The Skillful Teacher

Characteristics of Helpful Lectures
To understand how lectures can be helpful to students’ learning, we
need to consult those students and find out from their point of view
Lecturing Creatively
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the features that are most conducive to learning. Research on this
topic (Bligh, 2000; Race, 2000, 2001; Brown and Race, 2002; Far-
rah, 2004) indicates that students believe helpful lectures exhibit
the following characteristics:
• They use a variety of teaching and communication
processes.
• They are clearly organized so students can follow the
thread of the lecturer’s thought.
• The lecturer clearly models learning behaviors
expected in the course.