Medical Teacher Vol 23 No 3 2001

ISSN 0142ndash159X (print)ISSN 1466ndash187X online01030231ndash14 copy 2001 Taylor amp Francis Ltd 231DOI 10108001421590120043000

AMEE GUIDE

AMEE Medical Education Guide No 22Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

GEORGE BROWN1 amp MICHAEL MANOGUE2

1Queenrsquos Medical Centre University of Nottingham UK 2Faculty of Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health University of Leeds LS2 9LU UK

SUMMARY This guide provides an overview of research onlecturing a model of the processes of lecturing and suggestionsfor improving lecturing learning from lectures and ways ofevaluating lectures Whilst primarily directed at teachers in thehealthcare professions it is equally applicable to all teachers inhigher education Lectures are the most ubiquitous method ofteaching so they are an important part of a teacherrsquos repertoireLectures are at least as effective as other methods of teaching atimparting information and explaining Intention transmissionand output are the basis of a model of lecturing The key skillsof preparing lectures explaining and varying student activitiesmay be derived from the model Preparation is based onpurposes content various structures of lectures and the prepa-ration of audiovisual aids The essential ingredients ofexplaining are clarity interest and persuasion By varyingactivities one can renew attention and develop studentlearning Learning from lectures can be improved by teachingstudents the structure of lectures and methods of listening andnote-taking Student ratings of lectures are useful but over-usedand limited ways of evaluating lectures Equally important ispeer review and more important than either student ratings orpeer feedback is reflection on the practice of lecturing by indi-viduals and course teams

Purposes and context

This guide has been written to help teachers particularlythose in the healthcare professions to refresh theirapproaches to lecturing and in so doing help them tomake their lectures more refreshing for students Theguide is based on research on lecturing and the authorsrsquoexperience of observing lectures and providing shortcourses on lecturing It outlines various styles of lecturingmethods of structuring lectures learning from lecturesand the skills of lecturing It provides some suggestionsfor helping students to learn from lectures and for evalu-ating lectures

At the outset it is stressed that the task of refreshingonersquos lectures is not simple It involves reactivating andextending existing knowledge of content and techniquesthe refinement of onersquos skills of lecturing and perhaps thedevelopment of new skills Merely reading this guide maynot be sufficient to improve onersquos lecturesmdashjust as readinga text on clinical diagnosis may not be sufficient to makeone a better clinician

Why lecture

Given the advent of the e-revolution why is lecturing inany form still necessary The reasons are not hard to findIn the early years of undergraduate medical educationmany students attend more lectures than they see patientsBy the end of their clinical years they may have attendedover a thousand lectures Lectures are a substantial part ofthe learning experiences of students and so merit our atten-tion They are the most common method of teaching andthey are likely to remain so well into this centuryLecturing then is an important constituent of a teacherrsquosrepertoire of teaching methods Lectures are potentiallyan economical and efficient method of conveying informa-tion to large groups of students They can provide anentreacutee into a difficult topic different perspectives on asubject up-to-date reacutesumeacutes of research and relevantpersonal clinical or laboratory experience A lecture can beused to provoke thought to deepen understanding and toenhance scientific and clinical thinking Lectures canprovide hints and guidelines on how to learn a topic orprocedure as well as what to learn and thereby helpstudents to develop into independent thinking profes-sionals They can in short bring a subject alive and makeit more meaningful Alternatively they can kill it

Limitations of lectures

Lectures like all methods of teaching have limitationsThey can be boring and worse useless If they are merelyrecitations of standard texts then they are not fulfillingadequately their functions of developing understandingand motivating students to learn If the lecture is used onlyto provide detailed coverage of facts and findings then thestudents would gain more from reading a good textbook Iflectures are the only method of teaching used then thestudents are not being well prepared for their future rolesA rich diversity of teaching methods is necessary for adomain as complex as the health of human beings and theircommunities Lectures do not usually provide evidence ofstudentsrsquo understanding and knowledgemdashthat is exploredin seminars practical work and assessment tasks Finally

Correspondence Professor George Brown Postgraduate Dental Office Facultyof Medicine and Health Sciences Queenrsquos Medical Centre University ofNottingham Nottingham NG7 2UH UK

232

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lectures can induce passivity and compliance But they arenot necessarily passive modes of learning or authoritarianmodes of teaching As in bedside teaching and small-groupteaching passivity and authoritarianism are not dependenton the teaching method so much as on how that teachingmethod is used by the lecturer or clinician

Despite these limitations of lectures they are here tostay If they are here to stay we may as well make themmore effective Hence this guide

Are lectures as effective as other methods ofteaching

Reviews of the research on lecturing over the past 70 yearshave concluded that lectures are at least as effective as othermethods of teaching at presenting information andproviding explanations (Spence 1928 McLeish 1976Dunkin 1983 1986 Brown 1987 Brown amp Atkins 19881997 Bligh 2000) Practical skills are obviously taughtmore effectively in laboratories and clinics Lectures are nota substitute for practical workmdashparticularly for dentistswho must be fully clinically competent on graduation Butan analysis of learning activities in these settings may wellshow that much of the underlying methodology and theorymay be taught as effectively in brief lecture demonstrationsClinical problem solving may be taught more effectively insmall groups Attitude change it is claimed is more likelyto occur in small groups (Bligh 2000) Small-groupteaching methods are usually not as efficient a method ofimparting information as lectures are their particularstrengths lie in the interplay of ideas and views that developa studentrsquos capacities to think Comparisons betweenlectures and newer methods of teaching should be treatedcautiously Whereas new methods such as computer-assisted learning interactive video and simulations areusually prepared carefully and evaluated systematicallylecture methods are rarely subject to such rigorous planningand scrutiny All of the above findings assume that lecturingand other methods of teaching are stable phenomena Inpractice there is a rich variety of approaches within eachmethod and within each method there is potential for bothcompetent and incompetent teaching

Are there different styles of lecturing

Styles are habitual sets of responses to situations perceivedas similar Every lecturer has at least one style of lecturingand those who are more discriminating have different stylesbased on their perceptions of different classes andaudiences

Styles may be placed upon a continuum from thelsquoreading aloudrsquo style in which a lecturer reads every wordfrom a prepared text to the lsquoassociating aloudrsquo style inwhich a lecturer says whatever is in hisher head regardlessof its relevance Neither extreme is commendable Inbetween these styles is the lsquothinking aloudrsquo style in whichlecturers disclose their thinking about a topic or model theprocess of solving a clinical problem so that students learnhow an expert works

Anecdotal evidence on styles was provided by postgrad-uates who were asked to identify the different styles oflecturing that they had experienced The most common

styles were The Overfill who crammed Radio Three whoused long eloquent sentences that were difficult to noteThe Random Walk who wandered aimlessly through theliterature The Systems Person who provided a systematic ifsomewhat dull presentation The Systems Person plus whoused every aid available to put across the information Pref-erence was for the Systems Man for good notes SomeRandom Walkers were thought amusing (Brown 1979)

In a more rigorous study five styles of lecturing wereidentified through cluster analysis of the responses oflecturers to an inventory (Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) andthen validated by direct observation

Oral Presenters These lecturers rarely use any meansof communicating other than talk They do not useblackboards or overhead transparencies to outline mainpoints or provide full notes nor do they use diagrams toshow relationships structures or processes They are lesslikely to write down full lecture notes or scripts morelikely to note headings and subheadings and less likely torely on one text for preparing lecturesVisual Information Givers These lecturers are confi-dent visual information providers who use thechalkboard overhead projector or slides to provide fullnotes to their students they use diagrams to show rela-tionships and processes and they usually give studentstime to copy down complex diagrams Of all the groupsthey are most likely to write down full notes whenpreparing their lectures and least likely to use only head-ings and brief notesExemplary Performers These lecturers are confi-dent well structured and able presenters who use a widevariety of oral and visual techniques of presentationWhen preparing lectures this is the group that is mostlikely to write down headings subheadings and briefnotes rather than whole lectures They do not report anydifficulty in selecting and structuring materials for theirlectures They think about write down and tell thestudents the objectives of each lecture and they informthe students in advance of the lecture topics They oftenstructure the lecture around questions They rarely useaids to provide full notes but almost all exemplaries useaids to emphasize key points The exemplaries providemore handouts but this difference is not significantEclectic Lecturers These lecturers use a variety oftechniques including humour but lack confidence intheir lecturing powers and tend to be disorganizedWhen preparing lectures this group admits to havingdifficulty in selecting and structuring materials Theytend to write down headings subheadings and briefnotes rather than full lecture notes and they are likely touse more than one text as a source for their lectures Ofall the groups they are the group most likely to digressfrom the content of their notesAmorphous Talkers These lecturers are confidenteven over-confident but ill-prepared and vague They arethe group least likely to think about objectives for theirlectures or to inform the students of the objectives of thelecture Of all the groups they are the least likely to tellthe students which topics they will be examined on or totell the students in advance the topics of their lecturesThey neglect the essential strategies of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

233

In medicine Visual Information Givers were common andAmorphous Lecturers were more common than one wouldexpect by chance

Are there different methods of structuring lectures

Some common organizing principles used by lecturers aretime sequence (cases or stories) cause to effect problem tosolutions pro versus con to resolution familiar to unfa-miliar concept to application building blocks helixes ornetworks (McKeachie 1994)

Five different methods of structuring lectures have beenidentified through observation and reports by lecturers(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987 Bligh 2000) These briefly are

(1) The Classicalmdashin which a lecture is divided into broadareas and then subdivided This is the easiest methodof structuring a lecture and potentially the mostboring An extension of this method is the iterativeclassical in which a set procedure is applied to eachtopic For example signs symptoms diagnosesmanagement and prognosis may be applied to a set ofrelated diseases

(2) The Problem Centredmdashin which a problem is outlinedand various solutions are offered Handled well thismethod can play on the curiosity or clinical interests ofthe students

(3) The Sequentialmdashin which a problem or question ispresented and followed by a chain of reasoning whichleads to a solution or conclusion It is easy to lose thestudentsrsquo attention when using this method so the useof periodic summaries is recommended

(4) The Comparativemdashin which two or more perspectivesmethods or models are compared It is better donevisually rather than orally A common weakness is toassume that the audience knows intimately theperspective or methods under review If in doubt firstoutline each of the perspectives

(5) The Thesismdashin which an assertion is made and thenproved or disproved through a mixture of argumentand perhaps speculation Potentially an interestingapproach for students but like the sequentialapproach it can sometimes be difficult to follow

Some examples of the structure of lectures are shown inFigures 1ndash4 Some lectures are based on a mixture of theabove approaches but usually one structure predominatesPreparing a summary sheet of your lecture can help you toidentify its structure and ways of improving it Often asimple change in order or structure can make a lecturemuch more meaningful and interesting to an audience so itis useful to experiment with different structures even onthe same material Whatever the structure explain it to thestudents on an overhead transparency slide or in ahandout at the beginning of the lecture

Views on lecturing

Twenty years ago lecturers and students appeared to likelectures (Beard amp Hartley 1984) However the overloadof teaching and assessment in the past decade may haveproduced changes in attitudes towards lecturing Over90 of the lecturers sampled (n = 268) in the survey by

Brown amp Bakhtar (1987) stated that they liked lecturingthey considered lecturing to be a useful and economicalmethod of teaching and they approved of training inlecturing techniques

What students disliked was not lectures but poorquality lecturing Studentsrsquo dislikes were

inaudibilityincoherencetalking too fastpoor use of audiovisual aidstoo much information

These dislikes were reflected in weaknesses reported bylecturers

saying too much too quicklynot giving sufficient time to copy diagramsassuming too much knowledgeforgetting to provide summariesnot indicating asidesdifficulty in timing a lecture

Lecturers disliked

unresponsive audienceslarge groupseffort and time involved in preparationfeelings of failure after a bad lecturelecturing on topics disliked

Figure 1 Example of classical method

234

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

Both lecturers and student valued highly structure clarityand interest (Brown amp Daines 1981a Dunkin 1986Marsh 1987 McKeachie 1997) and lecturers enjoyedthese aspects of lecturing (Brown amp Bakhtar 1987)

intellectual challenge in structuring a lecturepersonal satisfaction of giving a good lecturestudent responsiveness during a lecture and subse-quentlymotivation to master a topic because one has to give alecture on it

There were some interesting differences across the ScienceArts boundaries Structure and clarity were valued morehighly by science lecturers interests insights and perspec-tives were valued more highly by arts lecturers Sciencelecturers were more likely to believe that training canimprove clarity expressiveness and the use of audiovisualaids (Brown amp Daines 1981b) The study of training inclarity and interest by Brown (1983) suggests that sciencelecturers were probably correct

Students value clarity of presentation structure andinterest There are likely to be different meanings attached

Figure 2 An example based on the iterativeclassicalapproach

Figure 3 The problem-centred methodNotes The lsquokeysrsquo contain a statement of the solutionexamples evidence in favour of the solutions its strengthsand weaknesses The sequence is often from the worst tothe best solution

Figure 4 Example of a sequential method of lecturingNotes This sets out how to cope with a road traffic victimpresenting with breathlessness and chest pain after beingcrushed against the steering wheel of a carSource Based on Brown amp Tomlinson (1979)

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

235

to these terms in different subjects Clear oral presentationmay not be perceived as satisfactory to a student who isused to noting and thinking visually What may be inter-esting to a budding epidemiologist may not seem at allinteresting to a potential orthopaedic surgeon Studentsregard lsquogoodrsquo lectures as a means of obtaining lsquogoodrsquo notesBut what counts as lsquogoodrsquo notes differs across subjectsScience students value logically structured notes morehighly than do arts students and arts students value gains ininsights and new perspectives more than science andmedical students do Science students see lectures as anentreacutee into reading For arts students lectures ideallyfollow reading and help them to interpret what they haveread (Brown amp Daines 1981a 1981b)

As well as quantitative surveys of views on lecturingthere is also some interesting qualitative evidence Instudies of gifted lecturers by Sheffield (1974) Dunkin(1994) and Andrews et al (1996) the most importantaspects of lecturing appear to be the stimulation ofstudents to become active learners in their own rightfollowed by the importance of caring for students love ofsubject preparing properly and conveying principles ratherthan details These views of lecturers are echoed in thegood and bad stories of lecturers told by students in open-ended interviews to Bliss (1990) lsquoGoodrsquo stories containeddescriptions of involvement enthusiasm generating under-standing and human interest lsquoBadrsquo stories described theopposite

Learning from lectures an explanatory model

Students learn from lectures by listening observingsummarizing and note-taking Sometimes understanding isgained in a lecture and sometimes it emerges when thestudents pore over their notes after a lecture Figure 5offers a simple robust model for examining the processes oflearning from lectures It is derived from studies of humaninformation processing (Baddeley 1996) Its key featuresare intention transmission receipt of information and output

These features provide the four strategies of making thelecture a more effective method of learning improvelecture preparation and transmission and improve studentreception and output

Intentions

The lecturerrsquos intentions may be based on the broadpurposes of coverage understanding and motivationThese intentions may be articulated or they may simply bemanifest in the lecturerrsquos actions The studentsrsquo intentionsmay be based on the broad purposes of note takingacquiring information deepening understanding anddeveloping interest (They may also have other intentionsin attending lectures) Given the likelihood of confusion ofintentions it may well be worth spending time exploringwith onersquos students what the purposes and intentions ofonersquos lectures are First-year students are particularlyconfused about what they should do in lectures and whatlectures are for It seems odd that we submit students to somany lectures yet do not discuss with them what lecturesare for or how students can gain from them

Transmission

A lecturer sends messages verbally extra-verbally non-verbally and through his or her use of audiovisual aids Theverbal messages may consist of statements of objectivesdefinitions descriptions of signs and symptoms examplesexceptions explanations or comments The lsquoextra-verbalrsquocomponent is the lecturerrsquos vocal qualities hesitationsstumbles speech errors and use of pauses Hesitations andstumbles are often due to lack of preparation or nervous-ness The lsquonon-verbalrsquo component consists primarily of eyecontact gestures and body movements These may be useddeliberately to establish rapport to monitor student reac-tions to convey meaning or to emphasize a pointAudiovisual messages are presented on chalkboards trans-parencies slides (including PowerPoint presentations) andaudiovisual extracts

A lecturer transmits not only information His or herextra-verbal and non-verbal cues and the quality of theaudiovisual aids used may convey meanings and attitudesthat highlight qualify or distort the essential messages

Receipt

All of these types of messages may or may not be perceivedby the students who may sift perhaps store and summa-rize and note what they perceive as the importantmessages What they perceive is determined in part bywhat they already know what they are interested in andtheir levels of attention and arousal Attention fluctuatesthroughout a one-hour lecture (see Figure 6) After 20minutes there is a marked decline in attention followed bya peak of attention just before the lecture ends (Biggs1999 Bligh 2000) This decline in attention is less likelyto occur if the lecture includes some short activities forstudents such as brief small-group discussions or simpleclinical reasoning or problem solving Any change ofactivity is in fact likely to renew attention Hence some

Figure 5 Learning from lectures an explanatory modelNotes Lecturerrsquos transmissions may be affected bystudentsrsquo reactions Studentsrsquo intentions activate long-term memory

236

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lecturers slip in occasional amusing slides tell anecdotes orjust give their students a two-minute break

Messages that are received by the students are filteredand stored temporarily in the short-term memory Theyare forgotten after about 30 seconds if they cannot be keptin mind (transferred to the long-term memory) or notedThe long-term memory most readily receives messages thatare closely related to the network of concepts and factswhich are already stored in it and have been activatedLinks can then be made between the new and existingknowledge Sometimes this processing of the new informa-tion in the light of the old may profoundly affect the pre-existing networks of information and they will be lsquoreturnedrsquoto long-term store in a different or modified form Alecture can therefore radically change onersquos perception ofa topic or issue Facts and concepts that are incomprehen-sible are most likely to be forgotten but the long-termmemory will store new messages which are only looselyassociated with existing facts and ideas Consequently astudent may not retrieve or understand the connectionsbetween old and new topics The episodic (narrative)component of long-term memory stores lsquostoriesrsquo that areeasier to retrieve than information stored in the conceptual(semantic) memory Hence examples based on patients orproblems are more likely to be recalled than straight theoryor detailed findings Facts and concepts that are incompre-hensible are not likely to be stored Competing verbal andaudiovisual messages are also difficult to cope with andusually the audiovisual messages win

Output

A studentrsquos response or lsquooutputrsquo is not only a set of notesthat may be understood and if necessary restructured andlearnt it also consists of reactions to the lecture and thelecturer The immediate reactions are usually non-verbalsignals and these may be received interpreted and perhapsacted upon by the lecturer Such signals provide the basis

for the responsiveness of the lecturer to the audienceHerein lies an important difference between recorded andlive lectures

More important than the immediately observableresponses to a lecture are the long-term changes in atti-tudes and understanding which may occur in a studentThese changes are not easily disentangled from otherlearning experiences but it is likely that a studentrsquos attitudetowards a subject and towards lecture methods is influ-enced markedly by the quality of lecturing he or sheexperiences as well as by the studentrsquos own personalitycharacteristics

Practical implications

The implications of this simplified model of learning arethat if you want students to learn from lectures and to takegood notes you must structure your presentations so theyare meaningful and interesting and you must ensure thatyou gain and sustain the studentsrsquo attention The ideas andfacts that are presented must be capable of being assimi-lated readily into the studentsrsquo existing store of knowledgeand understanding

The skills of lecturing

The model described above provides a basis for the clustersof overlapping skills of lecturing These are shown inFigure 7 Improvement in any of these skills will increasethe effectiveness of lecturing but as in all practical tasks itis useful to identify the skill that if improved is likely tohave the greatest consequential effects Improvements inpreparing lectures and in explaining are likely to have themaximum impact Therefore we focus primarily uponthese skills A more detailed description of the skills and

Figure 6 Effects of changing activity on studentperformance in a lecture

Notes Performance declines during a lecture but it can beimproved by varying student activitySource Based on Bligh (2000) who developed thisexplanation from a review of empirical research onattention and learning

Figure 7 The skills of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

237

sub-skills of lecturing may be found in Brown (1978) andBrown amp Atkins (1988)

Preparing lectures

There are no studies extant of how lecturers actuallyprepare their lectures However studies of teaching inschools show that there is a strong association betweensubject knowledge and teaching competence (Bennett ampCarre 1993) The work of Calderhead (1996) demon-strates that successful teachers plan not by simplydeducing methods from objectives but by taking accountof student understanding other student characteristics andthe resources available The maxim lsquoKnow your subjectknow your studentsrsquo is confirmed by these studies

In the absence of research on preparing lectures onehas to rely upon wisdom derived from experience Theessential ingredients of lecture preparation are purposescontent organization and the preparation of audiovisualaids

Purposes of lectures

It is now customary to express the purposes of a lecture inthe form of objectives (intended learning outcomes) andto state them to students at the beginning of a lectureThere is a danger of specifying too detailed a set of objec-tives which then become a straitjacket rather than a guideEqually dangerous is to have no clear purpose so onepresents a mish-mash of findings There is much to besaid for stating the purposes of a lecture in the form ofquestions that challenge and evoke curiosity Forexample at the beginning of a lecture in oral biochem-istry the lecturer could pose the question lsquoHow doesfluoride strengthen teethrsquo Research on pre-questions(advanced organizers) show that questions help studentslearn from texts (Ausubel 1978) It is likely that suchquestions will help the students to focus on the essentialsof the lecture

Content of lectures

The task of selecting content that fits the purposes of alecture is not easy That is why some lecturers simply usepreacutecis of the material found in a single text Donrsquot do itEvidence reviewed by Bligh (2000) shows that studentsrecall and understand better presentations that are basedon essential principles and a little detail than thosecontaining much detail It is more important to explain toprovide understanding than to report detailed findingsToo much content militates against learning

Organization of lectures

Structures of lectures have already been outlined in aprevious section Here we just make these points

Try to take account of the studentsrsquo existing knowledgeand cognitive structure as well as the structure of thesubjectState and show the organization of the lecture Givingthe structure is helpful to many students particularly the

less able and the more anxious (Snow amp Peterson1980)Do not overloadProvide periodic summaries during the lectureUse the conclusion to summarize and raise questionsBetter still invite the students to review summarize andcompare their summaries

Some suggestions for preparing lectures

One method that has been found useful by new lecturers isgiven in Figure 8 In practice people often zigzag and back-track rather than prepare lectures in a linear fashion

Analyses of transcripts of lectures indicate that typi-cally a lecturer speaks at about one hundred words perminute so even if one writes every word one is going tospeak then one should only have about 15 pages per one-hour lecture If you must read aloud rather than talk thenit is advisable to write the lecture as you would speak itrather than speak the lecture as you would normally write

Explaining

Explaining is the key skill in lecturing and one of the twomost important skills in teaching (the other is questioning)Common types of explanations in lectures are InterpretiveDescriptive and Reason-giving These correspond roughly tolsquoWhatrsquo lsquoHowrsquo and lsquoWhyrsquo Together with explanationsbased on lsquoWhenrsquo and lsquoWherersquo they may be used toquickly assemble a framework for a lecture an explanationor a talk For example if one had to prepare a lecture onlocal anaesthetics one might structure it around the ques-tions lsquoWhat are local anaestheticsrsquo lsquoHow do they workrsquolsquoWhy do we use themrsquo lsquoWhen do we use themrsquo lsquoWheredo we use themrsquo

To explain is to attempt to give understanding toanother and understanding is the creation of new connec-tions in the minds of the learner These connections may

Figure 8 Preparing a lecture

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

232

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lectures can induce passivity and compliance But they arenot necessarily passive modes of learning or authoritarianmodes of teaching As in bedside teaching and small-groupteaching passivity and authoritarianism are not dependenton the teaching method so much as on how that teachingmethod is used by the lecturer or clinician

Despite these limitations of lectures they are here tostay If they are here to stay we may as well make themmore effective Hence this guide

Are lectures as effective as other methods ofteaching

Reviews of the research on lecturing over the past 70 yearshave concluded that lectures are at least as effective as othermethods of teaching at presenting information andproviding explanations (Spence 1928 McLeish 1976Dunkin 1983 1986 Brown 1987 Brown amp Atkins 19881997 Bligh 2000) Practical skills are obviously taughtmore effectively in laboratories and clinics Lectures are nota substitute for practical workmdashparticularly for dentistswho must be fully clinically competent on graduation Butan analysis of learning activities in these settings may wellshow that much of the underlying methodology and theorymay be taught as effectively in brief lecture demonstrationsClinical problem solving may be taught more effectively insmall groups Attitude change it is claimed is more likelyto occur in small groups (Bligh 2000) Small-groupteaching methods are usually not as efficient a method ofimparting information as lectures are their particularstrengths lie in the interplay of ideas and views that developa studentrsquos capacities to think Comparisons betweenlectures and newer methods of teaching should be treatedcautiously Whereas new methods such as computer-assisted learning interactive video and simulations areusually prepared carefully and evaluated systematicallylecture methods are rarely subject to such rigorous planningand scrutiny All of the above findings assume that lecturingand other methods of teaching are stable phenomena Inpractice there is a rich variety of approaches within eachmethod and within each method there is potential for bothcompetent and incompetent teaching

Are there different styles of lecturing

Styles are habitual sets of responses to situations perceivedas similar Every lecturer has at least one style of lecturingand those who are more discriminating have different stylesbased on their perceptions of different classes andaudiences

Styles may be placed upon a continuum from thelsquoreading aloudrsquo style in which a lecturer reads every wordfrom a prepared text to the lsquoassociating aloudrsquo style inwhich a lecturer says whatever is in hisher head regardlessof its relevance Neither extreme is commendable Inbetween these styles is the lsquothinking aloudrsquo style in whichlecturers disclose their thinking about a topic or model theprocess of solving a clinical problem so that students learnhow an expert works

Anecdotal evidence on styles was provided by postgrad-uates who were asked to identify the different styles oflecturing that they had experienced The most common

styles were The Overfill who crammed Radio Three whoused long eloquent sentences that were difficult to noteThe Random Walk who wandered aimlessly through theliterature The Systems Person who provided a systematic ifsomewhat dull presentation The Systems Person plus whoused every aid available to put across the information Pref-erence was for the Systems Man for good notes SomeRandom Walkers were thought amusing (Brown 1979)

In a more rigorous study five styles of lecturing wereidentified through cluster analysis of the responses oflecturers to an inventory (Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) andthen validated by direct observation

Oral Presenters These lecturers rarely use any meansof communicating other than talk They do not useblackboards or overhead transparencies to outline mainpoints or provide full notes nor do they use diagrams toshow relationships structures or processes They are lesslikely to write down full lecture notes or scripts morelikely to note headings and subheadings and less likely torely on one text for preparing lecturesVisual Information Givers These lecturers are confi-dent visual information providers who use thechalkboard overhead projector or slides to provide fullnotes to their students they use diagrams to show rela-tionships and processes and they usually give studentstime to copy down complex diagrams Of all the groupsthey are most likely to write down full notes whenpreparing their lectures and least likely to use only head-ings and brief notesExemplary Performers These lecturers are confi-dent well structured and able presenters who use a widevariety of oral and visual techniques of presentationWhen preparing lectures this is the group that is mostlikely to write down headings subheadings and briefnotes rather than whole lectures They do not report anydifficulty in selecting and structuring materials for theirlectures They think about write down and tell thestudents the objectives of each lecture and they informthe students in advance of the lecture topics They oftenstructure the lecture around questions They rarely useaids to provide full notes but almost all exemplaries useaids to emphasize key points The exemplaries providemore handouts but this difference is not significantEclectic Lecturers These lecturers use a variety oftechniques including humour but lack confidence intheir lecturing powers and tend to be disorganizedWhen preparing lectures this group admits to havingdifficulty in selecting and structuring materials Theytend to write down headings subheadings and briefnotes rather than full lecture notes and they are likely touse more than one text as a source for their lectures Ofall the groups they are the group most likely to digressfrom the content of their notesAmorphous Talkers These lecturers are confidenteven over-confident but ill-prepared and vague They arethe group least likely to think about objectives for theirlectures or to inform the students of the objectives of thelecture Of all the groups they are the least likely to tellthe students which topics they will be examined on or totell the students in advance the topics of their lecturesThey neglect the essential strategies of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

233

In medicine Visual Information Givers were common andAmorphous Lecturers were more common than one wouldexpect by chance

Are there different methods of structuring lectures

Some common organizing principles used by lecturers aretime sequence (cases or stories) cause to effect problem tosolutions pro versus con to resolution familiar to unfa-miliar concept to application building blocks helixes ornetworks (McKeachie 1994)

Five different methods of structuring lectures have beenidentified through observation and reports by lecturers(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987 Bligh 2000) These briefly are

(1) The Classicalmdashin which a lecture is divided into broadareas and then subdivided This is the easiest methodof structuring a lecture and potentially the mostboring An extension of this method is the iterativeclassical in which a set procedure is applied to eachtopic For example signs symptoms diagnosesmanagement and prognosis may be applied to a set ofrelated diseases

(2) The Problem Centredmdashin which a problem is outlinedand various solutions are offered Handled well thismethod can play on the curiosity or clinical interests ofthe students

(3) The Sequentialmdashin which a problem or question ispresented and followed by a chain of reasoning whichleads to a solution or conclusion It is easy to lose thestudentsrsquo attention when using this method so the useof periodic summaries is recommended

(4) The Comparativemdashin which two or more perspectivesmethods or models are compared It is better donevisually rather than orally A common weakness is toassume that the audience knows intimately theperspective or methods under review If in doubt firstoutline each of the perspectives

(5) The Thesismdashin which an assertion is made and thenproved or disproved through a mixture of argumentand perhaps speculation Potentially an interestingapproach for students but like the sequentialapproach it can sometimes be difficult to follow

Some examples of the structure of lectures are shown inFigures 1ndash4 Some lectures are based on a mixture of theabove approaches but usually one structure predominatesPreparing a summary sheet of your lecture can help you toidentify its structure and ways of improving it Often asimple change in order or structure can make a lecturemuch more meaningful and interesting to an audience so itis useful to experiment with different structures even onthe same material Whatever the structure explain it to thestudents on an overhead transparency slide or in ahandout at the beginning of the lecture

Views on lecturing

Twenty years ago lecturers and students appeared to likelectures (Beard amp Hartley 1984) However the overloadof teaching and assessment in the past decade may haveproduced changes in attitudes towards lecturing Over90 of the lecturers sampled (n = 268) in the survey by

Brown amp Bakhtar (1987) stated that they liked lecturingthey considered lecturing to be a useful and economicalmethod of teaching and they approved of training inlecturing techniques

What students disliked was not lectures but poorquality lecturing Studentsrsquo dislikes were

inaudibilityincoherencetalking too fastpoor use of audiovisual aidstoo much information

These dislikes were reflected in weaknesses reported bylecturers

saying too much too quicklynot giving sufficient time to copy diagramsassuming too much knowledgeforgetting to provide summariesnot indicating asidesdifficulty in timing a lecture

Lecturers disliked

unresponsive audienceslarge groupseffort and time involved in preparationfeelings of failure after a bad lecturelecturing on topics disliked

Figure 1 Example of classical method

234

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

Both lecturers and student valued highly structure clarityand interest (Brown amp Daines 1981a Dunkin 1986Marsh 1987 McKeachie 1997) and lecturers enjoyedthese aspects of lecturing (Brown amp Bakhtar 1987)

intellectual challenge in structuring a lecturepersonal satisfaction of giving a good lecturestudent responsiveness during a lecture and subse-quentlymotivation to master a topic because one has to give alecture on it

There were some interesting differences across the ScienceArts boundaries Structure and clarity were valued morehighly by science lecturers interests insights and perspec-tives were valued more highly by arts lecturers Sciencelecturers were more likely to believe that training canimprove clarity expressiveness and the use of audiovisualaids (Brown amp Daines 1981b) The study of training inclarity and interest by Brown (1983) suggests that sciencelecturers were probably correct

Students value clarity of presentation structure andinterest There are likely to be different meanings attached

Figure 2 An example based on the iterativeclassicalapproach

Figure 3 The problem-centred methodNotes The lsquokeysrsquo contain a statement of the solutionexamples evidence in favour of the solutions its strengthsand weaknesses The sequence is often from the worst tothe best solution

Figure 4 Example of a sequential method of lecturingNotes This sets out how to cope with a road traffic victimpresenting with breathlessness and chest pain after beingcrushed against the steering wheel of a carSource Based on Brown amp Tomlinson (1979)

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

235

to these terms in different subjects Clear oral presentationmay not be perceived as satisfactory to a student who isused to noting and thinking visually What may be inter-esting to a budding epidemiologist may not seem at allinteresting to a potential orthopaedic surgeon Studentsregard lsquogoodrsquo lectures as a means of obtaining lsquogoodrsquo notesBut what counts as lsquogoodrsquo notes differs across subjectsScience students value logically structured notes morehighly than do arts students and arts students value gains ininsights and new perspectives more than science andmedical students do Science students see lectures as anentreacutee into reading For arts students lectures ideallyfollow reading and help them to interpret what they haveread (Brown amp Daines 1981a 1981b)

As well as quantitative surveys of views on lecturingthere is also some interesting qualitative evidence Instudies of gifted lecturers by Sheffield (1974) Dunkin(1994) and Andrews et al (1996) the most importantaspects of lecturing appear to be the stimulation ofstudents to become active learners in their own rightfollowed by the importance of caring for students love ofsubject preparing properly and conveying principles ratherthan details These views of lecturers are echoed in thegood and bad stories of lecturers told by students in open-ended interviews to Bliss (1990) lsquoGoodrsquo stories containeddescriptions of involvement enthusiasm generating under-standing and human interest lsquoBadrsquo stories described theopposite

Learning from lectures an explanatory model

Students learn from lectures by listening observingsummarizing and note-taking Sometimes understanding isgained in a lecture and sometimes it emerges when thestudents pore over their notes after a lecture Figure 5offers a simple robust model for examining the processes oflearning from lectures It is derived from studies of humaninformation processing (Baddeley 1996) Its key featuresare intention transmission receipt of information and output

These features provide the four strategies of making thelecture a more effective method of learning improvelecture preparation and transmission and improve studentreception and output

Intentions

The lecturerrsquos intentions may be based on the broadpurposes of coverage understanding and motivationThese intentions may be articulated or they may simply bemanifest in the lecturerrsquos actions The studentsrsquo intentionsmay be based on the broad purposes of note takingacquiring information deepening understanding anddeveloping interest (They may also have other intentionsin attending lectures) Given the likelihood of confusion ofintentions it may well be worth spending time exploringwith onersquos students what the purposes and intentions ofonersquos lectures are First-year students are particularlyconfused about what they should do in lectures and whatlectures are for It seems odd that we submit students to somany lectures yet do not discuss with them what lecturesare for or how students can gain from them

Transmission

A lecturer sends messages verbally extra-verbally non-verbally and through his or her use of audiovisual aids Theverbal messages may consist of statements of objectivesdefinitions descriptions of signs and symptoms examplesexceptions explanations or comments The lsquoextra-verbalrsquocomponent is the lecturerrsquos vocal qualities hesitationsstumbles speech errors and use of pauses Hesitations andstumbles are often due to lack of preparation or nervous-ness The lsquonon-verbalrsquo component consists primarily of eyecontact gestures and body movements These may be useddeliberately to establish rapport to monitor student reac-tions to convey meaning or to emphasize a pointAudiovisual messages are presented on chalkboards trans-parencies slides (including PowerPoint presentations) andaudiovisual extracts

A lecturer transmits not only information His or herextra-verbal and non-verbal cues and the quality of theaudiovisual aids used may convey meanings and attitudesthat highlight qualify or distort the essential messages

Receipt

All of these types of messages may or may not be perceivedby the students who may sift perhaps store and summa-rize and note what they perceive as the importantmessages What they perceive is determined in part bywhat they already know what they are interested in andtheir levels of attention and arousal Attention fluctuatesthroughout a one-hour lecture (see Figure 6) After 20minutes there is a marked decline in attention followed bya peak of attention just before the lecture ends (Biggs1999 Bligh 2000) This decline in attention is less likelyto occur if the lecture includes some short activities forstudents such as brief small-group discussions or simpleclinical reasoning or problem solving Any change ofactivity is in fact likely to renew attention Hence some

Figure 5 Learning from lectures an explanatory modelNotes Lecturerrsquos transmissions may be affected bystudentsrsquo reactions Studentsrsquo intentions activate long-term memory

236

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lecturers slip in occasional amusing slides tell anecdotes orjust give their students a two-minute break

Messages that are received by the students are filteredand stored temporarily in the short-term memory Theyare forgotten after about 30 seconds if they cannot be keptin mind (transferred to the long-term memory) or notedThe long-term memory most readily receives messages thatare closely related to the network of concepts and factswhich are already stored in it and have been activatedLinks can then be made between the new and existingknowledge Sometimes this processing of the new informa-tion in the light of the old may profoundly affect the pre-existing networks of information and they will be lsquoreturnedrsquoto long-term store in a different or modified form Alecture can therefore radically change onersquos perception ofa topic or issue Facts and concepts that are incomprehen-sible are most likely to be forgotten but the long-termmemory will store new messages which are only looselyassociated with existing facts and ideas Consequently astudent may not retrieve or understand the connectionsbetween old and new topics The episodic (narrative)component of long-term memory stores lsquostoriesrsquo that areeasier to retrieve than information stored in the conceptual(semantic) memory Hence examples based on patients orproblems are more likely to be recalled than straight theoryor detailed findings Facts and concepts that are incompre-hensible are not likely to be stored Competing verbal andaudiovisual messages are also difficult to cope with andusually the audiovisual messages win

Output

A studentrsquos response or lsquooutputrsquo is not only a set of notesthat may be understood and if necessary restructured andlearnt it also consists of reactions to the lecture and thelecturer The immediate reactions are usually non-verbalsignals and these may be received interpreted and perhapsacted upon by the lecturer Such signals provide the basis

for the responsiveness of the lecturer to the audienceHerein lies an important difference between recorded andlive lectures

More important than the immediately observableresponses to a lecture are the long-term changes in atti-tudes and understanding which may occur in a studentThese changes are not easily disentangled from otherlearning experiences but it is likely that a studentrsquos attitudetowards a subject and towards lecture methods is influ-enced markedly by the quality of lecturing he or sheexperiences as well as by the studentrsquos own personalitycharacteristics

Practical implications

The implications of this simplified model of learning arethat if you want students to learn from lectures and to takegood notes you must structure your presentations so theyare meaningful and interesting and you must ensure thatyou gain and sustain the studentsrsquo attention The ideas andfacts that are presented must be capable of being assimi-lated readily into the studentsrsquo existing store of knowledgeand understanding

The skills of lecturing

The model described above provides a basis for the clustersof overlapping skills of lecturing These are shown inFigure 7 Improvement in any of these skills will increasethe effectiveness of lecturing but as in all practical tasks itis useful to identify the skill that if improved is likely tohave the greatest consequential effects Improvements inpreparing lectures and in explaining are likely to have themaximum impact Therefore we focus primarily uponthese skills A more detailed description of the skills and

Figure 6 Effects of changing activity on studentperformance in a lecture

Notes Performance declines during a lecture but it can beimproved by varying student activitySource Based on Bligh (2000) who developed thisexplanation from a review of empirical research onattention and learning

Figure 7 The skills of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

237

sub-skills of lecturing may be found in Brown (1978) andBrown amp Atkins (1988)

Preparing lectures

There are no studies extant of how lecturers actuallyprepare their lectures However studies of teaching inschools show that there is a strong association betweensubject knowledge and teaching competence (Bennett ampCarre 1993) The work of Calderhead (1996) demon-strates that successful teachers plan not by simplydeducing methods from objectives but by taking accountof student understanding other student characteristics andthe resources available The maxim lsquoKnow your subjectknow your studentsrsquo is confirmed by these studies

In the absence of research on preparing lectures onehas to rely upon wisdom derived from experience Theessential ingredients of lecture preparation are purposescontent organization and the preparation of audiovisualaids

Purposes of lectures

It is now customary to express the purposes of a lecture inthe form of objectives (intended learning outcomes) andto state them to students at the beginning of a lectureThere is a danger of specifying too detailed a set of objec-tives which then become a straitjacket rather than a guideEqually dangerous is to have no clear purpose so onepresents a mish-mash of findings There is much to besaid for stating the purposes of a lecture in the form ofquestions that challenge and evoke curiosity Forexample at the beginning of a lecture in oral biochem-istry the lecturer could pose the question lsquoHow doesfluoride strengthen teethrsquo Research on pre-questions(advanced organizers) show that questions help studentslearn from texts (Ausubel 1978) It is likely that suchquestions will help the students to focus on the essentialsof the lecture

Content of lectures

The task of selecting content that fits the purposes of alecture is not easy That is why some lecturers simply usepreacutecis of the material found in a single text Donrsquot do itEvidence reviewed by Bligh (2000) shows that studentsrecall and understand better presentations that are basedon essential principles and a little detail than thosecontaining much detail It is more important to explain toprovide understanding than to report detailed findingsToo much content militates against learning

Organization of lectures

Structures of lectures have already been outlined in aprevious section Here we just make these points

Try to take account of the studentsrsquo existing knowledgeand cognitive structure as well as the structure of thesubjectState and show the organization of the lecture Givingthe structure is helpful to many students particularly the

less able and the more anxious (Snow amp Peterson1980)Do not overloadProvide periodic summaries during the lectureUse the conclusion to summarize and raise questionsBetter still invite the students to review summarize andcompare their summaries

Some suggestions for preparing lectures

One method that has been found useful by new lecturers isgiven in Figure 8 In practice people often zigzag and back-track rather than prepare lectures in a linear fashion

Analyses of transcripts of lectures indicate that typi-cally a lecturer speaks at about one hundred words perminute so even if one writes every word one is going tospeak then one should only have about 15 pages per one-hour lecture If you must read aloud rather than talk thenit is advisable to write the lecture as you would speak itrather than speak the lecture as you would normally write

Explaining

Explaining is the key skill in lecturing and one of the twomost important skills in teaching (the other is questioning)Common types of explanations in lectures are InterpretiveDescriptive and Reason-giving These correspond roughly tolsquoWhatrsquo lsquoHowrsquo and lsquoWhyrsquo Together with explanationsbased on lsquoWhenrsquo and lsquoWherersquo they may be used toquickly assemble a framework for a lecture an explanationor a talk For example if one had to prepare a lecture onlocal anaesthetics one might structure it around the ques-tions lsquoWhat are local anaestheticsrsquo lsquoHow do they workrsquolsquoWhy do we use themrsquo lsquoWhen do we use themrsquo lsquoWheredo we use themrsquo

To explain is to attempt to give understanding toanother and understanding is the creation of new connec-tions in the minds of the learner These connections may

Figure 8 Preparing a lecture

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

233

In medicine Visual Information Givers were common andAmorphous Lecturers were more common than one wouldexpect by chance

Are there different methods of structuring lectures

Some common organizing principles used by lecturers aretime sequence (cases or stories) cause to effect problem tosolutions pro versus con to resolution familiar to unfa-miliar concept to application building blocks helixes ornetworks (McKeachie 1994)

Five different methods of structuring lectures have beenidentified through observation and reports by lecturers(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987 Bligh 2000) These briefly are

(1) The Classicalmdashin which a lecture is divided into broadareas and then subdivided This is the easiest methodof structuring a lecture and potentially the mostboring An extension of this method is the iterativeclassical in which a set procedure is applied to eachtopic For example signs symptoms diagnosesmanagement and prognosis may be applied to a set ofrelated diseases

(2) The Problem Centredmdashin which a problem is outlinedand various solutions are offered Handled well thismethod can play on the curiosity or clinical interests ofthe students

(3) The Sequentialmdashin which a problem or question ispresented and followed by a chain of reasoning whichleads to a solution or conclusion It is easy to lose thestudentsrsquo attention when using this method so the useof periodic summaries is recommended

(4) The Comparativemdashin which two or more perspectivesmethods or models are compared It is better donevisually rather than orally A common weakness is toassume that the audience knows intimately theperspective or methods under review If in doubt firstoutline each of the perspectives

(5) The Thesismdashin which an assertion is made and thenproved or disproved through a mixture of argumentand perhaps speculation Potentially an interestingapproach for students but like the sequentialapproach it can sometimes be difficult to follow

Some examples of the structure of lectures are shown inFigures 1ndash4 Some lectures are based on a mixture of theabove approaches but usually one structure predominatesPreparing a summary sheet of your lecture can help you toidentify its structure and ways of improving it Often asimple change in order or structure can make a lecturemuch more meaningful and interesting to an audience so itis useful to experiment with different structures even onthe same material Whatever the structure explain it to thestudents on an overhead transparency slide or in ahandout at the beginning of the lecture

Views on lecturing

Twenty years ago lecturers and students appeared to likelectures (Beard amp Hartley 1984) However the overloadof teaching and assessment in the past decade may haveproduced changes in attitudes towards lecturing Over90 of the lecturers sampled (n = 268) in the survey by

Brown amp Bakhtar (1987) stated that they liked lecturingthey considered lecturing to be a useful and economicalmethod of teaching and they approved of training inlecturing techniques

What students disliked was not lectures but poorquality lecturing Studentsrsquo dislikes were

inaudibilityincoherencetalking too fastpoor use of audiovisual aidstoo much information

These dislikes were reflected in weaknesses reported bylecturers

saying too much too quicklynot giving sufficient time to copy diagramsassuming too much knowledgeforgetting to provide summariesnot indicating asidesdifficulty in timing a lecture

Lecturers disliked

unresponsive audienceslarge groupseffort and time involved in preparationfeelings of failure after a bad lecturelecturing on topics disliked

Figure 1 Example of classical method

234

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

Both lecturers and student valued highly structure clarityand interest (Brown amp Daines 1981a Dunkin 1986Marsh 1987 McKeachie 1997) and lecturers enjoyedthese aspects of lecturing (Brown amp Bakhtar 1987)

intellectual challenge in structuring a lecturepersonal satisfaction of giving a good lecturestudent responsiveness during a lecture and subse-quentlymotivation to master a topic because one has to give alecture on it

There were some interesting differences across the ScienceArts boundaries Structure and clarity were valued morehighly by science lecturers interests insights and perspec-tives were valued more highly by arts lecturers Sciencelecturers were more likely to believe that training canimprove clarity expressiveness and the use of audiovisualaids (Brown amp Daines 1981b) The study of training inclarity and interest by Brown (1983) suggests that sciencelecturers were probably correct

Students value clarity of presentation structure andinterest There are likely to be different meanings attached

Figure 2 An example based on the iterativeclassicalapproach

Figure 3 The problem-centred methodNotes The lsquokeysrsquo contain a statement of the solutionexamples evidence in favour of the solutions its strengthsand weaknesses The sequence is often from the worst tothe best solution

Figure 4 Example of a sequential method of lecturingNotes This sets out how to cope with a road traffic victimpresenting with breathlessness and chest pain after beingcrushed against the steering wheel of a carSource Based on Brown amp Tomlinson (1979)

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

235

to these terms in different subjects Clear oral presentationmay not be perceived as satisfactory to a student who isused to noting and thinking visually What may be inter-esting to a budding epidemiologist may not seem at allinteresting to a potential orthopaedic surgeon Studentsregard lsquogoodrsquo lectures as a means of obtaining lsquogoodrsquo notesBut what counts as lsquogoodrsquo notes differs across subjectsScience students value logically structured notes morehighly than do arts students and arts students value gains ininsights and new perspectives more than science andmedical students do Science students see lectures as anentreacutee into reading For arts students lectures ideallyfollow reading and help them to interpret what they haveread (Brown amp Daines 1981a 1981b)

As well as quantitative surveys of views on lecturingthere is also some interesting qualitative evidence Instudies of gifted lecturers by Sheffield (1974) Dunkin(1994) and Andrews et al (1996) the most importantaspects of lecturing appear to be the stimulation ofstudents to become active learners in their own rightfollowed by the importance of caring for students love ofsubject preparing properly and conveying principles ratherthan details These views of lecturers are echoed in thegood and bad stories of lecturers told by students in open-ended interviews to Bliss (1990) lsquoGoodrsquo stories containeddescriptions of involvement enthusiasm generating under-standing and human interest lsquoBadrsquo stories described theopposite

Learning from lectures an explanatory model

Students learn from lectures by listening observingsummarizing and note-taking Sometimes understanding isgained in a lecture and sometimes it emerges when thestudents pore over their notes after a lecture Figure 5offers a simple robust model for examining the processes oflearning from lectures It is derived from studies of humaninformation processing (Baddeley 1996) Its key featuresare intention transmission receipt of information and output

These features provide the four strategies of making thelecture a more effective method of learning improvelecture preparation and transmission and improve studentreception and output

Intentions

The lecturerrsquos intentions may be based on the broadpurposes of coverage understanding and motivationThese intentions may be articulated or they may simply bemanifest in the lecturerrsquos actions The studentsrsquo intentionsmay be based on the broad purposes of note takingacquiring information deepening understanding anddeveloping interest (They may also have other intentionsin attending lectures) Given the likelihood of confusion ofintentions it may well be worth spending time exploringwith onersquos students what the purposes and intentions ofonersquos lectures are First-year students are particularlyconfused about what they should do in lectures and whatlectures are for It seems odd that we submit students to somany lectures yet do not discuss with them what lecturesare for or how students can gain from them

Transmission

A lecturer sends messages verbally extra-verbally non-verbally and through his or her use of audiovisual aids Theverbal messages may consist of statements of objectivesdefinitions descriptions of signs and symptoms examplesexceptions explanations or comments The lsquoextra-verbalrsquocomponent is the lecturerrsquos vocal qualities hesitationsstumbles speech errors and use of pauses Hesitations andstumbles are often due to lack of preparation or nervous-ness The lsquonon-verbalrsquo component consists primarily of eyecontact gestures and body movements These may be useddeliberately to establish rapport to monitor student reac-tions to convey meaning or to emphasize a pointAudiovisual messages are presented on chalkboards trans-parencies slides (including PowerPoint presentations) andaudiovisual extracts

A lecturer transmits not only information His or herextra-verbal and non-verbal cues and the quality of theaudiovisual aids used may convey meanings and attitudesthat highlight qualify or distort the essential messages

Receipt

All of these types of messages may or may not be perceivedby the students who may sift perhaps store and summa-rize and note what they perceive as the importantmessages What they perceive is determined in part bywhat they already know what they are interested in andtheir levels of attention and arousal Attention fluctuatesthroughout a one-hour lecture (see Figure 6) After 20minutes there is a marked decline in attention followed bya peak of attention just before the lecture ends (Biggs1999 Bligh 2000) This decline in attention is less likelyto occur if the lecture includes some short activities forstudents such as brief small-group discussions or simpleclinical reasoning or problem solving Any change ofactivity is in fact likely to renew attention Hence some

Figure 5 Learning from lectures an explanatory modelNotes Lecturerrsquos transmissions may be affected bystudentsrsquo reactions Studentsrsquo intentions activate long-term memory

236

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lecturers slip in occasional amusing slides tell anecdotes orjust give their students a two-minute break

Messages that are received by the students are filteredand stored temporarily in the short-term memory Theyare forgotten after about 30 seconds if they cannot be keptin mind (transferred to the long-term memory) or notedThe long-term memory most readily receives messages thatare closely related to the network of concepts and factswhich are already stored in it and have been activatedLinks can then be made between the new and existingknowledge Sometimes this processing of the new informa-tion in the light of the old may profoundly affect the pre-existing networks of information and they will be lsquoreturnedrsquoto long-term store in a different or modified form Alecture can therefore radically change onersquos perception ofa topic or issue Facts and concepts that are incomprehen-sible are most likely to be forgotten but the long-termmemory will store new messages which are only looselyassociated with existing facts and ideas Consequently astudent may not retrieve or understand the connectionsbetween old and new topics The episodic (narrative)component of long-term memory stores lsquostoriesrsquo that areeasier to retrieve than information stored in the conceptual(semantic) memory Hence examples based on patients orproblems are more likely to be recalled than straight theoryor detailed findings Facts and concepts that are incompre-hensible are not likely to be stored Competing verbal andaudiovisual messages are also difficult to cope with andusually the audiovisual messages win

Output

A studentrsquos response or lsquooutputrsquo is not only a set of notesthat may be understood and if necessary restructured andlearnt it also consists of reactions to the lecture and thelecturer The immediate reactions are usually non-verbalsignals and these may be received interpreted and perhapsacted upon by the lecturer Such signals provide the basis

for the responsiveness of the lecturer to the audienceHerein lies an important difference between recorded andlive lectures

More important than the immediately observableresponses to a lecture are the long-term changes in atti-tudes and understanding which may occur in a studentThese changes are not easily disentangled from otherlearning experiences but it is likely that a studentrsquos attitudetowards a subject and towards lecture methods is influ-enced markedly by the quality of lecturing he or sheexperiences as well as by the studentrsquos own personalitycharacteristics

Practical implications

The implications of this simplified model of learning arethat if you want students to learn from lectures and to takegood notes you must structure your presentations so theyare meaningful and interesting and you must ensure thatyou gain and sustain the studentsrsquo attention The ideas andfacts that are presented must be capable of being assimi-lated readily into the studentsrsquo existing store of knowledgeand understanding

The skills of lecturing

The model described above provides a basis for the clustersof overlapping skills of lecturing These are shown inFigure 7 Improvement in any of these skills will increasethe effectiveness of lecturing but as in all practical tasks itis useful to identify the skill that if improved is likely tohave the greatest consequential effects Improvements inpreparing lectures and in explaining are likely to have themaximum impact Therefore we focus primarily uponthese skills A more detailed description of the skills and

Figure 6 Effects of changing activity on studentperformance in a lecture

Notes Performance declines during a lecture but it can beimproved by varying student activitySource Based on Bligh (2000) who developed thisexplanation from a review of empirical research onattention and learning

Figure 7 The skills of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

237

sub-skills of lecturing may be found in Brown (1978) andBrown amp Atkins (1988)

Preparing lectures

There are no studies extant of how lecturers actuallyprepare their lectures However studies of teaching inschools show that there is a strong association betweensubject knowledge and teaching competence (Bennett ampCarre 1993) The work of Calderhead (1996) demon-strates that successful teachers plan not by simplydeducing methods from objectives but by taking accountof student understanding other student characteristics andthe resources available The maxim lsquoKnow your subjectknow your studentsrsquo is confirmed by these studies

In the absence of research on preparing lectures onehas to rely upon wisdom derived from experience Theessential ingredients of lecture preparation are purposescontent organization and the preparation of audiovisualaids

Purposes of lectures

It is now customary to express the purposes of a lecture inthe form of objectives (intended learning outcomes) andto state them to students at the beginning of a lectureThere is a danger of specifying too detailed a set of objec-tives which then become a straitjacket rather than a guideEqually dangerous is to have no clear purpose so onepresents a mish-mash of findings There is much to besaid for stating the purposes of a lecture in the form ofquestions that challenge and evoke curiosity Forexample at the beginning of a lecture in oral biochem-istry the lecturer could pose the question lsquoHow doesfluoride strengthen teethrsquo Research on pre-questions(advanced organizers) show that questions help studentslearn from texts (Ausubel 1978) It is likely that suchquestions will help the students to focus on the essentialsof the lecture

Content of lectures

The task of selecting content that fits the purposes of alecture is not easy That is why some lecturers simply usepreacutecis of the material found in a single text Donrsquot do itEvidence reviewed by Bligh (2000) shows that studentsrecall and understand better presentations that are basedon essential principles and a little detail than thosecontaining much detail It is more important to explain toprovide understanding than to report detailed findingsToo much content militates against learning

Organization of lectures

Structures of lectures have already been outlined in aprevious section Here we just make these points

Try to take account of the studentsrsquo existing knowledgeand cognitive structure as well as the structure of thesubjectState and show the organization of the lecture Givingthe structure is helpful to many students particularly the

less able and the more anxious (Snow amp Peterson1980)Do not overloadProvide periodic summaries during the lectureUse the conclusion to summarize and raise questionsBetter still invite the students to review summarize andcompare their summaries

Some suggestions for preparing lectures

One method that has been found useful by new lecturers isgiven in Figure 8 In practice people often zigzag and back-track rather than prepare lectures in a linear fashion

Analyses of transcripts of lectures indicate that typi-cally a lecturer speaks at about one hundred words perminute so even if one writes every word one is going tospeak then one should only have about 15 pages per one-hour lecture If you must read aloud rather than talk thenit is advisable to write the lecture as you would speak itrather than speak the lecture as you would normally write

Explaining

Explaining is the key skill in lecturing and one of the twomost important skills in teaching (the other is questioning)Common types of explanations in lectures are InterpretiveDescriptive and Reason-giving These correspond roughly tolsquoWhatrsquo lsquoHowrsquo and lsquoWhyrsquo Together with explanationsbased on lsquoWhenrsquo and lsquoWherersquo they may be used toquickly assemble a framework for a lecture an explanationor a talk For example if one had to prepare a lecture onlocal anaesthetics one might structure it around the ques-tions lsquoWhat are local anaestheticsrsquo lsquoHow do they workrsquolsquoWhy do we use themrsquo lsquoWhen do we use themrsquo lsquoWheredo we use themrsquo

To explain is to attempt to give understanding toanother and understanding is the creation of new connec-tions in the minds of the learner These connections may

Figure 8 Preparing a lecture

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

234

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

Both lecturers and student valued highly structure clarityand interest (Brown amp Daines 1981a Dunkin 1986Marsh 1987 McKeachie 1997) and lecturers enjoyedthese aspects of lecturing (Brown amp Bakhtar 1987)

intellectual challenge in structuring a lecturepersonal satisfaction of giving a good lecturestudent responsiveness during a lecture and subse-quentlymotivation to master a topic because one has to give alecture on it

There were some interesting differences across the ScienceArts boundaries Structure and clarity were valued morehighly by science lecturers interests insights and perspec-tives were valued more highly by arts lecturers Sciencelecturers were more likely to believe that training canimprove clarity expressiveness and the use of audiovisualaids (Brown amp Daines 1981b) The study of training inclarity and interest by Brown (1983) suggests that sciencelecturers were probably correct

Students value clarity of presentation structure andinterest There are likely to be different meanings attached

Figure 2 An example based on the iterativeclassicalapproach

Figure 3 The problem-centred methodNotes The lsquokeysrsquo contain a statement of the solutionexamples evidence in favour of the solutions its strengthsand weaknesses The sequence is often from the worst tothe best solution

Figure 4 Example of a sequential method of lecturingNotes This sets out how to cope with a road traffic victimpresenting with breathlessness and chest pain after beingcrushed against the steering wheel of a carSource Based on Brown amp Tomlinson (1979)

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

235

to these terms in different subjects Clear oral presentationmay not be perceived as satisfactory to a student who isused to noting and thinking visually What may be inter-esting to a budding epidemiologist may not seem at allinteresting to a potential orthopaedic surgeon Studentsregard lsquogoodrsquo lectures as a means of obtaining lsquogoodrsquo notesBut what counts as lsquogoodrsquo notes differs across subjectsScience students value logically structured notes morehighly than do arts students and arts students value gains ininsights and new perspectives more than science andmedical students do Science students see lectures as anentreacutee into reading For arts students lectures ideallyfollow reading and help them to interpret what they haveread (Brown amp Daines 1981a 1981b)

As well as quantitative surveys of views on lecturingthere is also some interesting qualitative evidence Instudies of gifted lecturers by Sheffield (1974) Dunkin(1994) and Andrews et al (1996) the most importantaspects of lecturing appear to be the stimulation ofstudents to become active learners in their own rightfollowed by the importance of caring for students love ofsubject preparing properly and conveying principles ratherthan details These views of lecturers are echoed in thegood and bad stories of lecturers told by students in open-ended interviews to Bliss (1990) lsquoGoodrsquo stories containeddescriptions of involvement enthusiasm generating under-standing and human interest lsquoBadrsquo stories described theopposite

Learning from lectures an explanatory model

Students learn from lectures by listening observingsummarizing and note-taking Sometimes understanding isgained in a lecture and sometimes it emerges when thestudents pore over their notes after a lecture Figure 5offers a simple robust model for examining the processes oflearning from lectures It is derived from studies of humaninformation processing (Baddeley 1996) Its key featuresare intention transmission receipt of information and output

These features provide the four strategies of making thelecture a more effective method of learning improvelecture preparation and transmission and improve studentreception and output

Intentions

The lecturerrsquos intentions may be based on the broadpurposes of coverage understanding and motivationThese intentions may be articulated or they may simply bemanifest in the lecturerrsquos actions The studentsrsquo intentionsmay be based on the broad purposes of note takingacquiring information deepening understanding anddeveloping interest (They may also have other intentionsin attending lectures) Given the likelihood of confusion ofintentions it may well be worth spending time exploringwith onersquos students what the purposes and intentions ofonersquos lectures are First-year students are particularlyconfused about what they should do in lectures and whatlectures are for It seems odd that we submit students to somany lectures yet do not discuss with them what lecturesare for or how students can gain from them

Transmission

A lecturer sends messages verbally extra-verbally non-verbally and through his or her use of audiovisual aids Theverbal messages may consist of statements of objectivesdefinitions descriptions of signs and symptoms examplesexceptions explanations or comments The lsquoextra-verbalrsquocomponent is the lecturerrsquos vocal qualities hesitationsstumbles speech errors and use of pauses Hesitations andstumbles are often due to lack of preparation or nervous-ness The lsquonon-verbalrsquo component consists primarily of eyecontact gestures and body movements These may be useddeliberately to establish rapport to monitor student reac-tions to convey meaning or to emphasize a pointAudiovisual messages are presented on chalkboards trans-parencies slides (including PowerPoint presentations) andaudiovisual extracts

A lecturer transmits not only information His or herextra-verbal and non-verbal cues and the quality of theaudiovisual aids used may convey meanings and attitudesthat highlight qualify or distort the essential messages

Receipt

All of these types of messages may or may not be perceivedby the students who may sift perhaps store and summa-rize and note what they perceive as the importantmessages What they perceive is determined in part bywhat they already know what they are interested in andtheir levels of attention and arousal Attention fluctuatesthroughout a one-hour lecture (see Figure 6) After 20minutes there is a marked decline in attention followed bya peak of attention just before the lecture ends (Biggs1999 Bligh 2000) This decline in attention is less likelyto occur if the lecture includes some short activities forstudents such as brief small-group discussions or simpleclinical reasoning or problem solving Any change ofactivity is in fact likely to renew attention Hence some

Figure 5 Learning from lectures an explanatory modelNotes Lecturerrsquos transmissions may be affected bystudentsrsquo reactions Studentsrsquo intentions activate long-term memory

236

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lecturers slip in occasional amusing slides tell anecdotes orjust give their students a two-minute break

Messages that are received by the students are filteredand stored temporarily in the short-term memory Theyare forgotten after about 30 seconds if they cannot be keptin mind (transferred to the long-term memory) or notedThe long-term memory most readily receives messages thatare closely related to the network of concepts and factswhich are already stored in it and have been activatedLinks can then be made between the new and existingknowledge Sometimes this processing of the new informa-tion in the light of the old may profoundly affect the pre-existing networks of information and they will be lsquoreturnedrsquoto long-term store in a different or modified form Alecture can therefore radically change onersquos perception ofa topic or issue Facts and concepts that are incomprehen-sible are most likely to be forgotten but the long-termmemory will store new messages which are only looselyassociated with existing facts and ideas Consequently astudent may not retrieve or understand the connectionsbetween old and new topics The episodic (narrative)component of long-term memory stores lsquostoriesrsquo that areeasier to retrieve than information stored in the conceptual(semantic) memory Hence examples based on patients orproblems are more likely to be recalled than straight theoryor detailed findings Facts and concepts that are incompre-hensible are not likely to be stored Competing verbal andaudiovisual messages are also difficult to cope with andusually the audiovisual messages win

Output

A studentrsquos response or lsquooutputrsquo is not only a set of notesthat may be understood and if necessary restructured andlearnt it also consists of reactions to the lecture and thelecturer The immediate reactions are usually non-verbalsignals and these may be received interpreted and perhapsacted upon by the lecturer Such signals provide the basis

for the responsiveness of the lecturer to the audienceHerein lies an important difference between recorded andlive lectures

More important than the immediately observableresponses to a lecture are the long-term changes in atti-tudes and understanding which may occur in a studentThese changes are not easily disentangled from otherlearning experiences but it is likely that a studentrsquos attitudetowards a subject and towards lecture methods is influ-enced markedly by the quality of lecturing he or sheexperiences as well as by the studentrsquos own personalitycharacteristics

Practical implications

The implications of this simplified model of learning arethat if you want students to learn from lectures and to takegood notes you must structure your presentations so theyare meaningful and interesting and you must ensure thatyou gain and sustain the studentsrsquo attention The ideas andfacts that are presented must be capable of being assimi-lated readily into the studentsrsquo existing store of knowledgeand understanding

The skills of lecturing

The model described above provides a basis for the clustersof overlapping skills of lecturing These are shown inFigure 7 Improvement in any of these skills will increasethe effectiveness of lecturing but as in all practical tasks itis useful to identify the skill that if improved is likely tohave the greatest consequential effects Improvements inpreparing lectures and in explaining are likely to have themaximum impact Therefore we focus primarily uponthese skills A more detailed description of the skills and

Figure 6 Effects of changing activity on studentperformance in a lecture

Notes Performance declines during a lecture but it can beimproved by varying student activitySource Based on Bligh (2000) who developed thisexplanation from a review of empirical research onattention and learning

Figure 7 The skills of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

237

sub-skills of lecturing may be found in Brown (1978) andBrown amp Atkins (1988)

Preparing lectures

There are no studies extant of how lecturers actuallyprepare their lectures However studies of teaching inschools show that there is a strong association betweensubject knowledge and teaching competence (Bennett ampCarre 1993) The work of Calderhead (1996) demon-strates that successful teachers plan not by simplydeducing methods from objectives but by taking accountof student understanding other student characteristics andthe resources available The maxim lsquoKnow your subjectknow your studentsrsquo is confirmed by these studies

In the absence of research on preparing lectures onehas to rely upon wisdom derived from experience Theessential ingredients of lecture preparation are purposescontent organization and the preparation of audiovisualaids

Purposes of lectures

It is now customary to express the purposes of a lecture inthe form of objectives (intended learning outcomes) andto state them to students at the beginning of a lectureThere is a danger of specifying too detailed a set of objec-tives which then become a straitjacket rather than a guideEqually dangerous is to have no clear purpose so onepresents a mish-mash of findings There is much to besaid for stating the purposes of a lecture in the form ofquestions that challenge and evoke curiosity Forexample at the beginning of a lecture in oral biochem-istry the lecturer could pose the question lsquoHow doesfluoride strengthen teethrsquo Research on pre-questions(advanced organizers) show that questions help studentslearn from texts (Ausubel 1978) It is likely that suchquestions will help the students to focus on the essentialsof the lecture

Content of lectures

The task of selecting content that fits the purposes of alecture is not easy That is why some lecturers simply usepreacutecis of the material found in a single text Donrsquot do itEvidence reviewed by Bligh (2000) shows that studentsrecall and understand better presentations that are basedon essential principles and a little detail than thosecontaining much detail It is more important to explain toprovide understanding than to report detailed findingsToo much content militates against learning

Organization of lectures

Structures of lectures have already been outlined in aprevious section Here we just make these points

Try to take account of the studentsrsquo existing knowledgeand cognitive structure as well as the structure of thesubjectState and show the organization of the lecture Givingthe structure is helpful to many students particularly the

less able and the more anxious (Snow amp Peterson1980)Do not overloadProvide periodic summaries during the lectureUse the conclusion to summarize and raise questionsBetter still invite the students to review summarize andcompare their summaries

Some suggestions for preparing lectures

One method that has been found useful by new lecturers isgiven in Figure 8 In practice people often zigzag and back-track rather than prepare lectures in a linear fashion

Analyses of transcripts of lectures indicate that typi-cally a lecturer speaks at about one hundred words perminute so even if one writes every word one is going tospeak then one should only have about 15 pages per one-hour lecture If you must read aloud rather than talk thenit is advisable to write the lecture as you would speak itrather than speak the lecture as you would normally write

Explaining

Explaining is the key skill in lecturing and one of the twomost important skills in teaching (the other is questioning)Common types of explanations in lectures are InterpretiveDescriptive and Reason-giving These correspond roughly tolsquoWhatrsquo lsquoHowrsquo and lsquoWhyrsquo Together with explanationsbased on lsquoWhenrsquo and lsquoWherersquo they may be used toquickly assemble a framework for a lecture an explanationor a talk For example if one had to prepare a lecture onlocal anaesthetics one might structure it around the ques-tions lsquoWhat are local anaestheticsrsquo lsquoHow do they workrsquolsquoWhy do we use themrsquo lsquoWhen do we use themrsquo lsquoWheredo we use themrsquo

To explain is to attempt to give understanding toanother and understanding is the creation of new connec-tions in the minds of the learner These connections may

Figure 8 Preparing a lecture

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

235

to these terms in different subjects Clear oral presentationmay not be perceived as satisfactory to a student who isused to noting and thinking visually What may be inter-esting to a budding epidemiologist may not seem at allinteresting to a potential orthopaedic surgeon Studentsregard lsquogoodrsquo lectures as a means of obtaining lsquogoodrsquo notesBut what counts as lsquogoodrsquo notes differs across subjectsScience students value logically structured notes morehighly than do arts students and arts students value gains ininsights and new perspectives more than science andmedical students do Science students see lectures as anentreacutee into reading For arts students lectures ideallyfollow reading and help them to interpret what they haveread (Brown amp Daines 1981a 1981b)

As well as quantitative surveys of views on lecturingthere is also some interesting qualitative evidence Instudies of gifted lecturers by Sheffield (1974) Dunkin(1994) and Andrews et al (1996) the most importantaspects of lecturing appear to be the stimulation ofstudents to become active learners in their own rightfollowed by the importance of caring for students love ofsubject preparing properly and conveying principles ratherthan details These views of lecturers are echoed in thegood and bad stories of lecturers told by students in open-ended interviews to Bliss (1990) lsquoGoodrsquo stories containeddescriptions of involvement enthusiasm generating under-standing and human interest lsquoBadrsquo stories described theopposite

Learning from lectures an explanatory model

Students learn from lectures by listening observingsummarizing and note-taking Sometimes understanding isgained in a lecture and sometimes it emerges when thestudents pore over their notes after a lecture Figure 5offers a simple robust model for examining the processes oflearning from lectures It is derived from studies of humaninformation processing (Baddeley 1996) Its key featuresare intention transmission receipt of information and output

These features provide the four strategies of making thelecture a more effective method of learning improvelecture preparation and transmission and improve studentreception and output

Intentions

The lecturerrsquos intentions may be based on the broadpurposes of coverage understanding and motivationThese intentions may be articulated or they may simply bemanifest in the lecturerrsquos actions The studentsrsquo intentionsmay be based on the broad purposes of note takingacquiring information deepening understanding anddeveloping interest (They may also have other intentionsin attending lectures) Given the likelihood of confusion ofintentions it may well be worth spending time exploringwith onersquos students what the purposes and intentions ofonersquos lectures are First-year students are particularlyconfused about what they should do in lectures and whatlectures are for It seems odd that we submit students to somany lectures yet do not discuss with them what lecturesare for or how students can gain from them

Transmission

A lecturer sends messages verbally extra-verbally non-verbally and through his or her use of audiovisual aids Theverbal messages may consist of statements of objectivesdefinitions descriptions of signs and symptoms examplesexceptions explanations or comments The lsquoextra-verbalrsquocomponent is the lecturerrsquos vocal qualities hesitationsstumbles speech errors and use of pauses Hesitations andstumbles are often due to lack of preparation or nervous-ness The lsquonon-verbalrsquo component consists primarily of eyecontact gestures and body movements These may be useddeliberately to establish rapport to monitor student reac-tions to convey meaning or to emphasize a pointAudiovisual messages are presented on chalkboards trans-parencies slides (including PowerPoint presentations) andaudiovisual extracts

A lecturer transmits not only information His or herextra-verbal and non-verbal cues and the quality of theaudiovisual aids used may convey meanings and attitudesthat highlight qualify or distort the essential messages

Receipt

All of these types of messages may or may not be perceivedby the students who may sift perhaps store and summa-rize and note what they perceive as the importantmessages What they perceive is determined in part bywhat they already know what they are interested in andtheir levels of attention and arousal Attention fluctuatesthroughout a one-hour lecture (see Figure 6) After 20minutes there is a marked decline in attention followed bya peak of attention just before the lecture ends (Biggs1999 Bligh 2000) This decline in attention is less likelyto occur if the lecture includes some short activities forstudents such as brief small-group discussions or simpleclinical reasoning or problem solving Any change ofactivity is in fact likely to renew attention Hence some

Figure 5 Learning from lectures an explanatory modelNotes Lecturerrsquos transmissions may be affected bystudentsrsquo reactions Studentsrsquo intentions activate long-term memory

236

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lecturers slip in occasional amusing slides tell anecdotes orjust give their students a two-minute break

Messages that are received by the students are filteredand stored temporarily in the short-term memory Theyare forgotten after about 30 seconds if they cannot be keptin mind (transferred to the long-term memory) or notedThe long-term memory most readily receives messages thatare closely related to the network of concepts and factswhich are already stored in it and have been activatedLinks can then be made between the new and existingknowledge Sometimes this processing of the new informa-tion in the light of the old may profoundly affect the pre-existing networks of information and they will be lsquoreturnedrsquoto long-term store in a different or modified form Alecture can therefore radically change onersquos perception ofa topic or issue Facts and concepts that are incomprehen-sible are most likely to be forgotten but the long-termmemory will store new messages which are only looselyassociated with existing facts and ideas Consequently astudent may not retrieve or understand the connectionsbetween old and new topics The episodic (narrative)component of long-term memory stores lsquostoriesrsquo that areeasier to retrieve than information stored in the conceptual(semantic) memory Hence examples based on patients orproblems are more likely to be recalled than straight theoryor detailed findings Facts and concepts that are incompre-hensible are not likely to be stored Competing verbal andaudiovisual messages are also difficult to cope with andusually the audiovisual messages win

Output

A studentrsquos response or lsquooutputrsquo is not only a set of notesthat may be understood and if necessary restructured andlearnt it also consists of reactions to the lecture and thelecturer The immediate reactions are usually non-verbalsignals and these may be received interpreted and perhapsacted upon by the lecturer Such signals provide the basis

for the responsiveness of the lecturer to the audienceHerein lies an important difference between recorded andlive lectures

More important than the immediately observableresponses to a lecture are the long-term changes in atti-tudes and understanding which may occur in a studentThese changes are not easily disentangled from otherlearning experiences but it is likely that a studentrsquos attitudetowards a subject and towards lecture methods is influ-enced markedly by the quality of lecturing he or sheexperiences as well as by the studentrsquos own personalitycharacteristics

Practical implications

The implications of this simplified model of learning arethat if you want students to learn from lectures and to takegood notes you must structure your presentations so theyare meaningful and interesting and you must ensure thatyou gain and sustain the studentsrsquo attention The ideas andfacts that are presented must be capable of being assimi-lated readily into the studentsrsquo existing store of knowledgeand understanding

The skills of lecturing

The model described above provides a basis for the clustersof overlapping skills of lecturing These are shown inFigure 7 Improvement in any of these skills will increasethe effectiveness of lecturing but as in all practical tasks itis useful to identify the skill that if improved is likely tohave the greatest consequential effects Improvements inpreparing lectures and in explaining are likely to have themaximum impact Therefore we focus primarily uponthese skills A more detailed description of the skills and

Figure 6 Effects of changing activity on studentperformance in a lecture

Notes Performance declines during a lecture but it can beimproved by varying student activitySource Based on Bligh (2000) who developed thisexplanation from a review of empirical research onattention and learning

Figure 7 The skills of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

237

sub-skills of lecturing may be found in Brown (1978) andBrown amp Atkins (1988)

Preparing lectures

There are no studies extant of how lecturers actuallyprepare their lectures However studies of teaching inschools show that there is a strong association betweensubject knowledge and teaching competence (Bennett ampCarre 1993) The work of Calderhead (1996) demon-strates that successful teachers plan not by simplydeducing methods from objectives but by taking accountof student understanding other student characteristics andthe resources available The maxim lsquoKnow your subjectknow your studentsrsquo is confirmed by these studies

In the absence of research on preparing lectures onehas to rely upon wisdom derived from experience Theessential ingredients of lecture preparation are purposescontent organization and the preparation of audiovisualaids

Purposes of lectures

It is now customary to express the purposes of a lecture inthe form of objectives (intended learning outcomes) andto state them to students at the beginning of a lectureThere is a danger of specifying too detailed a set of objec-tives which then become a straitjacket rather than a guideEqually dangerous is to have no clear purpose so onepresents a mish-mash of findings There is much to besaid for stating the purposes of a lecture in the form ofquestions that challenge and evoke curiosity Forexample at the beginning of a lecture in oral biochem-istry the lecturer could pose the question lsquoHow doesfluoride strengthen teethrsquo Research on pre-questions(advanced organizers) show that questions help studentslearn from texts (Ausubel 1978) It is likely that suchquestions will help the students to focus on the essentialsof the lecture

Content of lectures

The task of selecting content that fits the purposes of alecture is not easy That is why some lecturers simply usepreacutecis of the material found in a single text Donrsquot do itEvidence reviewed by Bligh (2000) shows that studentsrecall and understand better presentations that are basedon essential principles and a little detail than thosecontaining much detail It is more important to explain toprovide understanding than to report detailed findingsToo much content militates against learning

Organization of lectures

Structures of lectures have already been outlined in aprevious section Here we just make these points

Try to take account of the studentsrsquo existing knowledgeand cognitive structure as well as the structure of thesubjectState and show the organization of the lecture Givingthe structure is helpful to many students particularly the

less able and the more anxious (Snow amp Peterson1980)Do not overloadProvide periodic summaries during the lectureUse the conclusion to summarize and raise questionsBetter still invite the students to review summarize andcompare their summaries

Some suggestions for preparing lectures

One method that has been found useful by new lecturers isgiven in Figure 8 In practice people often zigzag and back-track rather than prepare lectures in a linear fashion

Analyses of transcripts of lectures indicate that typi-cally a lecturer speaks at about one hundred words perminute so even if one writes every word one is going tospeak then one should only have about 15 pages per one-hour lecture If you must read aloud rather than talk thenit is advisable to write the lecture as you would speak itrather than speak the lecture as you would normally write

Explaining

Explaining is the key skill in lecturing and one of the twomost important skills in teaching (the other is questioning)Common types of explanations in lectures are InterpretiveDescriptive and Reason-giving These correspond roughly tolsquoWhatrsquo lsquoHowrsquo and lsquoWhyrsquo Together with explanationsbased on lsquoWhenrsquo and lsquoWherersquo they may be used toquickly assemble a framework for a lecture an explanationor a talk For example if one had to prepare a lecture onlocal anaesthetics one might structure it around the ques-tions lsquoWhat are local anaestheticsrsquo lsquoHow do they workrsquolsquoWhy do we use themrsquo lsquoWhen do we use themrsquo lsquoWheredo we use themrsquo

To explain is to attempt to give understanding toanother and understanding is the creation of new connec-tions in the minds of the learner These connections may

Figure 8 Preparing a lecture

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

236

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

lecturers slip in occasional amusing slides tell anecdotes orjust give their students a two-minute break

Messages that are received by the students are filteredand stored temporarily in the short-term memory Theyare forgotten after about 30 seconds if they cannot be keptin mind (transferred to the long-term memory) or notedThe long-term memory most readily receives messages thatare closely related to the network of concepts and factswhich are already stored in it and have been activatedLinks can then be made between the new and existingknowledge Sometimes this processing of the new informa-tion in the light of the old may profoundly affect the pre-existing networks of information and they will be lsquoreturnedrsquoto long-term store in a different or modified form Alecture can therefore radically change onersquos perception ofa topic or issue Facts and concepts that are incomprehen-sible are most likely to be forgotten but the long-termmemory will store new messages which are only looselyassociated with existing facts and ideas Consequently astudent may not retrieve or understand the connectionsbetween old and new topics The episodic (narrative)component of long-term memory stores lsquostoriesrsquo that areeasier to retrieve than information stored in the conceptual(semantic) memory Hence examples based on patients orproblems are more likely to be recalled than straight theoryor detailed findings Facts and concepts that are incompre-hensible are not likely to be stored Competing verbal andaudiovisual messages are also difficult to cope with andusually the audiovisual messages win

Output

A studentrsquos response or lsquooutputrsquo is not only a set of notesthat may be understood and if necessary restructured andlearnt it also consists of reactions to the lecture and thelecturer The immediate reactions are usually non-verbalsignals and these may be received interpreted and perhapsacted upon by the lecturer Such signals provide the basis

for the responsiveness of the lecturer to the audienceHerein lies an important difference between recorded andlive lectures

More important than the immediately observableresponses to a lecture are the long-term changes in atti-tudes and understanding which may occur in a studentThese changes are not easily disentangled from otherlearning experiences but it is likely that a studentrsquos attitudetowards a subject and towards lecture methods is influ-enced markedly by the quality of lecturing he or sheexperiences as well as by the studentrsquos own personalitycharacteristics

Practical implications

The implications of this simplified model of learning arethat if you want students to learn from lectures and to takegood notes you must structure your presentations so theyare meaningful and interesting and you must ensure thatyou gain and sustain the studentsrsquo attention The ideas andfacts that are presented must be capable of being assimi-lated readily into the studentsrsquo existing store of knowledgeand understanding

The skills of lecturing

The model described above provides a basis for the clustersof overlapping skills of lecturing These are shown inFigure 7 Improvement in any of these skills will increasethe effectiveness of lecturing but as in all practical tasks itis useful to identify the skill that if improved is likely tohave the greatest consequential effects Improvements inpreparing lectures and in explaining are likely to have themaximum impact Therefore we focus primarily uponthese skills A more detailed description of the skills and

Figure 6 Effects of changing activity on studentperformance in a lecture

Notes Performance declines during a lecture but it can beimproved by varying student activitySource Based on Bligh (2000) who developed thisexplanation from a review of empirical research onattention and learning

Figure 7 The skills of lecturing

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

237

sub-skills of lecturing may be found in Brown (1978) andBrown amp Atkins (1988)

Preparing lectures

There are no studies extant of how lecturers actuallyprepare their lectures However studies of teaching inschools show that there is a strong association betweensubject knowledge and teaching competence (Bennett ampCarre 1993) The work of Calderhead (1996) demon-strates that successful teachers plan not by simplydeducing methods from objectives but by taking accountof student understanding other student characteristics andthe resources available The maxim lsquoKnow your subjectknow your studentsrsquo is confirmed by these studies

In the absence of research on preparing lectures onehas to rely upon wisdom derived from experience Theessential ingredients of lecture preparation are purposescontent organization and the preparation of audiovisualaids

Purposes of lectures

It is now customary to express the purposes of a lecture inthe form of objectives (intended learning outcomes) andto state them to students at the beginning of a lectureThere is a danger of specifying too detailed a set of objec-tives which then become a straitjacket rather than a guideEqually dangerous is to have no clear purpose so onepresents a mish-mash of findings There is much to besaid for stating the purposes of a lecture in the form ofquestions that challenge and evoke curiosity Forexample at the beginning of a lecture in oral biochem-istry the lecturer could pose the question lsquoHow doesfluoride strengthen teethrsquo Research on pre-questions(advanced organizers) show that questions help studentslearn from texts (Ausubel 1978) It is likely that suchquestions will help the students to focus on the essentialsof the lecture

Content of lectures

The task of selecting content that fits the purposes of alecture is not easy That is why some lecturers simply usepreacutecis of the material found in a single text Donrsquot do itEvidence reviewed by Bligh (2000) shows that studentsrecall and understand better presentations that are basedon essential principles and a little detail than thosecontaining much detail It is more important to explain toprovide understanding than to report detailed findingsToo much content militates against learning

Organization of lectures

Structures of lectures have already been outlined in aprevious section Here we just make these points

Try to take account of the studentsrsquo existing knowledgeand cognitive structure as well as the structure of thesubjectState and show the organization of the lecture Givingthe structure is helpful to many students particularly the

less able and the more anxious (Snow amp Peterson1980)Do not overloadProvide periodic summaries during the lectureUse the conclusion to summarize and raise questionsBetter still invite the students to review summarize andcompare their summaries

Some suggestions for preparing lectures

One method that has been found useful by new lecturers isgiven in Figure 8 In practice people often zigzag and back-track rather than prepare lectures in a linear fashion

Analyses of transcripts of lectures indicate that typi-cally a lecturer speaks at about one hundred words perminute so even if one writes every word one is going tospeak then one should only have about 15 pages per one-hour lecture If you must read aloud rather than talk thenit is advisable to write the lecture as you would speak itrather than speak the lecture as you would normally write

Explaining

Explaining is the key skill in lecturing and one of the twomost important skills in teaching (the other is questioning)Common types of explanations in lectures are InterpretiveDescriptive and Reason-giving These correspond roughly tolsquoWhatrsquo lsquoHowrsquo and lsquoWhyrsquo Together with explanationsbased on lsquoWhenrsquo and lsquoWherersquo they may be used toquickly assemble a framework for a lecture an explanationor a talk For example if one had to prepare a lecture onlocal anaesthetics one might structure it around the ques-tions lsquoWhat are local anaestheticsrsquo lsquoHow do they workrsquolsquoWhy do we use themrsquo lsquoWhen do we use themrsquo lsquoWheredo we use themrsquo

To explain is to attempt to give understanding toanother and understanding is the creation of new connec-tions in the minds of the learner These connections may

Figure 8 Preparing a lecture

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

237

sub-skills of lecturing may be found in Brown (1978) andBrown amp Atkins (1988)

Preparing lectures

There are no studies extant of how lecturers actuallyprepare their lectures However studies of teaching inschools show that there is a strong association betweensubject knowledge and teaching competence (Bennett ampCarre 1993) The work of Calderhead (1996) demon-strates that successful teachers plan not by simplydeducing methods from objectives but by taking accountof student understanding other student characteristics andthe resources available The maxim lsquoKnow your subjectknow your studentsrsquo is confirmed by these studies

In the absence of research on preparing lectures onehas to rely upon wisdom derived from experience Theessential ingredients of lecture preparation are purposescontent organization and the preparation of audiovisualaids

Purposes of lectures

It is now customary to express the purposes of a lecture inthe form of objectives (intended learning outcomes) andto state them to students at the beginning of a lectureThere is a danger of specifying too detailed a set of objec-tives which then become a straitjacket rather than a guideEqually dangerous is to have no clear purpose so onepresents a mish-mash of findings There is much to besaid for stating the purposes of a lecture in the form ofquestions that challenge and evoke curiosity Forexample at the beginning of a lecture in oral biochem-istry the lecturer could pose the question lsquoHow doesfluoride strengthen teethrsquo Research on pre-questions(advanced organizers) show that questions help studentslearn from texts (Ausubel 1978) It is likely that suchquestions will help the students to focus on the essentialsof the lecture

Content of lectures

The task of selecting content that fits the purposes of alecture is not easy That is why some lecturers simply usepreacutecis of the material found in a single text Donrsquot do itEvidence reviewed by Bligh (2000) shows that studentsrecall and understand better presentations that are basedon essential principles and a little detail than thosecontaining much detail It is more important to explain toprovide understanding than to report detailed findingsToo much content militates against learning

Organization of lectures

Structures of lectures have already been outlined in aprevious section Here we just make these points

Try to take account of the studentsrsquo existing knowledgeand cognitive structure as well as the structure of thesubjectState and show the organization of the lecture Givingthe structure is helpful to many students particularly the

less able and the more anxious (Snow amp Peterson1980)Do not overloadProvide periodic summaries during the lectureUse the conclusion to summarize and raise questionsBetter still invite the students to review summarize andcompare their summaries

Some suggestions for preparing lectures

One method that has been found useful by new lecturers isgiven in Figure 8 In practice people often zigzag and back-track rather than prepare lectures in a linear fashion

Analyses of transcripts of lectures indicate that typi-cally a lecturer speaks at about one hundred words perminute so even if one writes every word one is going tospeak then one should only have about 15 pages per one-hour lecture If you must read aloud rather than talk thenit is advisable to write the lecture as you would speak itrather than speak the lecture as you would normally write

Explaining

Explaining is the key skill in lecturing and one of the twomost important skills in teaching (the other is questioning)Common types of explanations in lectures are InterpretiveDescriptive and Reason-giving These correspond roughly tolsquoWhatrsquo lsquoHowrsquo and lsquoWhyrsquo Together with explanationsbased on lsquoWhenrsquo and lsquoWherersquo they may be used toquickly assemble a framework for a lecture an explanationor a talk For example if one had to prepare a lecture onlocal anaesthetics one might structure it around the ques-tions lsquoWhat are local anaestheticsrsquo lsquoHow do they workrsquolsquoWhy do we use themrsquo lsquoWhen do we use themrsquo lsquoWheredo we use themrsquo

To explain is to attempt to give understanding toanother and understanding is the creation of new connec-tions in the minds of the learner These connections may

Figure 8 Preparing a lecture

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

238

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

be between facts ideas or values The process of explainingconsists of three parts

specification of a problem or task to be explaineda series of statements that are understood by theexplaineesan understanding of the problem and if possible itssolution(s)

The explainer has to take account of the problem the likelyknowledge and experience of the explainees and thecontext Thus the explanation and implications of mitralstenosis one might give to a group of student dental nursesmay be very different from the explanation one might giveto SHOs on a ward

These apparently simple descriptions of explaining andunderstanding provide a basic framework for exploringresearch on explaining in various professional contexts(Brown amp Atkins 1997) In lectures the evidence indicatesthat the essential features of explanations are clarity gener-ating interest and persuasion

Improving clarity

Clear explanations are as indicated dependent uponknowing precisely what one wishes to explain to whomtransmitting the explanation and checking when possiblewhether the explanation has been understood Evidencefrom the research indicates that there are four ways ofimproving clarity minimize vagueness sharpen the focus usestructuring moves and provide a clear structure

Explanations that contain fewer false starts redundantphrases complex clauses tangles of words hesitations andpauses yield higher student achievement scores As Gage etal (1968) wryly observed

ldquoSome people explain aptly getting to the heart of thematter with just the right terminology examples andorganization of ideas Other explainers on thecontrary get us and themselves all mixed up useterms beyond our level of comprehension draw ineptanalogies and even employ concepts and principlesthat cannot be understood without an understandingof the very thing being explainedrdquo

Effective explanations use names and labels rather thanpronouns precise pointing at diagrams and naming ofparts simple definitions simple sentences emphases ofkey points apt examples guiding images metaphors anal-ogies repetition and paraphrasing of key points and cleartransitions from one subtopic to the next (Land 1985Brophy amp Good 1986)

Four important structuring moves in explaining havebeen shown to be related to high ratings of clarity (Brown1983) These are shown in Figure 9 Observations oflectures indicate that most lecturers use signposts but somesignposts are too lengthy and some are too brief Frames areused but tend to become confused in the middle of a lectureFoci are not always used and links are often forgotten

The structure of an explanation is probably moreimportant than any other of its features It can be improvedby summarizing the key points of each section of an expla-nation and examining their order and links Figures 10 and11 provide examples of brief explanations Figure 10 was

an inexperienced lecturerrsquos first attempt After viewing avideotape of his efforts he asked himself two questions

(1) What precisely do I wish to explain(2) What other questions are hidden in the question

It should be clear that the question lsquoWhy are nude miceimportant to biologistsrsquo contains within it some hiddenquestions such as lsquoWhat are nude micersquo lsquoWhat features ofnude mice make them importantrsquo lsquoWhyrsquo The lecturerthen restructured his explanation It is shown in Figure 11It is not perfect but most people think it is better than hisfirst attempt for an audience who knew nothing about nudemice

Lecturersrsquo advice to colleagues who are new to lecturing(Brown amp Bakhtar 1987) also included suggestions toimprove clarity In descending rank order these were

speak clearly use pauses donrsquot go too fastplan prepare and structure to give a clear simple (notsimplistic) view of a topicmake it understandable and clarify key pointsobserve student reactionsdo not try to cover everythingcheck you understand your own material

Whilst these suggestions may seem common sense observa-tions of lectures suggest that they are not common practice

Figure 9 Four useful structuring moves for improvingclarity

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

239

Generating interest

The key to generating interest is expressiveness supportedby the use of examples a narrative mode of explaining andthe stimulation of curiosity All of the features can raiselevels of arousal and attention and thereby increase theprobability of learning from lectures The evidencereviewed by Brown amp Atkins (1997) suggests that interestis more likely to influence studentsrsquo attitude towards thesubject than to produce marked changes in achievementFigure 12 summarizes the recommended approachesderived from research and experience

Expressiveness includes enthusiasm friendlinesshumour a conversational style dynamism and evencharisma It is based largely on eye contact gesture bodymovement facial expression vocal inflection and choice ofvocabulary

Apt examples and analogies can generate interest andunderstanding They can provide the links between thestructure of the topic and the cognitive structure in thestudentrsquos head Often it is useful to provide positiveinstancesmdashwhat the thing ismdashand negative instancesmdashwhat the thing is not followed by lsquoroguersquo instances The

negative examples delineate the boundaries of a definitionand the lsquoroguersquo cases can stimulate intellectual curiosityThe order in which examples are presented is of impor-tance Brown amp Armstrong (1983) found that when ideaswhich were new to a group were being explained an induc-tive pattern of several examples leading to a definition orgeneralization was most effective When the ideas wererelatively familiar to the group the use of the deductivepattern of statement of principle followed by examples wasmore effective Introducing new knowledge requires activa-tion of examples already known so that new connectionsmay be made When ideas are already known the deductivepattern restructures existing knowledge

Figure 10 Example of a first attempt at an explanation

Figure 11 Example of a second attempt at an explanation

Figure 12 Making explanations more interesting

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

240

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

The fourth approach is to use an appropriate mode ofexplaining Three modes have been observed in lectures(Brown amp Atkins 1988) the narrative the anecdotal and theconceptual In the narrative mode the lecturer explains anevent or a set of research findings in the form of a personalstory In the anecdotal mode the lecturer uses humorousstories or moral fables to illustrate the key points In theconceptual mode the lecturer provides a series of principlesor facts in a logical order The narrative mode is most likelyto capture interest but it may not provide clear preciseknowledge The anecdotal mode can be very entertaining butit is not always informative The conceptual mode is likely tobe clear but less interesting A mixture of the three beginningwith the narrative mode using anecdotes appropriately andending with a conceptual summary is likely to be the mosteffective way of generating interest and understanding

Persuasion

Persuasion is the basis of attitude change The order andquality of presentation do have an effect on an audience soone might as well be aware of the processes and use themto good effect And there are contexts in which persuasiveexplaining may be necessary For example one may wishto introduce a new approach to knee-joint replacementadvocate a new approach to post-natal care offer a newinterpretation of conflicting theories of temporo-mandib-ular joint dysfunction or challenge existing assumptionsabout psychiatric care in the community

In lecturing persuasion depends in large measure on theuse of rhetoric Atkinson (1984) and Cockcroft amp Cockcroft(1992) provide analyses of rhetorical devices Of these themost relevant to lecturing are the use of pairs of contrastingstatements asking rhetorical questions then pausing the useof triple statements pausing before important pointssummarizing with punch lines and the use of powerful meta-phors and analogies Metaphors and analogies areparticularly useful when explaining unfamiliar topics or ideas

Studies of attitude change (eg Zimbardo et al 1977Baron amp Byrne 1997) conducted in a wide variety ofcontexts suggest some basic principles of persuasiveexplaining and how new attitudes are formed These aresummarized in Figure 13

Design and use of audiovisual aids

The design and use of audiovisual aids share features withexplaining Their primary purpose is to increase clarity andinterest and thereby improve understanding Broadlyspeaking aids are may be used to confirm and reinforce themain points of a lecture as an explanatory device in theirown right as an exemplar or as a stimulus for discussionand thought The essential question to ask of any aid is isit fulfilling its purpose

Visual aids should be easy to see and audio aids easy tohear The point is obvious but not always followed in prac-tice Aids may sustain attention and enhance interest in atopic providing they are well presented and colourfulAudiovisual aids have been shown to improve learning inhigher education but some of the findings may be due tonovelty effects (Clark amp Salomon 1986) The visual imageis a powerful method of attracting attention consequently

it can also distract attention from the lecture and itsmessages if not used appropriately Using PowerPointinstead of a chalkboard will not in itself enhance learningThe effectiveness of a particular medium depends not somuch upon the medium per se but how it is used (Lauril-lard 1993) As Clarke (1993) says lsquoMedia do not influencestudent achievement any more than the truck that delivers ourgroceries causes changes in our nutritionrsquo

Visual aids

Medical and dental practice relies heavily on visual cluesIdeas and procedures that are linked through visualizationare more likely to be retained in the long-term memoryBut procedures that are observed and practised rather thandescribed verbally or visually are more likely to becomepart of onersquos brain-stem responses And as most lecturersknow thinking out a visual presentation of key conceptsprocedures and processes deepens onersquos own under-standing of a topic as well as providing deeperunderstanding for onersquos students

Illustrations diagrams bullet points and summariesshould be simple brief and readable from the back of theclass Avoid reciting the list of bullet points on the trans-parency or slide Instead link the bullet points in ameaningful way If the illustrations are important give thestudents time to look at them and if necessary copy themIf the illustrations are available in a book give the title andpage number There is no need to speak whilst the students

Figure 13 Persuasive explaining

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

241

are looking at illustrations indeed if you want them to lookintensively tell them what to look for and shut up

Audiovisual aids

Audio-recordings video-recordings and films can be effectiveways of developing understanding but their excessive use caninduce sleep One should indicate which features of the aidshould be attended to If possible one should pose questions(advanced organizers) for the students to answer whilstwatching the audiovisual materials give them an opportunityto discuss briefly the materials then summarize the mainpoints and link them to the relevant parts of the lecture

Handouts

The larger the group the more important handoutsbecome There are five types and each has advantages anddisadvantages Outlines provide a one-page summary of thelecture and some annotated key references Interactivehandouts contain skeletal notes and diagrams that thestudents have to complete during the lecture These can bereduced versions of the slides or transparencies used withspace for the students to write their own notes Key infor-mation handouts provide complex diagrams referencesquotations formulae proofs etc Full handouts are virtuallya transcript of the lecture Unfortunately many studentsassume if they have the handout in their files they have theknowledge in their heads Tasks and problems handouts statethe tasks or problems that are to be used in the lecture sothat students do not have to refer to the slide or transpar-ency that the lecturer is using Evidence from experimentalstudies (Hartley 1994) and experienced lecturers suggestthat interactive handouts are better than comprehensivehandouts for aiding recall and understanding Hartleyrsquosbook reviews some of the evidence on handouts and offerssuggestions on designing instructional text

Making lectures interactive

There is nothing wrong with someone with expert knowl-edge explaining ideas and procedures to someone lessknowledgeable But it does not follow that because one hasa lecture class for one hour that one has to talk for thewhole time By varying student activities during a lectureone can renew their attention generate interest provideopportunities for students to think and obtain some feed-back of their understanding But there is a cost the lecturerhas less time to talk So there is a question that one has toask oneself which is more important that I cover all thematerial or that the students learn more

A well-known method of involving students is known aslsquobuzz groupsrsquo The lecturer sets a problem or a discussiontopic and invites the students to form groups of three or fourwho discuss or solve the problem set The solution to theproblem or a summary of discussion points can then beshown to the class on a transparency or chalkboard Alterna-tively some buzz groups can be invited to offer their solutionor discussion points Buzz groups take very little time Theygive students an activity and a break so they return tolistening and note taking with renewed concentration Theycan be used to link one section of a lecture to another as a

check on understanding and as a way of encouragingstudents to discuss and think Students are also more likely toanswer questions in a large audience if they have checked outtheir answers with a few of their peers

There are other uses of breaks in lectures that vary whatstudents do Some of these methods encourage students toobserve and think as well as varying what they do A fewexamples are shown in Figure 14 Other examples may befound in Gibbs et al (1983 1992) Newble amp Cannon(1987) Cox amp Ewan (1988) Smith (1998) and Race (2000)

Varying student activities in lectures is a useful strategybut like all teaching strategies it can lose its effect if it is over-used Hence it is worth providing some lectures that includestudent activities and some lectures that rely on other strate-gies which promote understanding and motivation

Improving learning from lectures

Since medical and dental students spend about 1000 hoursin lectures it seems not unreasonable to spend a few hourshelping them to improve their learning from lecturesMany of the suggestions for varying student activities canimprove learning in lectures but what they cannot do isdirectly improve listening note-taking and most impor-tantly the way the notes are used after a lecture

Reviews of note-taking by Bligh (2000) Anderson ampArmbruster (1991) and Hartley (1998) indicate that note-taking and reviewing notes improves recall Reviewingnotes on the same day that they are taken is more effectivethan reviewing notes later Students who review their noteswith a partner do better in subsequent tests of recall thanthose who review notes individually (OrsquoDonnell ampDansereau 1994) In one of the few studies to explore howstudents use notes after a lecture Norton amp Hartley (1986)showed that the more sources a student used in answering

Figure 14 Making lectures interactive

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

242

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

an examination question the higher the mark usuallyobtained The most useful sources were the article put onlsquoshort term loanrsquo in the library the studentsrsquo own notes andthe recommended text In-depth interviews conducted byVan Meter et al (1994) show that students adapt theirnote-taking strategies according to their goals their percep-tion of the relevance of the information being providedtheir own knowledge and experience their conceptions oflearning and the quality of the presentation of the lecturer

But can students be trained to be more effective notetakers Given the importance of note-taking in many clin-ical situations as well as in lectures it is surprising that solittle research has been done in this area Peck amp Hannafin(1993) have shown that training in note-taking aids recallof aural instructions and Brown (1979) developed atraining programme on learning from lectures based on theadvice provided by postgraduates in different subject areasA subsequent evaluation of the programme by Brown ampDaines (1981a) showed that students who had beentaught the structures of lectures and given practice inlistening observing and note-taking were better note-takersthan students who had not received training

From these studies some simple but effective ways ofimproving learning from lectures may be inferred (seeFigure 15)

Further suggestions on note-taking and usage may befound in Bligh (2000) Brown (1978) Brown amp Atkins(1988) and Chalmers amp Fuller (1996)

Evaluating lectures

The main purposes of evaluation range from judgementsometimes for promotion or tenure or quality procedures todevelopment for improving student learning Some develop-ment can come out of judgement and some judgement isnecessary for development The precise purposes of an eval-uation should shape the choice of methods of evaluationthe quality of the evaluation instruments and the sources ofevaluation (students peers or external reviewers)

These broad principles apply to the evaluation oflectures Usually the purposes are developmental to

improve lecturing and learning from lectures For thesepurposes the key approaches are student opinion studentachievement peer feedback and reflection on practice

Student opinion may be collected casually in conversa-tion or obtained systematically in discussions focus groupsor through rating schedules or written reports There areadvantages and disadvantages of each of these methods

Methods based on small groups may provide valuableinsights but small groups may be dominated by vociferousstudents who may persuade others to their viewpointsRating schedules may tell you what is good or bad but nothow to improve Their value is limited by the quality of therating schedule and other factors (see below) Detailedwritten reports can provide deeper views but they are timeconsuming for students to complete and for lecturers toanalyse

Use of ratings

Most of the studies of the student evaluation of teachinghave focused upon the use validity and reliability ofstudent ratings (Marsh 1987 Braskamp amp Ory 1994)Few studies have examined the more fundamental ques-tion lsquoDoes student evaluation improve teachingrsquo Someacademic managers and quality reviewers will be disap-pointed with the findings Murrayrsquos comprehensive reviewconcludes lsquounder certain conditions student evaluation ofteaching does lead to improvement of teachingrsquo (Murray1997) In earlier studies reported by McKeachie (1994) itwas shown that student evaluations only improvedteaching when the ratings were in the middle range andwhen the lecturers wanted to improve their teaching

Although studentsrsquo opinions of a lecture or lectures canbe a useful indicator of their effectiveness they must betreated with caution (Ramsden 1992) There is more toteaching than performance and in any case ratings oflectures are determined only in part by the lecturerrsquosperformance Design faults in the curriculum or a poorlecturing environment can affect performance Thestudentsrsquo ratings of a lecture may be influenced by ques-tionnaire fatigue by gender differences of lecturers andstudents studentsrsquo levels of knowledge their personalitiesaptitudes attitudes and values (see Husband 1996Greenwald amp Gillmore 1997) For example it has longbeen known that students who score high on scales ofdogmatism express particularly strong preferences forclear-cut easy-to-note presentations Debate and subtledistinctions bother them (Smithers 1970a 1970b)

Using student achievement and student opinion to evaluatelectures

As indicated in the section on lsquoImproving learning fromlecturesrsquo student learning from a lecture or a set of lecturescan be estimated by using MCQs or mini-problems or casesduring a lecture or follow-up class One can identify commonerrors or misinterpretations in assignments and examinationpapers and one can occasionally borrow and read notes takenby students in lectures The findings from these activities maybe an imperfect guide but they are better than no guide

If onersquos main purpose of evaluation is improvement of theprocesses of lecturing then the simple questionnaire shownFigure 15 Improving learning from lectures

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

ANDERSON TH amp ARMBRUSTER BB (1991) The value of takingnotes in lectures in RF FLIPPO amp DC CAVERLY (Eds) Readingand Study Strategies at the College Level (Newark Detroit Interna-tional Reading Association)

ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

Refreshing lecturing a guide for lecturers

243

in Figure 16 is worth using and developing The items arebased on the research reviewed in this guide Inspectstandard deviations as well as means of scores obtained andremember that one cannot please all of onersquos students all ofthe time The section for free comments gives opportunitiesfor students to state what they think and feel and forlecturers to compile the overall views of the students Asimplified version of the questionnaire can be used at theend of a lecture The questionnaire can be shown on a trans-parency the students write down the number of the itemtheir ratings of it and their comments The ratings may becomputer marked and the comments analysed

An alternative approach which focuses upon learningfrom lectures is the lsquoOne Minute Paperrsquo (Sinclair et al1998) Towards the end of a lecture the students are askedto review their notes and write down the answers to thefollowing three questions

(1) What was the most useful or meaningful thing youlearned during this session

(2) What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind aswe end this session

(3) What was the muddiest point in this session (In otherwords what was least clear to you)

The lecturer skim-reads the studentsrsquo responses and at thebeginning of the next lecture heshe summarizes the maincomments and re-explains any material causing difficultyBe prepared for some jokey comments

Using peer feedback

Feedback from peers and professional staff (faculty) devel-opers is increasingly recognized as a valuable adjunct tosurveys of student opinion (Chism 1999 Murray 1997)Such feedback can provide insights that student opinioncannot reach Peer feedback can be provided mutually Aobserves B and B observes A Mentors may be used oralternatively a team approach adopted The method andfocus of evaluation can be by agreement and the instru-ments used can be rating schedules checklists or opencomments Mutual feedback is useful in the early stages of

the implementation of a peer feedback system on lecturingIf a team approach is used guard against it becoming orbeing perceived as judgemental The comments of somepeers can be biased or uninformed

Reflective rractice

Reflections on practice are the cornerstone of continuingprofessional development (Kolb 1984 Schon 1988Brookfield 1995) Methods of reflective practice range fromintuitive thinking about a particular lecture to complex port-folios Although portfolios appear to be a promisingapproach to developing teaching (Centra 1993) for thepurposes of evaluating lectures our advice on reflectivepractice is keep it simple Collect and analyse evidence fromstudents and peers read a little and think modifyapproaches and repeat the cycle Augment individual reflec-tions on practice by sharing experiences in groups or courseteams so that the overall quality of lectures in a departmentor faculty is worked upon and improved

Reflection on practice is probably the most powerfulsource of evaluation for the purposes of change but reflec-tion on practice and change require insight effort and thewill to change Reading this guide is a tiny but importantpart of the tasks of evaluating and improving lectures It ishoped that you have found it clear interesting thoughtprovoking and useful

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Donald Bligh Malcolm Pendle-bury David Tomlinson and Elizabeth Wilkinson for theircontributions to the illustrations in this guide

Notes on contributors

George Brown is a Special Professor of Education at the Universityof Nottingham He has long experience of working in AcademicStaff Development Medical Dental and Nurse Education He hasconducted research on lecturing and explaining and other aspects ofteaching learning and assessment

Michael Manogue is Dean for Learning and Teaching in the Facultyof Medicine Dentistry Psychology and Health at the University ofLeeds and Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry in the LeedsDental Institute His main interests in teaching are course designand assessment Amongst his recent research publications areempirical studies of OSCEs in dentistry and a report of a nationalsurvey of methods of assessment used in restorative dentistry

References

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ANDREWS J GARRISON D amp MAGNUSSON K (1996) The teachingand learning transaction in higher education a study of excellentprofessors and their students Teaching in Higher Education 1 pp81ndash103

ATKINSON M (1984) Our Masterrsquos Voice (London Methuen)AUSUBEL D (1978) Educational Psychology A Cognitive View 2nd

edn (New York Holt Rinehart amp Winston)BADDELEY A (1996) Your Memory A Userrsquos Guide (Harmonds-

worth Penguin)

Figure 16 Example of a simple rating schedule forevaluating a lecture

Note Use of an even number of rating points forces arespondent to choose positively or negatively

244

George Brown amp Michael Manogue

BARON R amp BYRNE D (1997) Social Psychology (Boston MAAllyn amp Bacon)

BEARD R amp HARTLEY J (1984) Teaching amp Learning in HigherEducation 4th edn (London Harper amp Row)

BENNETT N amp CARRE CG (1993) Learning to Teach (LondonRoutledge)

BIGGS J (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Buck-ingham Open University Press)

BLIGH DA (2000) Whatrsquos the Use of Lectures (San FranciscoJossey-Bass)

BLISS J (1990) Student reactions to undergraduate science in EHEGARTY-HAZEL (Ed) The Student Laboratory and the ScienceCurriculum (London Routledge)

BRASKAMP LA amp ORY JC (1994) Assessing Faculty Work (SanFrancisco Jossey-Bass)

BROOKFIELD S (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher (SanFrancisco Jossey-Bass)

BROPHY J amp GOOD TL (1986) Teacher behaviour and studentachievement in M WITTROCK (Ed) Handbook of Research onTeaching (New York Macmillan)

BROWN GA (1978) Lecturing and Explaining (London Methuen)BROWN GA (1979) Learning From Lectures (London Nuffield

Foundation and Nottingham University of Nottingham)BROWN GA (1983) Two days on explaining and lecturing Studies

in Higher Education 2 pp 93ndash104BROWN GA (1987) Studies of lecturing in MJ DUNKIN (Ed) Inter-

national Encyclodaedia of Teacher Education (Oxford Pergamon)BROWN GA amp ARMSTRONG S (1983) On explaining in EC

WRAGG (Ed) Classroom Teaching Skills (London Croom Helm)BROWN GA amp ATKINS MJ (1988) Effective Teaching in Higher

Education (London Methuen)BROWN G amp ATKINS MJ (1996) Explaining in O HARGIE (Ed)

Handbook of Communication Skills (London Routledge)BROWN GA amp BAKHTAR M (1987) Styles of lecturing a study

and its implications Research Papers in Education 3 pp 131ndash153BROWN GA amp DAINES JM (1981a) Learning from lectures in E

OXTOBY (Ed) Higher Education at the Crossroads (GuildfordSociety for Research in Higher Education)

BROWN GA amp DAINES J (1981b) Can explaining be learnt Somelecturersrsquo views Higher Education 10 pp 575ndash580

BROWN GA amp TOMLINSON D (1989) Improving lecturingMedical Teacher 1 pp 128ndash135

CALDERHEAD J (1996) Teachers beliefs and knowledge in DBERLINER (Ed) The Handbook of Educational Psychology (NewYork Macmillan)

CENTRA JA (1993) Reflective Faculty Evaluation (San FranciscoJossey-Bass)

CHALMERS D amp FULLER R (1996) Teaching for Learning at Univer-sity (London Kogan Page)

CHISM NVN (1999) Peer Review of Teaching A Source Book(Boston MA Anker Press)

CLARKE RE (1993) Reconsidering research on learning frommedia Review of Educational Research 53 pp 445ndash459

CLARK RE amp SALOMON G (1986) Media in teaching in MCWITTROCK (Ed) Handbook of Research on Teaching pp 464ndash478(London Collier Macmillan)

COCKROFT R amp COCKROFT SM (1992) Persuading People anintroduction to rhetoric (Macmillan London)

COX K amp EWAN C (eds) (1988) The Medical Teacher (Edin-burgh Churchill Livingstone) 2nd Edition

DUNKIN MJ (1983) lsquoA review of research on lecturingrsquo HigherEducation Research and Development 2 pp 63ndash78

DUNKIN MJ (1986) Research on Teaching in Higher Education inMC WITTROCK (ed) Handbook of Research on Teaching (LondonCollier-Macmillan)

DUNKIN MJ (ed) (1994) Award winning University TeachersTalking about Teaching (Sydney University of SydneyCentre forTeaching and Learning)

GAGE NL et al (1968) Explanations of the Teacherrsquos Effectiveness inExplaining (Technical Report No 4 Stanford University Centerfor R and D in Teaching Stanford CA)

GIBBS G HABESHAW S and HABESHAW T (1983) 53 InterestingThings to do in your Lectures (Bristol Technical and EducationalServices Ltd)

GIBBS G HABESHAWE T amp HABESHAWE S (1992) 53 Interestingways to teach large classes (Bristol Education and TechnicalAssociates)

GREENWALD AG and GILLMORE GM (1997) Grading leniency isa removable contaminant of student ratings American Psychologist52 pp 1209ndash17

HARTLEY J (1994) Designing Instructional Text (London KoganPage) 4th Edition

HARTLEY J (1998) Learning and Studying A Research Perspective(London Routledge)

HUSBAND CT (1996) Variations In Studentsrsquo Evaluations OfTeachersrsquo Lecturing And Small-Group Teaching Studies in HigherEducation 21 187ndash206

KOLB D (1984) Experiential Learning Experience as a Source ofLearning (Englewood Cliffs Prentice Hall)

LAND ML (1985) lsquoVagueness and clarity in the classroomrsquo in THUSEN and TN POSTLETHWAITE (eds) International Encyclo-paedia of Education Research Studies (Oxford Pergamon)

LAURILLARD D (1993) Rethinking University Teaching (LondonRoutledge)

MARSH H (1987) Studentsrsquo evaluations of university teachingResearch findings methodological issues and directions for futureresearch International Journal of Educational Research 11 pp 253ndash88

MCKEACHIE WJ (1994) Teaching Tips (Lexington Mass DCHeath and Company) Ninth Edition

MCKEACHIE WJ (1997) Student ratings American Psychologist 521218ndash1225

MCLEISH J The Lecture Method In NL GAGE (ed) The Psychologyof Teaching Methods 75th Yearbook of the National Society for theStudy of Education (Chicago University of Chicago Press)

MURRAY HG (1997) Does evaluation of teaching lead to improve-ment of teaching International Journal of Academic Development 220ndash41

NEWBLE D and CANNON R (1987) A Handbook for MedicalTeachers (Lancaster MTP Press)

NORTON L and HARTLEY J (1986)What factors contribute togood examination marks The role of notetaking in subsequentperformance in examinations Higher Education 15 pp 355ndash71

OrsquoDONNELL A and DANSEREAU DF (1994) Learning fromLectures effects of cooperative review Journal of ExperimentalEducation 61 116ndash25

PECK KL and HANNAFIN HL (1983) The effects of notetakingpretraining and the recording of notes on the retention of auralinstruction Journal of Educational Research 77 100ndash7

RACE P (2000) 2000 Tips For Lecturers (London Kogan Page)RAMSDEN P (1992) Learning to teach in higher education (London

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quick guide to assessing student learning Nursing Times 2 pp 4ndash5SMITH B (1998) (ed) Large Group Teaching (Birmingham SEDA)SMITHERS A (1970a) Some factors in lecturing Educational Review

22 pp 141ndash50SMITHERS A (1970b) What do students expect of lectures Univer-

sity Quarterly 24 pp 330ndash6SNOW RE and PETERSON PL (1980) Recognising differences in

student attitudes In WJ MCKEACHIE (ed) Learning cognition andcollege teaching (San Francisco Jossey-Bass)

SPENCE RB (1928) lsquoLecture and class dicussion in teaching educa-tional psychologyrsquo Journal of Educational Psychology 19 pp 454ndash62

VAN METER P YOKOI L and PRESSLEY M (1994) Collegestudentsrsquo theory of note-taking derived from their perceptions ofnote-taking Journal of Educational Psychology 86 pp 323ndash38

ZIMBARDO P ERBESON E and MASLACH C (1977) InfluencingAttitudes and Changing Behaviour (Massachussets Addison-Wesley)