No matter what you talk about, take a few minutes before the lecture to get "psyched." You're an entertainer getting ready to do a stand up act in front of a large audience. Start with that mind set. You're an educator who entertains......... or an entertainer who educates. And be as peripatetic as possible. There's nothing worse than someone reading a PowerPoint lecture while glued to the lectern. Avoid PowerPoint but have some amusing or interesting 2-5 min. video clips to spice things up.
If we had an idea about the topic of the lecture, we could probably suggest some specific clips or illustrations, etc. But I must say, I did like the suggestion about a lecture on illusions as the visuals can have that great "wow factor." But in my experience, students often have trouble understanding basic concepts, e.g., how size constancy explains the moon illusions. It's somewhat counterintuitive so only do the illusion lecture if you're really comfortable with the topic. I remember the first time I lectured on classical conditioning to a large lecture class. I though I understood it all quite well until some uncharacteristically interested student asked a rather insightful question. I quickly realized that I didn't understand as much as I thought I did. All I could do was say, "Great question....... so good that I'm stumped and will have to give you an answer next time.!" Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania Office hours: Mondays noon-2 & 3-4; Tuesdays & Thursdays 8-9:15 & 12:30-2 http://home.comcast.net/~epollak/home.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, & bluegrass fiddler...... in approximate order of importance. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=8938 or send a blank email to leave-8938-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
