Tips for Making a Presentation

Here are some tips regards to presentation that I gathered in my Education courses:

• Do not show the solution to a question right away; let the students think
• Do not erase the board with examples; allow the students to refer back to it
• Be Clear with definitions; use examples!
• Make appropriate examples that relate the topics
• Make a list of what the students learned in the last lesson
• Bridge! make sure to grab the attention of the students
• Props keep things interesting; something concrete so that the students can visualize
• Handout worksheets
• Be respectful of the students' ideas
• Avoid confusing question
• Create questions that require critical thinking
• Have a title for the presentation and categorize your presentation into parts such as Def: and Ex:
• Write an agenda of the presentation on the board
• Be specific with the vocabulary
• Ask why?
• Slow down; let the student struggle and think for a few minutes
• Allow participation of the students
• Probing questions
• Respond positively
• Rephrase and simplify if the students struggle

Should the Teacher be Neutral in Their Opinion?

In general, I think the teacher should be neutral in their opinion in the classroom.

A teacher is meant to be a role model. If the teacher considers one particular thing is "right", many students will follow the teacher and agree on the "right"-ness of the issue. For example, if the classroom is discussing about liberal vs. conservatives and the teacher decides to jump to conclusion that he or her believes that liberal is "righteous", many students, including myself, will believe that the teacher knows it all and the students will conclude immediately that liberal IS "righteous". Since the teacher also represents a figure of authroities in the classroom, some students may be afraid or incline to acknowlegde their beliefs. These students will force themselves into believing that conservatives is "wrong" because the teacher says so. However, in truth, neither of liberal and conservatives are "right" nor "wrong". It all depends on one's own view and thoughts. The appearence of the teacher can influence the students' thoughts. Thus, I think it is important for the teacher to stay neutral in debatable issues and let the students generate their own ideas and thoughts.

Even if the teacher has a strong sense of self-identity, I think it is better for this teacher to express himself or herself outside the classroom environment. Say, for example, the teacher can tell the class that for those who are interested in debating further on a certain issue, they can come to the teacher's office after school. The teacher can express himself or herself then. This way, the students will probably formulate a strong beliefs of their own regarding to the issue already and thus will not be influence by the teacher's decision on the same matter.

Here is another related examples:

Say, in a problem solving math class, a teacher suggests to the students one particular method of solving the problem. The students will tend to believe that this method suggested by the teacher is the one and only correct way of solving the problem. The students would limit themselves in this solution method. They will be oblivious and ignore the other possible solutions. The teachers would be limiting their students' creativity and thoughts. In this case, the teacher's neutrality will enable the students to create their own method of solving the problem and sharpens their creativity. Rather than trying to digest the mathematical ideas thrown at them, the students can create their own solutions that they understand themselves. These students will be more readily to tackle another problem solving questions and these students will be more motivate in learning about new concepts and ideas.

In order to help the students develop their own individuality, I think the teacher should be neutral in their opinions regards to many different types of issues.