Have you even given a lecture, and after about 10 minutes, you start to lose the students? Let educator-author-chef Chris Koetke help!
In Part 2 of our blog series with Chef Koetke, he reveals proven tips for conducting effective lectures for students. Apply his experience to the subject that you teach, from automotive, business, and culinary to health science, welding, and beyond!
1. What’s your hook?
A lesson I learned in the world of TV is something called a hook. You'll see it on the evening news—it tells the viewer what’s coming up, and why they should stick around.
You can do the same thing with your students—grab them and hook them like a fish. Get them excited at the beginning of class: “You thought the thing that we did yesterday was super cool…Today we're going to take that to a whole new level! By then end of this day, you are going to be able to…..and it's going to be so cool.” If you give them that hook in the beginning, you’re already 50% of the way there.
2. Great teachers have passion. Infect students with your passion.
If you want to talk about really losing culinary students en masse, put a lecture and math together—such as cost control. But remember, you can go a long way by communicating passion. Try not to say, “This is just something we have to learn and we have to get through it,” because you are giving the students the right to check out, and you're telling them it's not important. Instead, find a way to infuse passion. For example, when you’re covering sanitation, you can talk about the importance of a clean work environment for the benefit of your customers.
3. When you give a lecture, think about where you are standing.
We usually stand in the front of the classroom, right? Because that's what we've been taught to do. But why? Why don't you walk around? Why don't you teach from the back of the classroom, from the side of the classroom? Even if you're using PowerPoint, you can stand elsewhere.
Change location in the classroom. It's totally disarming to the students, and they will pay more attention.
4. Give them tactile sensations if you can.
Can you give them something to do while you are giving the lecture? Something to taste or experience? While the students are sitting and taking notes, you could pass something around. In culinary class, I might pass around two types of chocolate and ask the students to taste them side by side. Give them something else that engages another part of their brain at the same time.
5. Record one of your lectures.
It can be painful, but record your lecture. If you go home and if you find that you're putting yourself to sleep, you probably need to up your game for the students. I did this in the world of television. It's always so weird to watch yourself, but you do learn things.
6. Read your students.
What do we do with sleeping students? The ones who are just not engaged, are out to lunch, stayed up way too late last night, or at some point during your lecture discussion, you lost them. We all have days when we're thinking about other things happening in our lives or you're just tired. We get that.
One thing I do keep to them engaged is to use the “sleepy pig.” I have a little squeezable piggy for stress. I brought that to class one day and there was a student who was struggling. So I just walked over and set the pig on that person's desk. I didn't have to say a word. And all of a sudden, students were paying attention. It gets kind of funny and people laugh about it. We can have fun in the class.
7. Vary your voice—loud, soft, fast, slow. If you want them to remember something, slow it down, repeat it.
8. Think about retention.
I just lectured. I just demoed. How do I know they actually got it?
Sometimes I toss a squeezy ball to one person and say, “When you catch the ball, you have to tell me the first step that I went over today,” or “Tell me something that you learned today.” Then they toss it to somebody else in the class, and so on. It's amazing how many students walk out of class and they don't reflect on what they've actually learned. It can be very fast, very fun, with lots of energy—a great way to send the students out the door, sort of on that high, while you confirm retention.
A similar way is to stand by the door. For students to leave, they have to tell me one thing that they learned today—but they can't repeat what someone else has said. Sometimes they go back to their notes and start looking for something new to say. If you do this on a regular basis, they will be ready not just with one thing they've learned, but they will be ready with four or five things they've learned. It’s fun.
Another way is to ask a student to coach you back or have the class coach you back, and you essentially are covering a topic a second time. "You guys teach me. What do I do?”
9. Use a communal review.
This is as simple as, “OK, what did we learn today?” And let the class tell you.
10. Set up a hook for the next class.
Remember the hook from Step 1 at the beginning of class. Use another hook at the end of class. “Now, if you thought today’s class was cool, wait until tomorrow, when we....” Give them something to get excited about, to want to come to class tomorrow.
Thank you, Chef Koetke, for this valuable insight!
We hope you find these lecture tips helpful! If you’re looking for ways to improve the demonstrations that you do in class, take a look at Part 1 of this blog series, Building Success in Culinary Arts Education. Chef Koetke shares ideas on making your demos more engaging—and the tips can be applied to any subject! Chef Koetke’s blogs are based on a previous webinar. Watch the entire webinar here.
Interested in a free digital preview sample of Chef Koetke’s book, The Culinary Professional? Learn about this NEW edition here or request a free preview for any G-W title.
Photo Credits: Shutterstock.com and Chef Koetke
