Responsive Lecture - Online Engagement and Teaching Hub

What is it?

Responsive lecture is a strategy in which the whole class period is allocated to answer questions raised by the students. Students are provided with the learning material relevant to a topic prior to class and asked to come prepared with the questions that need clarification.

Why use it?

To encourage students to become  actively engaged in the learning process.
To facilitate students’  productive, creative and higher-order  thinking skills.
Promotes collaborative learning opportunities.

How do I do it?

	Synchronous face-to-face	Synchronous online	Asynchronous	Tools
Student preparation	Ask the students to come up with questions related to the topic.	Ask the students to come up with questions related to the topic.	Ask the students to come up with questions related to the topic.
Your preparation	Provide the lecture material or direct the students to relevant resources prior to the responsive lecture session.	Provide the lecture material or direct the students to relevant resources prior to the responsive lecture session.	Provide the lecture material or direct the students to relevant resources prior to the activity.	LMS
During activity	Dedicate the whole class to the clarification of student questions. Ensure that every student gets a chance to raise their questions and provide suggestions or ideas. The activity can take place in phases – groups discuss their questions and present to the whole class. Your role is to respond to questions to validate/legitimate student responses.	Dedicate the whole class to the clarification of student questions. The activity can take place in phases – groups discuss their questions and place them on a Padlet board or in a discussion forum. Your role is to respond to questions to validate/legitimate student responses.	In the discussion board students are encouraged to post up questions related to the material. Students reply at least once to all the questions (if it’s a large class, consider breaking this activity up into groups). Designated students ‘weave’ the responses and you validate/legitimate student discussions.	LMS Discussion board Padlet (or equivalent) Shared document
Artefact	Paper, post-it, digital records (shared document, Padlet board or equivalent)	Padlet, shared document	Discussion board, shared document	LMS Padlet Shared document

Considerations

For large class groups you may wish to get the students to post their questions online. There are various tools available for example – Go-Soap Box where the students also have the opportunity to vote on another student’s question.
You may also think of getting the students to work in groups for large cohorts of students.