Lecture Strategy
When I was in college, I walked into class having read and done my homework or maybe not. Regardless, my professor stood in front of the classroom and read from notes that he had created years and years ago. I remember being so excited about my Greek Mythology class and how disappointed I was that he read from yellowed notes for 3 hours on a Wednesday night. His teaching style and my learning style were not in sync. I struggled not only to learn in that class, but to stay awake as well.
As instructors we must acknowledge that we will have students that are not in sync with our learning style so we must push beyond our comfort zone to reach all students. Each lesson that we plan needs to have a variety of activities in them to reach all of our students regardless of what their learning style (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, or Kinesthetic).
Students today have even shorter attention spans than I did 20+ years ago. We must adapt as instructors to reach all of our students regardless of learning styles. Research has shown that the more students actively engage in what they are learning the more they will be able to learn, retain, and apply the information.
10-2-2
The 10-2-2 lecture style allows instructors to lecture in the style we were taught, but then offers pauses for student reflection, question, and application. Mary Budd Rowe developed a lecture style which allows for lecture and student reflection. In 1986 she wrote an article for the Journal of Teacher Education in which she explains her wait time theory. She expands and explains the 10-2 lecture style for college students or 8-2 lecture style for high school students. For her research the students were to spend the 2 minutes sharing notes and clarifying questions. If both students had similar questions the last 5 minutes of class would be reserved for questions from the entire class. Rowe recommended teaching in short spans of time to help students retain complex concepts. The example below takes the basis of Rowe's strategy and adds an additional 2 minutes. The difference in the example below is the first 2 minutes ask students to reflect or recall individually and the second 2 minutes to consult an elbow partner. This is only one way to incorporate the 10-2-2 lecture strategy into a traditional classroom.
As instructors we must acknowledge that we will have students that are not in sync with our learning style so we must push beyond our comfort zone to reach all students. Each lesson that we plan needs to have a variety of activities in them to reach all of our students regardless of what their learning style (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, or Kinesthetic).
Students today have even shorter attention spans than I did 20+ years ago. We must adapt as instructors to reach all of our students regardless of learning styles. Research has shown that the more students actively engage in what they are learning the more they will be able to learn, retain, and apply the information.
10-2-2
The 10-2-2 lecture style allows instructors to lecture in the style we were taught, but then offers pauses for student reflection, question, and application. Mary Budd Rowe developed a lecture style which allows for lecture and student reflection. In 1986 she wrote an article for the Journal of Teacher Education in which she explains her wait time theory. She expands and explains the 10-2 lecture style for college students or 8-2 lecture style for high school students. For her research the students were to spend the 2 minutes sharing notes and clarifying questions. If both students had similar questions the last 5 minutes of class would be reserved for questions from the entire class. Rowe recommended teaching in short spans of time to help students retain complex concepts. The example below takes the basis of Rowe's strategy and adds an additional 2 minutes. The difference in the example below is the first 2 minutes ask students to reflect or recall individually and the second 2 minutes to consult an elbow partner. This is only one way to incorporate the 10-2-2 lecture strategy into a traditional classroom.
- Lecture for 10-20 minutes (break at a natural stopping point)
- Ask students to reflect or recall the information just presented--review notes, write down questions, etc. (2 minutes)
- Discuss with elbow partner to fill in gaps, help with explanation, etc. (2 minutes)
- Before moving on the instructor ask for questions