.com
Full service independent consultant. Services offered include Curricula Design, training program facilitation, presentation design, marketing campaigns, database design, document design, system designs and strategic planning at costs that small businesses can afford. Local source for small business outsourcing.