Seminar Teaching Techniques in the High School Classroom
While seminar style classes are an expected norm at the college level, there has been a long standing movement to eradicate seminar from the high school classroom. Secondary teacher training currently borrows more from the primary levels than the collegiate. Teachers are encouraged to provide rapidly changing instructional formats, introduce variation in the modal activities, and utilize instructional tools to maintain student motivation in the subject.
In contrast, seminar teaching tends to put the burden of motivation on the student. Seminar teachers can, however, provide tools and techniques to make the sessions more than just a speaking and listening exercise. Introducing seminar classes in high school is also very important for students who plan on attending college. High school students who are used to group work, worksheets, board work and multi-media presentations are often overwhelmed at the idea of sitting at a desk in a lecture hall taking notes for ninety minutes at a time.
All students, not just those who are college bound, can benefit from the focus and reflection necessary to successfully utilize a seminar class. There are several specific techniques that secondary teachers can use to engage students more fully during a seminar.
Seminar Frequency: Due to the curriculum of most high school subjects, a strict regimen of daily seminars is not realistic. Instead, choose specific days to deliver seminars. Make the seminar day a regularly scheduled part of your curriculum week, say every Wednesday. In this way, students are more likely to mentally prepare themselves for the change in teaching style. You may want to announce seminars as part of a teaching unit, such as the first day of a new unit being devoted to a seminar session. You can also use the seminar technique in shorter form to start or end each class, a way to focus your students on specific elements of the curriculum. No matter how you schedule the seminar sessions, make an attempt to make them a regular part of your curriculum. Avoid random or unplanned seminar sessions.
Seminar Notes: Students must be expected to take notes during the seminar. Two elements of establishing a habit of note taking by students are a defined style of notes and incorporating the notes into the grading. Students learning to take notes should not be expected to keep clear, efficient notes on their own. Instead, they must be taught strong, proven note taking procedures. For this, I look to the Cornell Notes system. This system is taught in AVID courses as well, so many high school students will already be familiar with this note style. Cornell Notes is a very structured, organized system of note taking and review that can be customized to fit your specific curriculum and seminar lesson. The second important element of establishing the note taking habit with your students is to provide incentive. Students will rarely put effort into work in which they do not see direct value. In this case, you can provide points for completed notes. I also allow them to use their notes on tests, which provides incentive for them to take more detailed notes. Either way, establish some system of rewarding strong note taking skills, and providing the comparison for other students to continue to develop their own skills.
Seminar Review: Equally important as having students develop strong note taking skills for seminars is affording them time to review the information provided during the lecture. Cornell Notes are designed to establish independent review techniques, but you may also want to allocate class time to review the information provided during the seminar. Study groups can be formed in class to review, compare and correct notes. A student led, Socratic Circle is also a good way to review the seminar, substituting the content of the lecture for a written text. For shorter seminars, a simple summary statement (as is provided in the framework for Cornell Notes) can be completed as exit work. No matter your method, it is important to establish a sense of responsibility for the information in the seminar through some type of review exercise.
Seminar Testing: Seminar sessions do not always have to be linked directly to a formal assessment. However, if you plan on testing from the seminar, make sure the students understand that the information is pertinent to an upcoming assessment. It is also a good idea to create the test prior to the seminar. This way you can verify that all of the information you want to test on is included in the session. Use your discretion as to whether or not to allow the students to use their notes on the test. Cornell Notes are designed to be used as test prep study sheets, so, if students develop strong note taking skills, they will not necessarily need to have the physical notes with them for the test.
Seminar Preparation: The final key to successfully integrating seminars into the high school curriculum is preparation on the part of the instructor. Seminar lectures should be well thought out and tightly focused. However, they should also be personalized to match your voice and interests. Add amusing anecdotes and connections to current events to enhance the material provided in the lecture. Avoid standing in one place, but move about the room, using natural pacing and inflection to engage your audience. Multi-media devices should also be incorporated into the presentation. Use digital images to provide a picture slide show backdrop to the seminar. Note that this is not the same as a PowerPoint presentation with informational slides, which I define differently than a straight seminar. Play music or sound effects to enhance particular parts of the seminar. Bring in artifacts such as paintings, sculptures, and clothing, anything that can physically connect your students to the information being provided. Guest speakers are also a valuable tool to enhance the legitimacy of your seminar. As much as the students count on your familiarity, bringing in an outside expert on the particular subject heightens their interest.
While seminar teaching may not be the norm in secondary education, including seminars as a regular part of the curriculum will better prepare students for college level courses and integrate yet another valuable teaching technique into your teaching repertoire.