Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques

— August 1998 —

Integrated In-Class Presentation: Advantages, Disadvantages and Considerations

Easiest form of instruction to set up.
Promotes collaboration with lecture and laboratory instructors.
Students are usually motivated, since the lecture materials will tie directly into some course assignment.
When linked to a well-designed assignment, the topics to be covered are usually easy to figure out.
Students are usually all at about the same level of knowledge, so you aren't boring half the class while the other half doesn't understand what you're talking about.
Since these students will be in the library anyway, one hour in the classroom can save you many hours at the reference desk.

Instructor collaboration isn't always forthcoming.
Sometimes trying to fit everything you want to cover into a single lecture can be daunting.
If you're going to meet in the usual classroom, live demos of electronic sources may not be possible.

Try to reach out to instructors early (over the summer for fall courses), so that your lecture can be fit into the schedule appropriately — either at the best time to match the assignment, or to take advantage of a session when the instructor would be unable to lecture anyway.
Link the lecture to one or more assignments that are a significant part of the course to add relevance.
If electronic resources are to be covered, try to arrange for live demos. If not, consider “canned” presentations using presentation software, or Web browsers.
Whatever your presentation is, distill its essence into a handout — some students take poor notes; others may miss your lecture, and it may come in handy for patrons not in the class. If you have the chance, create a Web version.
Hands-on training in a one-hour lecture probably isn't doable. If you have more time, it may be worthwhile.