IF YOU WANT TO:
Using the blackboard as a "brake."
One faculty member who uses the black board extensively during her lectures reports that she purposely does so to force herself to slow down. "I have a tendency to speak very rapidly," she says, "and because the course covers many basic concepts, it is imperative that I slow down in order to allow the students to absorb what I am saying and to take reasonable lecture notes.
"One of the best ways I have found to do this is to outline my lectures as I go along. I also write out all important concepts, key words for definitions or important examples, and diagram various relationships at the time I am discussing them. I try to plan my board work ahead so that there will be enough space, and I use colored chalk to differentiate concepts and highlight relationships."
"I find that because it takes me much longer to write than to speak, writing on the blackboard is like an automatic `brake.' Also, I get fewer student complaints about my lecture pace because the main concepts and processes are on the board, visually reinforcing what I am saying."
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California