Lecturing and engagement

PowerPoint slides are a part of university teaching, offering structure, visual support, and a way to manage complex content. However, the educational research is clear: how slides are used matters far more than whether they are used. Poor slide design can hinder learning by overloading students’ cognitive resources, while effective use can enhance understanding, attention, and retention. 

Recommendations: 

• Use consistent and readable fonts (e.g., sans-serif, size 24+ for body text) 

• Limit text to key phrases—avoid full sentences or reading from the slide 

• Keep slides visually clean with ample white space 

• Use diagrams, charts, and visuals to complement spoken explanations 

• Do not use slides as a script but as a way to scaffold difficult lesson parts 

Facilitating effective plenary discussions in large classes can be demanding. It requires patience and confidence from the teacher—not least when posing a question and waiting through the silence for students to respond. Often, the temptation is to fill the silence by rephrasing the question or quickly moving on.

To establish a productive dialogue, it is essential to have both a clear purpose behind your questions and a structured approach to the discussion process. The type and sequence of questions also play a key role in shaping student participation. Starting with simpler questions and gradually progressing to more complex ones can help build confidence and engagement. Consider structuring questions in the following progression: 

• Recall questions – e.g., facts, definitions, or basic information 

• Conceptual understanding – e.g., asking students to explain key ideas in their own words 

• Application questions – e.g., applying theory to practical examples or cases 

• Analytical/evaluative questions – e.g., comparing perspectives, identifying assumptions, or evaluating arguments 

• Attitude questions – e.g., inviting students to reflect on their own views and assumptions in light of the topic 

Read more about dialogue in class (PDF)

Think–Pair–Share is a simple, research-based teaching strategy designed to promote active learning and increase student participation—particularly in larger classes.

The method consists of three structured steps:

1. Think: The teacher poses a question or problem related to the course content. Students are given a short time to reflect individually and formulate their own thoughts or answers.
2. Pair: Students then turn to a partner and discuss their responses. This allows them to articulate their thinking, compare perspectives, and refine their understanding through dialogue.
3. Share: Pairs (or selected individuals) share their insights with the larger group. The teacher can then facilitate further discussion or summarise key takeaways.

Integrating problem-solving into lectures is an effective way to engage students actively with course content. By working through real-life cases, scenarios, or discipline-specific challenges, students apply their knowledge, think critically, and test their understanding in practice.

Whether done individually, in pairs, or in small groups, problem-solving tasks break up the lecture format, promote deeper learning, and foster collaboration and curiosity in the classroom.

As a teacher at CBS you can get a Slido license. Slido is an interactive tool that can be embedded directly into your PowerPoint slides to increase student engagement during lectures. It allows you to run live polls, quizzes, word clouds, and Q&A sessions—all without leaving your presentation.

By integrating Slido:

• You can pose questions to check understanding in real time
• Collect anonymous input from all students, including quieter ones
• Spark discussion using live word clouds or opinion polls
• Invite students to submit and upvote questions during the session

Contact Educational Teaching and Quality to get a license.

Talk to individuals
Beware not to speak to the floor and to the birds outside the window. Instead, speak to your students, and look at them while you are talking. But don’t look in the eyes of the same student for several minutes, it is too intimate. Look shortly at students sitting in different places in the room. When you address a specific student, use the student’s name if possible (you might have nameplates).

Grab students’ attention
The opening is the most important part, if you lose your students in the first five minutes it will be difficult to bring them on track. Therefore, you have to have to connect with your students and make them feel that you all have something in common. Although it is nice for the audience to be presented for the program rather quickly after the start, it might not be the best way to catch attention. To grab this you might start with an example, an anecdote, a quiz, or a question. Get an agreement to engage the students from the start and encourage them to ask questions. Keep an eye on your students’ reactions. Do they engage, do they listen to you or are they hiding behind their laptop screens?

Your tempo, body and voice
Beware of your body. Use both body and hands to underline your points. Move around the room and try to show enthusiasm about the topic. Make sure not to stand in front of the screen or with your back to the students. Try to variate tone of voice and speed.