A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

70 ❘
Teaching, supervising, learning
PowerPoint and handouts
Students now expect all lecturers to provide copies of the PowerPoint presentations from
their lectures, often via a departmental website or VLE (virtual learning environment).
The concern often expressed by lecturers is that students may see handouts, whether
provided in hard copy or electronically, as a replacement for attending the lectures. The
reality is that students may indeed think this, if attending the lecture gives them no added
value over and above the PowerPoint presentation. Aspects such as generating and
maintaining interest and student engagement give added value to the lecture. It is worth
the lecturer making it clear to students from the outset that simply taking the handouts
is not going to give them the best learning experience, and then letting their lecturing style
speak for itself.
OVERVIEW
Lecturing to large groups of students is a challenging experience for the new lecturer. It
is not sufficient to simply know the material. The lecturer needs to make the lecture
interesting and engaging, well organised and structured, with clear guidance through the
material, using relevant and topical examples and case studies. Getting the lecture right
is a skill and can take time. The use of feedback from students and colleagues can be a
starting point for reflection on your lecturing style, and you may wish to enhance your
practice.
REFERENCES
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Brown, S and Race, P (2002) Lecturing: A Practical Guide. London: Kogan Page.
Davies, J W, Arlett, C, Carpenet, S, Lamb, F and Donaghy, L (2006) What makes a good
engineering lecture? Students put their thoughts in writing. European Journal of Engineering
Education, 31(5): 543–553.
Edwards, H, Smith, B and Webb, G (2001) Lecturing, Case Studies, Experience and Practice.
London: Kogan Page.
Evans, E (2007) Rethinking and Improving Lecturing in History. Research Project 2001–07, Final
Report. Available online at http://www.hca.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/reports/
eric_evans-Rethinking_and_Improving_Lecturing_in_History.pdf (accessed 28 April
2007).
Hodgson, V (1984) Learning from lectures. In F Marston, D Hounsell and N Entwistle (eds)
The Experience of Learning: 90–103. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.
Race, P (2007) The Lecturer’s Toolkit (3rd edn). London: Routledge.
Ramsden, P (1994) Current challenges to quality in higher education. Innovative Higher
Education, 18(3): 177–187.