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A student recently commented that they don’t love it when professors read the slides to the class during a lecture.
The comment has really stuck with me. In part because of the use of “when” and in part because of the plural “professors.” Common?
I have some thoughts about it
The comment has really stuck with me. In part because of the use of “when” and in part because of the plural “professors.” Common?
I have some thoughts about it
A few caveats first:
I get that some instructors may want or need to _read from a script_ for a number of reasons, ranging from being new to teaching to having a disability that requires it to just wanting to ensure students have received all the content accurately.
I get that some instructors may want or need to _read from a script_ for a number of reasons, ranging from being new to teaching to having a disability that requires it to just wanting to ensure students have received all the content accurately.
I do understand that using a _script_ is not the same as reading _from slides_. At least it doesn’t have to be.
Finally, this is not at all intended as a slam on the lecture; I think a well-done talk can be a useful and important teaching tool.
So, no shaming intended here.
I just want to acknowledge that there are some challenges with reading to students _from slides_.
One challenge to reading to students from slides is that it probably means that there’s a lot of text on the slides, which can make it difficult for them to process.
Another challenge to reading to students from slides is that if there’s too much text, students have to divide attention between listening and reading, which is exceedingly difficult to do. In short, really they have to choose between reading and listening.
A third challenge to reading to students from slides is that depending on your tech setup you may have to turn around and face the slides to be able to read them; it is difficult for students to engage with the back of your head.
All this to say: there are alternatives to reading from slides during a lecture that may be worth consideration.
One alternative to reading from slides: give students Create Guided Notes ahead of the talk, which are partially complete notes that students can fill in as they follow along.
Another alternative to reading from slides: Keep text on slides minimal, but give students the fuller notes as handouts after the talk.
A third alternative to reading from slides: Work to ensure good notetaking through means such as Note-Taking Pairs or Cued Notes (see https://kpcrossacademy.org/ for details on these).
In short, slides can be great when used to support the message and can be more challenging when used to deliver it in full.