Wednesday 28 June 2017

Taking the pee in lectures?

The typical University student is:
  • Expected to sit for a WHOLE HOUR (50 mins) and pay attention to a lecture;
  • Not only to pay attention but to engage too! At the very least this means taking notes, even answering questions and, where a braver than normal lecturer is at the front, to discuss stuff in an interested way.
  • Hold their water and their hunger pangs until lunchtime or the end of the day, espacially if their timetable is crowded.
PICTURE BY MATT BANKS AT FREEDIGITALPHOTOS.NET
So, I issue my advice to lecturers:
  • Allow frequent breaks to account for varying degrees of bladder control (including your own);
  • Offer opportunities to get up, walk around, stretch legs etc., perhaps as part of an innovative post-lunch / post breakfast / post Brexit energising exercise;
  • Show leadership by eating a Cornish Pasty* (* amend for regional variations, Haggis, Leek Soup, Chip Butty, Würstburger etc.) during the lecture;
  • Play podcasts and videos in addition to your own brief lectures to vary the delivery;
  • Do absolutely nothing to humiliate or highlight any individual or group that does not engage in discussion, fails to answer simple questions (the answers to which are on the slide displayed!) or arrives late / leaves early.
So, 5 WHOLE minutes in each hour is enough for a lecturer of your calibre isn't it?



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