TEACHING DEMO
OVERVIEW & SUGGESTIONS
GENERAL PLAN FOR YOUR TEACHING
DEMO:
GOAL: To use effective presentation and active learning
techniques to teach a specific topic or coherent concept to an
audience (as defined by you) within a 30-minute time frame
Your teaching demo session
should include the following in some form:
(a) a brief
introduction to explain the "big picture" of the
overall class, workshop, or learning environment in which your
30-minute class would (ideally) be presented.
NOTE: be sure to describe your
intended audience, since we in the class will be assuming the
role of your "students."
(b) a formal
presentation (with ppt or without) -- it can be
interactive or a formal lecture presentation ( ~ 10-15 minutes)
(c) an active learning component, e.g., a discussion,
hands-on activity, etc. in which we would all participate, (~15
minutes)
NOTE: if you wish you can
combine (b) & (c) and weave your active learning activities into the
presentation portion of your class session
(d) some sort of
assessment (a quiz, IF/AT form, pretest
/post-test, survey, use of responders, short assignment,
end-of-class index card asking students to explain what they learned,
etc., etc. --
Note: this assessment can be built into the in-class activity
itself, item (c) (3-5 minutes)
You should also produce a "Table of Specifications"
-- in
advance -- which lists your learning objectives for the topic, and the
specifics of how different parts of your 30-minute class session
will address each objective. This will be one of the "deliverables"
you will turn in for grading & feedback (by me) along with any
handouts or learning aids you produce for the demo to use during the
class session.
A hint for your your learning
objectives -- in addition to content, don't forget things
like information literacy, being able to read and interpret a graph,
etc. For some ideas, review:
The UA Library's Information Literacy Outcomes with Ideas for Learning
& Assessment.
Your presentation itself will be
evaluated by me and your peers, using a simple
presentation feedback form [pdf] from Elena Berman's
A Short Guide to Improving Student Speaking and Writing
[pdf] which is an excellent compilation of suggestions and
ideas on how to improve the communication skills of your students.
See pp 22-27 in the Short Guide for some suggestions on how to improve
your own presentation and delivery!
Your presentation session will also be taped for
podcasting by the
Learning Technologies Center so you can self-evaluate how you did,
as well as use the podcast as part of your teaching portfolio.