Fall 1998

What Constitutes a Good Lecture and What Makes a
Discussion Section Productive?
Jann Lacoss, Faculty Consultant, TRC and Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Jennifer Chylack, Graduate Student Associate, TRC and Department of English

On February 3, 1998, we met with a group of undergraduates from all levels to hear their opinions about effective lecturing at the university. We wanted to know which methods most engaged students, what qualities they found most appealing in a lecturer, and what aspects of lecture style, format, and environment were conducive to learning and retention. Students responded with many experiences and opinions, but they consistently praised those professors who introduced variety, interaction, structure, and intensity into their lectures.

Every lecturer worries about his or her style. Should one strive for a casual, off-the-cuff delivery, or a highly orchestrated barrage of handouts and transparencies? Our group noted that they find a variety of styles effective; some professors achieved success with animated performances and jokes while others impressed them with posted outlines, targeted questions, and well-paced thoroughness. The style, they said, was not as important as the professor's ability to "break the trance" with demonstrations, examples, and changes in tone. They also appreciated lecturers who incorporated responses from students, either by soliciting questions at certain stages, making themselves available afterwards, or using the Web to garner feedback outside of class. The panel appreciated professors' attempts to connect with them and noted that such interactive advances were well worth the initial awkwardness they felt when jolted out of their passive "audience" role. Professors who expected responses and incorporated student feedback into successive lectures not only promoted better preparation, they also earned the most respect and enthusiasm.

When asked to define the most important aspect of a lecturer's "performance," the entire panel said organization and outlines were essential. They agreed that animation and enthusiasm helped to engage their attention, but they stressed that lecturers who posted outlines and paced their delivery to fit the speed of the note-taking audience conveyed information most effectively. Lecturers who sped through dense material, on the other hand, created tension and anxiety. Students find that certain techniques aid them in retaining the material and taking useful, thorough notes: outlines, lists, pauses for clarification, repetition of key points, and a final recap of the main points of the lecture. Some said it helped if the professor incorporated material from the reading, others claimed a brief review of the previous lecture or strategically-placed references to overarching themes or course units sufficed for assimilation of new material. Students also praised the use of short intermissions to review material in groups, write down questions, connect current events to the material, or note personal reactions. They welcomed any active measures that broke up a 50- or 75-minute lecture, especially those that permitted greater reflection and retention during the class period. Students were not, however, enthusiastic about professors who pursued tangents, arguments, and anecdotes at the expense of central points.

Students also understood the value of a lecture's "performance" aspects and its physicality as well. Lectures provide a regularized encounter with the material. Attending lecture prompted them to think about the subject in a focused way, and writing notes helped them to process the material. The panel agreed that there was a correlation between the number of lectures they attended and their final grade; just by showing up they could learn. They also noted that a professor's ability to communicate large amounts of information in a concentrated form made the subject matter more comprehensible, especially for novices. The professor provided an active example of learning and processing information that, in turn, helped students digest the material on their own. Students especially appreciated professors who displayed organization, included interactive techniques, and conveyed excitement about their subject. Lectures that combined those qualities prompted them to learn more even if they were not initially interested. Although students reported such conviviality was easier to attain in small lectures, they agreed that large lectures could be effective if the professor encouraged interaction and volunteered his/her own reactions and opinions. In short, the panel said that professors need to take advantage of their "captive audience" in as many ways as possible by soliciting responses and reactions from the students, by providing aids for note-taking and comprehension, and by daring to model learning in action, not learning as passive acquisition.

"What Makes a Discussion Section Productive?"

What makes a section memorable and effective? On March 31, 1998, a panel of nine students reported that the TA's leadership and guidance  makes all the difference.  Students want to talk and to listen; they want the TA's perspective, but  they also need structure. If the TA doesn't know how to direct a conversation, section can seem pointless. In general, the students informed us that a variety of approaches can contribute to a section's success, but the key element is a TA who is willing to assume leadership in conjunction with a friendly, flexible, and relaxed approach to class participation.

Students offered examples of successful sections with stories of TAs who generated fruitful, exciting sections by learning students' names early, monitoring the class's work and progress, facilitating discussion, and supplementing the lecture with relevant exercises and reviews. Several panelists said they appreciated their teachers' efforts to make the material relevant to students' lives. Handouts, outlines, and other prepared material also helped them to focus. Several recognized the value of graded quizzes, even pop quizzes, although some disliked the stress they produced. Participants generally agreed that ungraded and scheduled quizzes aided preparation and retention. Students also noted that, if designed properly, such exercises provided a good exam review. Required preparation and participation, if relevant and administered within reason, made students feel committed to the class and helped them learn.

The entire panel said that good TAs possess "leadership skills." In order to succeed, TAs must ask stimulating questions, keep the conversation on track, ensure students have done the work, play devil's advocate, and organize exercises that simultaneously provide structure and flexibility.  Some students had enjoyed sections where the TA used small groups to cover more content. (The TA assigned sub-topics to each group and asked group leaders to report back to the class.) Some TAs asked for written questions from students at the beginning of each section; even though the class members had to do all the reading in order to produce the questions, they appreciated the extra attention paid to their views. Students also reported that breaking up into groups with each group responsible for leading part of the discussion stimulated learning. Regardless of class format, students all agreed that they needed a clear sense of expectations, goals, standards, and grading guidelines from the start. Flexible discussions enabled them to form and develop ideas, but they still wanted to enter the exam with a sense of the right and wrong approaches to the material.

In a good section, they said, about 80% of the class participated in conversation. Students did not receive forced participation rules well, especially when students were "just talking for credit." Students feel more responsive when TAs encourage free conversation instead of passive answers to their own questions. TAs who prompted written means of participation as well as spoken responses helped students learn more.

The general topic of technology use in sections engendered varied reactions. Some people feel less inhibited using e-mail, while others didn't like reading lengthy posts. A few panel members felt that e-mail discussions were forced, redundant, and irrelevant, others found newsgroups with restricted submissions (for example, three responses per week) helpful. Some panelists thought e-mails were most useful when the TA read them first and selected a few for discussion.  Students report that voluntary newsgroups for questions posted and answered often work well, especially for quick feedback. The Web, they said, was best for posting news and notes.

Some students said they would like to know the criteria by which TAs are chosen to teach classes. They have noticed that experienced TAs are generally better section leaders and suggest that TA training should be required by all departments. Several have had bad experiences with poorly trained TAs and some complained of language difficulties with international TAs (although they admitted that patience on both sides was necessary in the latter case). They favored measures to train international TAs, as well as TA mentorship and training programs. In general, they reported more good sections than bad at U.Va., but they would like to see more emphasis on making discussion sections active, structured, and relevant to the lecture.