Change-Up in Lectures

CREATED: 200812080640

• brain does not record information like a videocassette recorder, instead it handles information by reducing it into meaningful chunks that we call categories
• examples are a primary means of making connection between old and new knowledge
• once a new concept has been introduced, students need an opportunity to practice thinking in terms of that concept
• adult learners can been in tuned for no more than 15 to 20 minutes
• recommend building a “change-up” into your class to restart the attention clock
• activities should be integrally related to giving students practice with the most important concepts in the day’s class
• particularly effective are collaborative learning techniques, as they reduce student passivity
• use 20 minutes attention span as a rule of thumb
• variety is a powerful force
• earmark at least 1/3 of the time for debriefing