Honing Your Teaching Skills
INTRODUCTION
The most effective way to learn is to teach someone else.
This chapter will enable the reader to adopt practices to nurture their teaching and presentation skills in a seminar.
WHAT IS A SEMINAR?
The term Seminar is used in varied context. Student-led seminar means a meeting of a small group of people led by a student, which consists of a presentation followed by a discussion focussed on predefined topic.2
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE STUDENT?
- As a seminar leader—to prepare and present the topic to the group. The presentation kicks off the discussion.
- As a group member—to contribute information, opinions and ask questions.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A TEACHER?
The teacher's role is that of a facilitator to encourage contributions from the small group by asking questions that stimulate further discussion. They may summarize the discussion and define areas of further reading.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A STUDENT–LED SEMINAR?
The word Seminar is derived from the Latin word seminarium, referring to a nursery, where seeds are sown to produce plants for transplanting. The seminar is targeted at providing a fertile ground for the student to learn and clarify concepts through discussion.
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR THE SEMINAR?
Some Practical Tips: Remember to PEE (Prepare, Execute and Evaluate).
Prepare
- Research the topic allotted
- Be thorough.
- Identify the resources seeking guidance from your teachers/mentors.
- Reference all the important information; this will save time when you need to look up some information later.
- Define the objectives of your presentation.
Presenting a seminar provides the student an opportunity to: | |
✓ attain a higher level of understanding ✓ internalise the material researched ✓ share ideas with other experts in the field | Subject-related skills |
✓ hone their presentation and teaching skills ✓ enhance their communication skills ✓ collaborate ✓ deal with conflicting opinions ✓ formulate an argument ✓ build confidence ✓ learn time management ✓ develop responsibility for their own learning | Transferable skills |
- Structure: organize and arrange the content so as to make it logical and meaningful.
- Select the audiovisual aid (AV aid) which would be apt for delivering your presentation.
- Check for the availability of the AV aid. Use technology to aid your teaching and presentation not as a crutch without which you stumble.
- Refine your presentation to make it interesting
- Use a bait: plan the start of your presentation interestingly to set induction, i.e. getting the audience ready and thinking about the session. This will hook the attention of the audience and reel them in. This could be as simple as beginning the presentation with a relevant case discussion to stress the importance of the topic.
- Timing: Remember the attention span of the audience is not more than 15–20 minutes. So enhance your presentation with some interesting visuals, videos or some thought-provoking questions between the segments. Stick to the allotted time.
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- illustrate key points.
- emphasize verbal message.
- focus audience attention.
- stimulate audience interest.
- For preparing PowerPoint slides or overhead projector transparencies, follow these guidelines:
- Use a clear, easily readable font.
- Preferably San serif font like Arial Rounded MT Bold, AvantGarde Md BT, Helvetica for PowerPoint slides.
- Use typed script. A running hand is difficult to read.
- Use a type size of 54 for the title and 20 points or greater for the text.
- Text color
- Use a light text on a dark background for slides for PowerPoint slides.
- Use dark colors for text with OHP transparencies.
- No lengthy sentences
- Bullet the key words and phrases.
- Stick to one idea per slide or transparency.
- Be a miser—limit the use of words.
- Follow the Rule of 7: not more than seven lines on a slide and not more than seven words in a line.
- Avoid patterned backgrounds as they distract the attention from the main content.
- Do not make your slides and transparencies into a rainbow of colors. Make use of a maximum of three colors.
- Use highlights only for emphasising a particular point.
- Spare the PowerPoint slides from undue animation and sound effects.
- Rehearsing the presentation will
- familiarize you with the teaching materials created
- aid you in verbalizing the explanations to be put forth.
- assist you in coordinating the verbal delivery of the content with your teaching materials.
- give you an idea of the timing to be maintained for the various sections.
- Inform the audience regarding the venue and time in advance.
Execute
Before the Seminar
- If using a PowerPoint carry a copy of the presentation with all media included on a pen-drive.
- Check out the venue of the seminar and the AV aids in advance to prevent last moment hassles.
During the Seminar
- Be calm and present confidently.
- Define the objectives of the seminar at the start and give a brief overview of your plan for it.
- Verbal communication.
- Non-verbal communication: body language is a key element in the art of delivering a good oral presentation. Most of the problems associated with body language can be rectified if you carefully study yourself in a mirror.
- Do not hide behind the podium.
- Talk to the audience: maintain eye contact with most of the audience. Avoid addressing only those you are comfortable with.
- Vary your facial expressions: this will add meaning and energy to what you want to convey.
- Stance speaks: maintain a balanced stance with weight evenly distributed but lean slightly forward to show that you are engaged with the audience. Your stance conveys your ease and enthusiasm. Do not fold your arms during the presentation.
- Use gestures to make a point, but do not go overboard with their use.
- When not gesturing, place your hands by your side. This projects ease. Moving constantly or making a movement repetitively may annoy and distract the audience.
- Teaching with technology: use AV aids effectively. While using them confirm their visibility and audibility to the audience. Do not stand so that the screen is obscured
- Answer questions politely. Do not become defensive. Be open to different ideas and viewpoints. Formulate arguments coherently and support replies with references wherever possible.
- Do summarize the points discussed at the end.
- Appropriately acknowledge all those who have contributed to the seminar.
- Share the references used.
- Seek feedback on content, presentation skills and teaching skills; accept feedback positively to change for the better.
Evaluate
Self reflection: reflect on your overall presentation and delivery skills. Ask a colleague to video record the seminar. This will also help you evaluate your own performance critically, so as to hone your teaching skills.
Feedback from teachers and peers: seek feedback verbally or more formally using a feedback evaluation form. A sample form is printed below.
“Teaching and presenting is a skill which can only improve with practice and incorporating the feedback to improve it.”
SUGGESTED READING
- Brown G. & Manogue M. (2001) AMEE Medical Education Guide No.22: Refreshing lecturing: a guide for lecturers. Medical Teacher, 23: 231-244.
- Farrow R. ABC of learning and teaching in medicine-Creating teaching materials. BMJ. 2003 April 26; 326: 921-923.
