Teaching Like Oprah
Although some lectures can be very exciting, you may be afraid to bore your learners to sleep. Here is a learning activity that may prove to be more engaging than the traditional lecture.
Ask for a volunteer to play the part of a talk show host. You will provide them a list of questions that must be asked of you the instructor so that the topic is well covered. Remember you are the one being intereviewed. In addition to the scripted questions, invite the host to ask their own follow up questions as they see fit. Toward the end of the activity, the talk show host will call upon questions from the audience to also address any knowledge that was missed. Use this time to evaluate what the students learned and address any missing pieces of knowledge.
The advantage of this learning activity is that it takes the learners from the more passive role of listening to a lecture to an active part of a mock television show. It may prove to be more engaging and will take some of the pressure off all involved as this will create an informal atmosphere.
Take a look at some popular talk shows and try to emulate some of the segments that they include to get the audience more active in participating with the show. You may want to avoid shows like Letterman and Leno and focus more on the self help style of shows like Oprah, and Dr. Oz. If you are successful, I promise your lesson will be far more memorable than a boring lecture.
Ask for a volunteer to play the part of a talk show host. You will provide them a list of questions that must be asked of you the instructor so that the topic is well covered. Remember you are the one being intereviewed. In addition to the scripted questions, invite the host to ask their own follow up questions as they see fit. Toward the end of the activity, the talk show host will call upon questions from the audience to also address any knowledge that was missed. Use this time to evaluate what the students learned and address any missing pieces of knowledge.
The advantage of this learning activity is that it takes the learners from the more passive role of listening to a lecture to an active part of a mock television show. It may prove to be more engaging and will take some of the pressure off all involved as this will create an informal atmosphere.
Take a look at some popular talk shows and try to emulate some of the segments that they include to get the audience more active in participating with the show. You may want to avoid shows like Letterman and Leno and focus more on the self help style of shows like Oprah, and Dr. Oz. If you are successful, I promise your lesson will be far more memorable than a boring lecture.
