Dynamic Lecturing: Research-Based Strategies to Enhance Lecture Effectiveness

by Christine Harrington, Todd Zakrajsek

Is the lecture an outmoded teaching method that inhibits active learning or is it a potentially powerful tool that is an essential part of every teacher’s repertoire?This book presents up-to-date research on the different types of lecture, on what constitutes effective lecturing, and on the impact of lecturing when done appropriately and well. It fills the void in professional development resources on how to lecture, validating the practice when it’s aligned with the educational mission of creating engaged learning environments.Christine Harrington and Todd Zakrajsek demonstrate that, rather than lecture and active learning being mutually exclusive or either-or propositions, the effectiveness of the former can be greatly enhanced when combined with active learning techniques through what they define as dynamic lecturing; and provide context about the need to balance these approaches to meet the needs of students as they progress from novice to advanced learners.They present a range of strategies that enhance student learning during lectures. They open each chapter with the evidence behind each lecturing strategy they describe, and conclude with practical suggestions for quick application in the classroom. They offer readers the lecture planning and evaluation tools for reworking their lectures in ways that provide high-level engagement and achievement for their students.The opening section of the book explores the benefits of lecturing and describes the different modalities of lecture, with an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each. The second section focuses on educational strategies to enhance the lecture, including, among others, activating prior knowledge, emphasizing important points, effectively using multi-media, making concepts meaningful via examples, and the importance of retrieval practice. Each covers the underlying theory and research, and advice on how to align the engagement techniques with instructional goals. The book concludes with guidance on effective planning for lecturing and helping chairs, administrators, or peers engage in effective evaluation of the lecture.This is a dynamic resource for all faculty interested in revitalizing their teaching. The strategies are succinct, easy to incorporate into lectures and, done well, will have immediate impact and increase student mastery of course content.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Academia

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2017

Reviews

[Cascade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book on teaching that is easy to read, reviews pedagogical data, and provides concrete advice on how to put the recommendations into practice. This is the teaching book I'll keep on my shelf for trying out new strategies when I'm revising or redesigning a course.

[Jacqueline Babb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended during a case study teaching workshop. I almost didn’t read it because of the title — why would I want to lecture more, I want to lecture less. It turns out that this book is so much more than the title and provides evidence based recommendations for a more engaged class. I took to a of notes and have a long to do list following this great read.

[Celia Faiola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical advice with teaching strategies that can be easily implemented in any class, any size.

[Wiebke Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrington and Zakrajsek redefine the concept of lecture in this book from the traditional concept of paper-based, augmented with visuals, one-way stream of information to a complex teaching/learning system that includes learning activities of practice, reflection, and feedback - the dynamic lecture. The book collects different learning and teaching strategies and makes a compelling case based on the existing research.
I am somewhat troubled by their use of the same rhetorical ploy that we have seen in some of the active learning camp - setting up a false dichotomy between lecture and active learning, and then essentially leading the audience down the path of active learning after all. Still, if you want to learn how to improve your lecture by pulling in more student-focused activities, this book may be useful to you.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid book on how to lecture effectively. It's clear and well researched. A lot of it is common sense, but there are quite a few nuances. Some highlights: Storytelling is a powerful tool. The chapter on memory (short-term, long-term, and recall), prior knowledge and techniques for tapping prior knowledge is very good. Multimedia presentations benefit from images, less is more, videos, and posting ahead of the lecture. The book also has good ideas for combining lectures with collaborative work.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas in this book that I will incorporate. I attended a lecture given by Dr. Zakrajsek, but I did not find the presentation engaging!? Maybe because he followed another speaker who spoke poorly of lecturing, attributed poor lecturing to his personal demise on academia & despite receiving the book for free, I did not find the book engaging. I am happy that a colleague persuaded me to read Dynamic Lecturing because I found many of the ideas useful.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a book club through Notre Dame's Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning. I honestly think there's not a lot of novel material in the book, but I still found it helpful because every time you think about teaching and learning, you'll notice something new (especially, as in my case, after your first semester of teaching, when everything becomes a bit more real!). It's a good short book on small changes you can make to move towards interactive and interesting classes.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a useful read--had some good ideas, but many of them are ones many of us are familiar with if we've been teaching a while. However, they also used the education literature to clarify which approaches are evidence-based and provided a compelling reason for some lecturing.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of Palmer College Academy of Educators. Well-written, evidence-based introduction to the lecture process. Lots of good tips for college teachers.