On Thursday 7 January 2016 I had the pleasure to participate in this
year’s Learning and Teaching conference, at the University of Sheffield, in Sheffield
and indeed present some of my experiences in teaching. The title of my presentation was “In search
of a greater student in-class experience:
Let's not forget the whiteboard!”
What I presented was a practice that I have been following for a couple of years now involving the use of the whiteboard, in a brainy, stimulating manner, to draw the attention of the students in class. Besides my slides (often using PREZI), I found that by drawing a few lines and shapes on the whiteboard, students remember better this "out-of-the-ordinary" moment and refer back to it with less effort.
Obviously, all colleagues continue to use the board in class to supplement the use of ppt presentations. Nevertheless, this practice is not about conveying further information to students by using the board, but how it can be used to make sessions more enjoyable, by frequently asking students to figure out what I draw on the board. Initially, it appears as a joke to them, but the more they try to guess what I mean, the more they understand the topic I refer to.
What I presented was a practice that I have been following for a couple of years now involving the use of the whiteboard, in a brainy, stimulating manner, to draw the attention of the students in class. Besides my slides (often using PREZI), I found that by drawing a few lines and shapes on the whiteboard, students remember better this "out-of-the-ordinary" moment and refer back to it with less effort.
Obviously, all colleagues continue to use the board in class to supplement the use of ppt presentations. Nevertheless, this practice is not about conveying further information to students by using the board, but how it can be used to make sessions more enjoyable, by frequently asking students to figure out what I draw on the board. Initially, it appears as a joke to them, but the more they try to guess what I mean, the more they understand the topic I refer to.
As said above, this is a way to remind ourselves that a combination of
all the latest technologies that are used in teaching and learning with such
more 'primitive' methods of teaching can indeed yield better results in the
students' effort to understand as well as to remember certain issues raised in
class. It also creates a 360-degree
inclusive environment that I believe makes understanding, remembering, and
learning more effective.
The colleagues who were present at the presentation I delivered were impressed by the technique and started thinking of ways to proceed with a similar approach, yet adjusted to their specific units and disciplines.
As a whole, the whole experience of attending such a conference in Sheffield helped me, personally, understand other points of view in teaching and learning and I would certainly try to include some of the things that I learned while there in my academic effort.
A forum I would advise any colleague to take advantage of.
Chris Liassides,
The colleagues who were present at the presentation I delivered were impressed by the technique and started thinking of ways to proceed with a similar approach, yet adjusted to their specific units and disciplines.
As a whole, the whole experience of attending such a conference in Sheffield helped me, personally, understand other points of view in teaching and learning and I would certainly try to include some of the things that I learned while there in my academic effort.
A forum I would advise any colleague to take advantage of.
Chris Liassides,
BAED, Academic Director of Postgraduate Studies
No comments:
Post a Comment