Lecturers: (How not to be) Boring
Rob Weir, Inside Higher Ed’s Instant Mentor columnist, offers this must-read item for anyone who lectures, whether you think you’re good at it or not: Boring Within or Simply Boring?
But even if enormous class sizes aren’t the norm at your college, lecturing is still an art you should master. It doesn’t matter how technologically adroit one is or how many non-instructor-directed whistles and bells get crammed into a course, at some point every professor lectures, even if it’s just giving instructions or recapping a completed exercise.
Emphasis mine. We’ve all seen instructors blow off the importance of this kind of address to the class. It can be tough if it’s a syllabus you’ve gone over a hundred times, it’s still new to the students you’re facing.
Frankly, it gets my dander up when I hear professors proclaim they “don’t have the gift” for giving good lecturers. Lecturing is not genetically determined like eye color or a receding hairline. The most common reason for bad lecturing isn’t phobia; it’s that professors don’t value the craft enough to hone their skills. Use such individuals as negative role models. Think of the most boring lecturer you’ve ever encountered. Do the opposite!
Once again, added emphasis is mine. These days, with budgets declining and teaching loads increasing while the pressure for research never lets up, it’s more important than ever that the basic function of the university – teaching students – not decline as well.