Lesson Organization

Speech authorities and educators tell us that poor organization of ideas interferes more seriously with student understanding than limited knowledge of subject matter, annoying mannerisms, and poor delivery - combined. Although the symbols we use must mean similar things to all people, in communication, individual words do not by themselves convey complete meaning. Only after we have organized groups of words into recognizable patterns do ideas emerge. And these ideas, these groups of words, must follow one another in such a way that the relationship between the ideas is clear in forming larger meanings.

We are most effective as instructors when we present ideas that have meaning for the audience in terms of their own experience and knowledge. Ideas build upon one another, forming patterns. If the pattern is not clear, meaning is lost. In a lesson we give our ideas to the listeners in such a way that they mesh with their existing knowledge to form meaningful patterns.