The positivity principle states that people learn better from instructors who display positive emotions rather than negative emotions. In two experiments, students viewed a short video lecture on a statistics topic in which an instructor stood next to a series of slides as she lectured and then they took either an immediate test (Experiment 1) or…

This paper examines the relationships between student interest, self-efficacy, and perceptions of the instructor on a set of learning outcomes that include, but are broader than, traditional measures of student learning. Consistent with the focus of positive psychology, the study focuses not only on knowledge gains but also on the flow experience…

Recent studies conclude that teachers are important for student learning but it remains uncertain what actually determines effective teaching. This study directly peers into the black box of educational production by investigating the relationship between lecture style teaching and student achievement. Based on matched student-teacher data for the…

Lecturing can be done well or it can be done badly. It is wrong to assume that certain methods of teaching are inherently poor pedagogy, or, for that matter, to go through the motions of carrying out best practices without considering the ways in which practices (even those supposedly the best) can be executed poorly. One problem from which…

This study investigated the effect that varying degrees of faculty self-promotion had on 322 student evaluations. As high student evaluations are correlated with greater student learning, it is imperative that we assess how faculty's presentation style is perceived by students so as to enhance instruction and therefore student learning. Students…

Effective teaching in schools requires flexibility, energy and commitment. Successful teaching also requires that teachers are able to address learner's needs and understand the variations in learner's styles and approaches. Teachers can accomplish these requirements while creating an optimal teaching-learning environment by utilizing a variety of…

The effective organization and presentation of lecture material is described. Because the average lecture takes 40-50 minutes, it needs to be planned and structured in advance, since the lecturer's instinctive ordering of points may not be the best way for students to receive them. The material should be organized first for the course as a whole…

An analysis of the personality, scholarship, and teaching style of Frederick J. Teggart, a respected scholar and lecturer in the social sciences at the University of California Berkeley from 1919 to 1940. (SJL)

Two relationships must be explored: (1) that between scholarship and teaching and (2) that between research in teaching and the engineering of teaching design. Consideration is given to dialogue in lectures, student reactions to lectures, skill sessions, and tutorials. (LBH)

Presents an interview with Leon F. Litwack, a professor of U.S. history at the University of California, Berkeley. Covers topics such as what led him to teaching history, his lectures at Berkeley, themes covered in his U.S. history surveys, and his perception of good teaching. (CMK)

Argues in favor of the lecture method of presenting information to students. (FL)

Students viewed lectures varying in amount of substantive content and expressiveness of presentation. Subsequent achievement tests and ratings of lecture effectiveness revealed that high achievement level was associated with high content coverage and expressiveness. Sensitivity of ratings to content coverage and achievement did not improve after a…

College students viewed taped lectures which were systematically varied by lecturers's enthusiasm and amount of information presented. They then rated the lectures with a standard faculty evaluation form. Discriminant analysis was performed in order to derive optimal scoring methods for the form. (Author/JKS)

Examines the effect of stereotypically masculine and feminine teaching styles on college students. Results indicate that students prefer the feminine style, and that students learn significantly less from a female using the masculine style than from a male using the feminine style. (FMW)

The extent to which the student's perception of the purpose for evaluating an instructor, the instructor's expressiveness, and the density of content influences student ratings and achievement was investigated. Perceived purpose for evaluating the instructor had no effect on ratings. Scores were significantly higher for expressive than for…