Chunking ...

Chapter 6 by Brookfield offers "chunking a lecture" in his advise for best practise.

What , you might ask, is chunking?

It was a new term for me also. (And it's not that different than the goodness found in a chunky peanut butter treat, yet calorie free!)

The idea in "chunking" a lecture is taking the content and working within small bite size servings your students can easily digest. Brookfield suggests 10 to 15 min increments of lecture, then breaking out into something else.

I'm not sure my lecture is broken up every 10 min, however I do like using a mixture of activity break ups to keep the group entertained and engaged.

What do you use to keep your students sharp?

Are these break points always pre planned, or do you thrown in activities based on how that particular group is doing that day?

I like asking for reflections on how a topic (like communication style) is used in the students life. I ask them to use a minute or two to jot down which communication block (from what we just discussed) they use and with whom. It keeps them thinking about the material, and also helps them connect to the material. They can see the relevance in their own lives, get the content of the academic page and connect with the feelings attached; humanize it.

It can also build empathy, which is a big focus in the field of health care.

Chunking can be group discussion, an activity (solo, or in a group) an actual break, a change of where an instructor stands in the room, or even the perspective they discuss a point from.

The key point is that it's used to draw the student in, and keep the momentum and engagement.

Think back to your lectures. How often to you use chunking, and could your lectures use just a little more peanut-buttery treats?