IF YOU WANT TO:
Focusing your lectures around a common object, event or phenomenon which exemplifies the major concepts of the course.
A faculty member in the biological sciences calls this his "potato lecture." "Biology is an empirical discipline; it depends on observation and investigation. I pass out potatoes to all 700 students in the class and then begin a kind of socratic dialogue with them about the kinds of things they can observe about their potato. You have to overcome almost all of their previous experiences," he explains. "Although potatoes have been familiar objects to them since they were hatched, they don't have the foggiest idea what a potato is. I stress what you can get out of common everyday experiences by asking the right questions. I poll them on their observations, help them ask questions and describe the way they could investigate answers."
An interactive exercise around a common phenomenon tends to "break the ice" between faculty and students even in a large lecture course.
After the lecture, some students cook their potatoes and others plant them. Months later, I still get stopped by students who want to tell me how their potatoes are doing," he says.
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
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