Interactive Lecturing: A Handbook for College Faculty - Paperback

by Elizabeth F. Barkley (Author), Claire H. Major (Author)

Tips and techniques to build interactive learning into lecture classes

Have you ever looked out across your students only to find them staring at their computers or smartphones rather than listening attentively to you? Have you ever wondered what you could do to encourage students to resist distractions and focus on the information you are presenting? Have you ever wished you could help students become active learners as they listen to you lecture?

Interactive Lecturing is designed to help faculty members more effectively lecture. This practical resource addresses such pertinent questions as, "How can lecture presentations be more engaging?" "How can we help students learn actively during lecture instead of just sitting and passively listening the entire time?" Renowned authors Elizabeth F. Barkley and Claire H. Major provide practical tips on creating and delivering engaging lectures as well as concrete techniques to help teachers ensure students are active and fully engaged participants in the learning process before, during, and after lecture presentations.

Research shows that most college faculty still rely predominantly on traditional lectures as their preferred teaching technique. However, research also underscores the fact that more students fail lecture-based courses than classes with active learning components. Interactive Lecturing combines engaging presentation tips with active learning techniques specifically chosen to help students learn as they listen to a lecture. It is a proven teaching and learning strategy that can be readily incorporated into every teacher's methods.

In addition to providing a synthesis of relevant, contemporary research and theory on lecturing as it relates to teaching and learning, this book features 53 tips on how to deliver engaging presentations and 32 techniques you can assign students to do to support their learning during your lecture. The tips and techniques can be used across instructional methods and academic disciplines both onsite (including small lectures and large lecture halls) as well as in online courses.

This book is a focused, up-to-date resource that draws on collective wisdom from scholarship and practice. It will become a well-used and welcome addition for everyone dedicated to effective teaching in higher education.

Back Jacket

TECHNIQUES TO BUILD INTERACTIVE LEARNING INTO LECTURE CLASSES

Interactive Lecturing is a practical text that promotes more engaging lecture presentations. It also supports student learning in lectures through class activities designed to encourage student preparation, attention, and application of newly learned information. Renowned authors Elizabeth Barkley and Claire Major provide concrete tips and techniques that can help teachers design class sessions in which students are active and fully engaged participants in the learning process.

Research shows that most college faculty still rely on traditional lectures as their primary teaching technique. However, the research also indicates that students are likely to learn less and are more likely to fail in full-length lecture classes than in those that include active learning components. Interactive lecturing is a proven teaching and learning strategy that maximizes the benefits of both lecturing and active learning that teachers can readily incorporate into any class session.

In addition to providing a synthesis of relevant contemporary theory and research on lecturing, Barkley and Major also share 53 tips for making lectures more engaging and 32 active learning techniques that support learning in lectures. Teachers can use these methods across disciplines, lecture types (from small lectures to large), and in onsite, online, and blended course formats.

This is a focused and up-to-date handbook through which the authors share the collective wisdom from scholarship and practice. It's an invaluable resource for everyone dedicated to effective teaching in higher education.

PRAISE FOR INTERACTIVE LECTURING

"Once again Barkley and Major are my go-to source for pedagogical inspiration. The authors provide a rich set of tools for integrating active learning techniques with lectures, an approach that increases student engagement and learning. This is a valuable capstone to their Jossey-Bass series."
--Mark Maier, professor of economics, Glendale Community College, California, author of The Data Game

"Interactive Lecturing tackles a common challenge in higher education: how to improve the classroom experience. The book meets faculty where they are by providing a 'both-and' approach to the lecture, sharing dozens of techniques for both delivering engaging presentations and facilitating active learning."
--Kevin Kelly, EdD, Writer and Consultant, Instructor, San Francisco State University

"If you're looking for practical ways to change up your teaching and reach today's students, this book will provide strategies for your presentations that combine tried-and-true techniques with engaging active learning tweaks easily incorporated into your lectures."
--Suzanne Tapp, Executive Director, Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center, Texas Tech University

Author Biography

ELIZABETH F. BARKLEY is professor of music history at Foothill College, Los Altos, California. She is a scholar, educator, and consultant with over 40 years of experience as an innovative and reflective college instructor.

CLAIRE HOWELL MAJOR is professor of higher education at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her expertise is in teaching and learning in higher education and in qualitative research methods.