UWA SPOT/SET Project

802)          class sessions have been well organised

Organisation and preparation should be reflected in both the course (communicated to students in a clear and concise course outline) and in the actual presentation of a lecture or other teaching activity. Organisation helps students know what the course is about what they can expect and what is expected of them. Organisation also helps the teacher maintain control over the course material, its delivery and the assessment of learning.

·         Carbone (1998) Teaching large classes: Tools and strategies (p.21) advocates effective organisation to help students follow the teacher's train of thought.

·         A course syllabus or outline organises all the details of the course into one place. This is beneficial for both the student and the teacher. McKeachie (1999) provides guidelines on what to include in a syllabus (pp. 9 - 19).

·         Biggs (1999) suggests either providing an advanced-organiser to a lecture or providing a "grabber" to gain student attention in the lecture as a way of providing structure. (pp. 74-75).

Biggs, J. (1999). Teaching for quality learning at university : What the student does. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education : Open University Press.

Carbone, E. (1998). Teaching Large Classes: Tools and Strategies (Vol. 19). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

McKeachie, W. (1999). Teaching Tips (10th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.