Planning and organizing your lesson
By nature we like things to be orderly and logical. We will work hard to rationalize our own behavior or thoughts. But when others appear illogical, we usually make little effort to understand them. We stop listening to a speaker or we put aside a book when we have difficulty following the line of thought. Effective lessons, then, depend upon effective organization of the ideas to be taught. But how should you organize your ideas to form a logical pattern?
To be effective you should plan a systematic approach to the job of organizing. The plan we recommend has five steps:
• Determine the objective.
• Master the subject material.
• List the important ideas.
• Group these ideas in a logical pattern.
• Prepare the introduction and summary.
These steps overlap, of course, but they indicate the type of activity that should be stressed at a given time.
Determine the Objective.
This first step is perhaps the most important. What do you want to accomplish in the lesson? This goal will give direction to your organization. Three factors will affect your final choice of objectives: the audience, the time available to you, and the mechanics.
Why do you need to know your audience? Obviously this is the only way to find out what their common core of experience is. Your objective and the pattern of your organization can have meaning only in terms of common experience. In order to understand your audience, you will want to know the level of their training and skill, their ages, and their previous knowledge about your subject. However, an even more important reason for knowing your audience is to determine what they need to know about the subject. By ascertaining and meeting their needs, you fulfill your purpose as an instructor. Conversely, if you teach something they don’t need to know, you are wasting time, money, and materials.
The second factor is time. Students expect to learn something about the subject.
Unfortunately, some instructors select a subject so broad that only the most general treatment is possible in the time allotted. Then the audience feels mistreated because they have learned very little. You can hope to accomplish just so much in 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 45 minutes, so you must limit your subject to some phase which can be handled adequately in the time at your disposal.
Finally, you must consider the mechanics. Is it a class or a briefing? Will 10 or 100 attend? Where will the meeting be held? How large is the room? What training aids will be available? Certainly your objective will be affected by the mechanics.
When you know how much material you can cover, what part will be needed most, at what level it will be best understood, and what approach will be most appropriate, you will then be prepared to state your objective. Revision may be necessary later, but you should have a finite goal as your basic foundation.
MASTERING THE SUBJECT.
With your objective in mind, you are ready for the second step, mastery of the subject. Three sources of information will prove helpful. The first source is your own knowledge and experience. What do you really know about this subject? Do you know enough to teach it now or will you have to study it further?
You can turn to others who know something about your subject such as an instructor in a related field. These people can help you check off additional items on the tentative outline. In discussing the subject with them, you clarify your own thinking.
The amount of primary research required is dependent on the scope of your objective and how much knowledge you have acquired from other sources. It may be that you can study the actual object you are prepared to discuss, or you may perform the actual skill you are planning to teach. You may also look for research material in the library. If you have roperly narrowed the subject, you will have to research only a relatively small portion of the total subject.
As you converse, read, and observe, you are evaluating ideas. Tentatively screen material to see if it is relevant to your objective. From the preliminary screening you will proceed to the third step.
List Important Ideas.
What should a listener or reader know about this subject?
What ideas must you get across if you are to achieve your purpose? From the material you have gathered, make a list of all the ideas that might be important, without attempting to evaluate or expand upon them at this point. Write a word or phrase about each idea until you have listed everything you can think of. Now you are ready to evaluate these ideas. Some are discarded as irrelevant or unimportant; others can be grouped into two or three categories. These are your main ideas. Remember that you can adequately support only two or three main points in 30 minutes unless you have a fairly simple subject. Even in an hour presentation, you would find it difficult to cover more than four or five main points. The listener or reader should not be asked to remember too many points. Two or three well-developed main points will help the student recall the supporting material that you have used.
Select a Pattern.
You are now ready to select the best and most logical way to present your ideas.
Usually your central idea will lend itself to one of many patterns of development. Probably the most commonly used is the time pattern. This is a straight narrative report of events in a chronological order. The enumeration pattern involves listing reasons as support of a proposal or contention. When a subject is too broad to handle completely, it can sometimes be clarified by use of the specific instance pattern. The cause-and-effect pattern explains the forces or circumstances that produce a particular occurrence, and the comparison contrast pattern identifies a choice between two or more proposals. Finally, the negative-alternative pattern measures ideas against a common criterion.
The logical choice of pattern is usually the one which best accomplishes your overall objective. Choose the pattern that presents your material to the audience in a way that makes sense to them. This is your strategy of attack. You should follow the patterns to develop supporting points.
Prepare an Introduction and Summary.
When you know what you are going to introduce and what you are concluding, you can add these steps to the organizing process. To attempt this before you have determined the basic content of the lecture is like trying to decide what to take on a trip before you know where you are going.
An introduction should first catch your audience’s attention. You might use a vivid example, a joke, or a surprising statement. Then you must hold the audience’s attention by showing why this information is important to them. After you motivate them, tell them briefly what you plan to cover. The overview simply alerts them to look for your main points. You should also review any previous lessons which may form a foundation for better understanding of the information to be presented.
Applying this recommended plan to your own use should make your presentation purposeful, logical, and complete. But this plan will succeed only if you are always conscious of the fact that you are organizing material for the student - not for yourself. You can measure the effectiveness of your lesson only in terms of its meaning for others.
METHODS OF SUPPORTING IDEAS
If each main point and subsection in your lesson outline is to be clear and convincing, it must be developed and supported. Bold assertion is not enough. Your students are silently demanding: "For instance?" "So what!" They are asking you to explain, clarify, or prove what you are saying. They want you to get down to specific cases. You can meet their demands if you include examples, comparisons, statistics, and testimony, for these are the muscles that give body to the skeleton outline of the lesson plan.
Examples.
The use of vivid, concrete examples is one of the biggest helps in putting ideas across. Examples have high interest and attention value. However, they must clearly support your ideas and be suited to the student’s background and experience.
Comparisons.
A comparison is a bridge between the known and the unknown. You can make a new idea clear by showing its similarity to something that is already familiar to your students. You may compare subjects, ideas, and situations. Comparisons are an excellent device for simplifying complicated ideas.
Statistics.
Figures are variable facts, scientifically collected and classified. Used wisely and sparingly, they strengthen and add authority to your statements and clarify otherwise vague ideas.
Testimony.
In the use of testimony you quote or paraphrase the opinion of an expert to back up an idea. Use qualified authority, someone who is an expert in his or her field by reason of training, education, and experience.
If the instruction seems boring to the students, you can be almost certain that you have used dull and inappropriate supporting materials or have not used enough supporting materials.
EFFECTIVE LESSON DELIVERY.
After you have planned, organized, and supported your ideas, the final test is how well you present them to your students. You are not interested in cultivating effective delivery for its own sake, but vitally concerned that your ideas get a fair hearing. The test of your delivery is how well you hold the students’ attention to those aspects of your presentation which promote your objectives. Anything distracting in your delivery draws attention from your main ideas. You can improve your delivery only through practice and valid, unbiased criticism. Some suggestions are given here to help you in your practice.
Directness.
Have you ever attended a lecture in which the instructor seemed to be addressing the ceiling, a knot in the door, or someone outside the classroom? One of the most common faults of speakers is the failure to develop a sense of communication with the audience. They seem to forget that the purpose of speaking is to communicate ideas calculated to win a desired response. The lack of a communicative attitude seriously weakens any presentation.
In its broadest sense, directness means that you are talking to, and with your students, notsimply at them or in front of them. No one follows a frightened leader!
Sincerity.
Sincerity is a deep belief in the importance of your subject, and in the correctness of the information which you are presenting. Sincerity reveals itself through your voice, action, and facial expression.
Use of Notes.
In many instances you should be able to teach effectively without notes. If you have properly prepared your lesson and have thoroughly assimilated the material and the basic outline, you should have no difficulty.
There is no serious objection to the use of notes, and they do have certain advantages. They ensure accuracy, jog the memory, and dispel the fear of forgetting. They are essential for reporting complicated information and they help an otherwise rambling instructor stay on the track. You should use your notes sparingly and unobtrusively.
Dissipating Nervous Energy.
When you have a good approach to a subject it allows you to proceed with confidence. However, most people experience some anxiety before a presentation. One humorist said the best way to take care of this initial nervousness was to "talk loud so they can’t hear your knees knocking together."
There is no reason to be concerned about being keyed up and nervous. In fact, if you are not nervous, something is wrong with you. If you are completely unruffled inside, you aren’t ready to go on the platform. You are going into the spotlight and you should be stimulated so you will be able to be spontaneous and exude energy, enthusiasm, and interest.
To dissipate the nervousness naturally and appear to be confident at the same time, enter the classroom resolutely. Approach the class with a firm step and then pause to survey the "adversary." Try looking the people in the eye and then smile. A smile is even more contagious than a yawn. Charging right into the presentation without an initial pause deprives you of the opportunity to compose yourself without the distraction of hearing yourself talk.
Some purposeful physical action helps get through the initial nervous period. Write your name on the blackboard, move the podium to a better angle, take the paper clip off your notes, but don’t start off by being an ear puller, a nose rubber, or a head scratcher. Once you begin speaking, purposeful gestures reduce nervousness, dissipate physical energy, and add to your effectiveness.
Your use of voice can also dissipate nervousness and portray confidence. Make your opening statement a loud and clear transmission. It assists in gaining even the attention of the avid conversationalists and tends to give the impression that you have taken charge of the situation. You can and should plan specific steps to perform during the introduction to dissipate the initial tension. Tension is natural, but the stiffness in manner and speech, which it can cause, occasionally gives the impression of aloofness or coolness toward the group. The sooner you can get the knee-knocking portion out of the way, the sooner you can warm to the group and the subject and the group will respond in a like manner.
QUESTIONING TECHNIQUE.
Questions should be thought provoking, clearly worded, planned for a specific purpose, and centered on one idea. The three basic types of questions most often used are: overhead, directed, and relay.
Overhead Question.
To get everyone mentally involved in formulating an answer, throw an overhead question to the group as a whole. Pause to give everyone time to think of an answer and let the bright, eager beavers sit for a minute with a raised hand. You’re also concerned with the slower thinker. After a reasonable pause, let one of the hand raisers answer the question.
Direct Question.
If there are no hands raised, direct the question to one individual. A directed question is also particularly useful to bring a day dreamer back into the classroom or to check the learning of specific individuals. Distribute questions fairly and restrain the brighter ones from answering too many questions, even though the lesson would move along faster if you let them. After choosing a student to answer, listen carefully to that answer and evaluate it.
Relay Question.
You can let the bright students into the act with relay questions. When a student asks a question of you, relay it to one of the brighter ones, if practicable.
Another version of the relay question is the reverse query, where you ask one or two questions in return to lead the questioner into answering his or her own question. This is sometimes necessary because students often ask questions spontaneously without attempting to think out an answer.
Fielding Student Questions.
Oddly enough, one of the most difficult parts of instructing is understanding student questions. Have you noticed how often a fellow student asked one question and got the answer to another? Everyone understood the question but the instructor. Remember that the question is based on what the student knows about the material, not on what you know. If you are not sure just what is wanted, ask clarifying questions until you are sure. Repeat the question aloud. Evaluate the question in terms of what has been taught, what will be taught, and what they should know, then answer it. Be sure that you have satisfied the student before going on to other material.
Using Humor.
Humor can be used to maintain interest and it need not break the line of thought. There is humor in the way you’ve seen someone approach the problem at hand, in many facets of instrument flying, and even in a near crash. Exaggeration of some of the mistakes of some unidentified pilot is another source of humor. However, jokes are too often considered the only source of humor and are too often unrelated to the subject. You can find jokes which are related, applicable, and fit in well.