Interactive Teaching Methods for Large Classes

Answer first by yourself, then with a partner:

• What else can I do besides lecture on and on for 50 minutes every day?

• Answer first by yourself, then with a partner:
• If you breathe in O2 and out CO2, why does mouth-to-mouth CPR work?
• 1. Humans can convert CO2 to needed O2
• 2. It’s the physical breathing action, not the O2 that mouth-to-mouth actually does
• 3. You exhale CO2 AND O2
• 4. Mouth-to-mouth doesn’t actually work except on TV

Who wrote Of Mice and Men?

• Who wrote Of Mice and Men?
• 1. John Wiley
• 2. John Steinbeck
• 3. John Hancock
• 4. John Quincy-Adams

1. From water

• 1. From water
• 2. From dirt and soil
• 3. From the air
• 4. Its already in the seed.

Lasso of truth

• Lasso of truth
• Invisible jet
• Flying boots
• X-ray vision

Interrupt your lecture by engaging your students in a purposeful conversation about the topics at hand…

• Interrupt your lecture by engaging your students in a purposeful conversation about the topics at hand…
• Think-pair-share voting questions
• Groups propose test questions (and answers)
• Mini-case studies
• Structured debates
• Minute-Papers

• Sara is two years away from applying for tenure. Her teaching evaluations in introductory environmental science are well above the department average, and her students score quite well on her tests, which students perceive as long and difficult.
• However, Sara has recently had the opportunity to discuss the subject matter of her course in greater detail with some of her more interested and enthusiastic students. She has been discouraged to discover that these students really don’t understand nearly as much as she thought they did.
• Their ability to answer her test questions correctly masked confusion about some fundamental concepts, casting considerable doubt on the effectiveness of her teaching.
• Question: As a colleague, how would you advise Sara to respond to this?