avoiding following the powerpoint
I see that as an Instructor it can become an easy trap to fall into( just following a powerpoint). What things or methods do you have as an Instuctor that help you to teach the material and not just follow a powerpoint?
Use experiences to give the student a visual image. Divert totricks of the trade
Ask them questions about the subject, try to get them asking you questions. Watch the look on their faces, you can see when they understand. Every class will be different, the ones I have found to be best is when they ask a lot of questions. Doing this takes the focus away from the powerpoint and you are still talking about the subject matter. A lot of material can be covered talking about it and then seeing it on the powerpoint reinforces the discussion.
Yes, but you have to keep it fairly breif, to NOT tell long drawn out "war stories".
I would say that the power points, when used effectively, help my students follow the information. It's like a road map for them.
Power points help them see the info as we are discussing it, which helps my visual leaners.
I would recommend going through the powerpoints, especially if someone else made them and choose the ones that highlight your lecture. Alot of texts put 200+ slides in their presentations, which just bores the class.
Hi Chrissy,
Well said about boring students. You have to have a good mix of content and activities, demonstrations, etc. to keep the attention of students. Your suggestion about pulling the slide from a PP that work from you is a good one. Many times instructors use the slide provided by the textbook publishers and do not personalize them to their own way of presenting content. Keep up the good teaching.
Gary
At first the powerpoint leads you, but as you learn the course material better it becomes just a secondary tool.
This is such a true statement....
Little changes can keep the interest level high...
I will regularly personalise the PowerPoint by highlighting a particular term or phrase...Underlining or a complete color change of the text...I then tell the students that clues to success are in the text and challange them to focus on the lesson and find the differences...It becomes a challange which motivates them to stay awake, alert and focused...sometimes I will ask them to read ahead in the lesson and try to guess what text is important to see if they can pick out what I have highlighted. This gets them further engaged in the learning process. Another way to involve and use this is to have the students present a slide and discuss it with the class. I will invite a student to be me and I will sit in their seat and let them present the material from a slide. I let them call on another student or ask questions ... They really respond to this and it keep class invlovement at a high level. I've said this before in another forum response but it is a combination of learning that works for all...so seeing, reading, repeating, hearing, touching all reinforce the lesson material. Chrissy was right as well in that the PPT is only one tool.
In one of my classes, I created a power point that covers the subject, and I let the students have a copy of it as it shows the correct procedure for them to follow in the lab. It seems to work very well for me.
Rod
I like to use the power point as a reference guide. Generally I elaborate on the topic at hand and use the imformation provided on the powerpoint as a basis of discussion.
All you people are correct when it comes to the power point. It IS a referance and should be used in that fashion. What makes us work so well as instructors is we bring real life experiance to the class and this is what the students need.We ccould use a southwest tortoise to read the power point but our experiance makes us the best teaching tool on the market today!
My experience with powerpoint presentaion is that it's only a prompt. It is up to the instructor to bring the information to life. Providing examples, demonstrating, asking questions that keep the student involved.
I enjoy using the PP it helps me get the class with out missing anything, but I do find that students get board sometimes. What I do is get up and walk around the room and make myself more visible. Then I ask the students some questions to get them involved in a discussion.
The power point I find helps to keep the instruction on track. It should not be read word for word.Important facts for test material come from this format and do need to be covered. bullet points need to be explained by the instructor in terms what will fit the students of that class. Use of training aids help. But reinforcement in shop (lab) makes the whole picture come together for students
After previewing the the power point I find it very useful touse them to support what I am instructing. I still follow the guidelines but putting your own personal spin on the material at hand tends to keep the students intrested and awake!
i agree with you that some instructors fall in this trap. however, if you knew the materials and study them, expounding the concept of the topic is the best way of following this power point material.
The biggest problem with following the powerpoint to the "letter" is that the tests are hardly ever in step with the presentation and when you are just starting out you will get burned by low test scores because you assumed the powerpoint covered test information. Sometime you have to teach the class to see where the pit falls in the powerpoint are.
One thing I've learned is that a "long" powerpoint is not only frustrating for the student, it's a real hassle for the instructor.
One trick I use that at least breaks the monotony of some slides in my class is to use the projector "zoom" feature. When you have a slide that shows components you can zoom in and the students can really see an item that you are talking about.
Hi Douglas,
Thanks for sharing this teaching tip with us. I am sure this will be of benefit to other instructors.
Gary
I like to use the power point that I have created , this way it keeps me on track , and I can expound the subject matter. The power point are to be short, full of cues to direct to to the next subject matter.
