About delivering better lectures

We hear you. It can be difficult to convert face-to-face lectures and discussions into online activities. In online learning, teachers lack the benefit of physical presence and the ability to check the energy of the students. Although this is true, digital learning environments also provide new ways for you to deliver better lectures. All it takes is an openness to exploration and experimentation. Here are some tips:

1. Divide your lessons into chunks. Your students' attention span is shorter when they are in front of a computer during a live video or audio lecture. Try splitting your hour-long lectures into smaller segments (or chunks). Brain science says that 20 minutes is an ideal length!

2. Interact. When you divide your lectures into smaller units, you give yourself space to add breaks in between. You can also use this time to ask questions or discuss muddled points. It is an ideal time to provide opportunities for students to share ideas, give inputs, check understanding, or apply their new knowledge.

3. Start strong, finish stronger. We sometimes forget that the beginning and end of a lecture are equally important as the body. Start strong by explicitly sharing the learning outcomes. Identify expectations as well: Do they need materials? What prior knowledge is needed? Figuring out answers to these questions allow the students to prepare themselves for the lecture with more intention. Finish stronger by recapping the learning outcomes, providing next steps for deepening, or ask a reflection prompt. Hopefully, these tips help you facilitate retention of the new knowledge among your students