close a lecture effectively you need to revisit the big picture and how the presented information integrates with that big picture. Effective closure is a simple, yet often overlooked method for improving your lecturing.
Suggested Reading Angelo, Thomas A. and Patricia K. Cross. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. Jossey-Bass, February 1993.
Using Discussion The use of discussion has long been perceived as the way to get students to “really understand” the material. Socratic questioning and discussion has long been a mainstay of small group instruction, but in the larger classroom setting it is often replaced with lecturing and simple content transmission. With careful planning you can successfully use discussion in both large and small group settings. Careful planning can dramatically increase the instructional value of using discussions. There are 4 major considerations for planning and facilitating a successful discussion; how to get students to prepare, how to ensure equality of participation, how to ensure overall discussion quality, and how to effectively close the discussion. As class size increases, planning becomes increasingly important, since in a small group discussion an instructor can more easily assess individual student preparation and ensure equality of participation. An often-overlooked part of effective discussion facilitation is the effective closing. We can miss the opportunity to refocus student attention on the most important concepts, highlight their relationship to the “big picture,” and reinforce what we have learned along the way. There are many useful models for planning discussions, including: • Socratic questioning • What, So What, Now What • SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) • ORID (objective, reflective, interpretive, decisional)
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