Overview
Giving a lecture about a subject is a standard way to teach. Most students find lecture-based learning dull and typically tune out the teacher quickly into the lecture. One way to help your students stay focused and alert during a lecture-based lesson is to create a listing team. Based on the work by Mel Silberman, you create small groups responsible for clarifying the material after you have given your lecture. This allows students to be active with the information given and allows them to ask questions about the material they do not understand.
Procedure
Divide your students into groups of four member teams. Each student is assigned a role.
Roles:
- Example Giver: Gives examples or applications of key concepts.
- Questioner: Asks two questions about the material to help make the concepts clear.
- Devil’s Advocate: Identifies two areas of disagreement within the content and explains why they disagree.
- Team Player: Points out two areas of agreement with lecture content and explains why.
Tell the students while they are listening to the lecture or video, to think of examples, questions, and areas of disagreement and agreement.
Present your lesson.
After the presentation, the students meet as a group for 5-10 minutes to share ideas and finalize contributions.
Groups share examples and ask questions about your lesson and the other groups to solidify their understanding of the key concepts.
When I did this exercise in my class the first time. It was very confusing and the students muddled through the questions. By the third time, I surprised the students asked excellent questions are really seemed to understand the material better. I also found it was great feedback on my teaching style.
Source: Mel Silberman, 1996. Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject. Allyn & Bacon.
