Guidelines for Lecture Notes

The duration of each lecture is indicated in the agenda and lecture plan. The length of the lecture notes is not related to duration but is as elaborative as possible for ensuring that the students understand the lesson. The lecture notes could be several pages, as they are intended to be reference material for students, equivalent to a textbook.

The structure of the lecture notes is as follows:

  1. Introduction
  2. Scope/Structure
  3. Concepts (this deals with the details and contains explanatory notes. This section may also include tables, examples, etc.)
  4. Definitions
  5. Additional information
  6. Sources of Information/References
  7. Summary of the Lesson (as bullet points)
  8. Questions and Answers (5-10) on the lesson to test the knowledge of the students. These could be objective type of questions or narrative types as well.

A template for lecture notes is provided below:

Lecture Notes for Section X, Presentation X (Title)

1. Introduction

The purpose and objectives of the lecture should be given in a brief introduction.

2. Scope/Structure

This section should focus on listing and briefly describing the key topics to be covered by the lecture as well as providing an outline (similar to table of contents) for the structure of the presentation of the key topics.

3. Concepts

This section describes in detail the key concepts, which should be taken from the lecture. The level of detail used here should be sufficient to answer the questions presented in section 8 of the lecture notes. This section will provide the greatest amount of detail and may include tables, figures, schematics, etc.

4. Definitions

This section should list each of the key technical terms, which should be understood after the lecture. The terms should be presented in bold and be followed by a brief definition.

5. Additional information

Any additional information should be detailed in this section. Additional information may include examples or case studies from existing situations in the world, which supports any of the concepts highlighted in the lecture, may include photographs or additional figures which depict concepts learned, etc.

6. References

All appropriate references should be included in this section. For example, references to IAEA safety standards, TECDOCs, reports, example regulations, textbooks, learning modules, etc.

7. Summary of the Lesson

List of bullet points highlighting the key concepts, which should be understood after listening to the lecture.

8. Questions and Answers

A list of 5-10 questions, which will be used to assess the effectiveness of the lecture in relaying the intended information/concepts to the participants. Questions should not focus on direct regurgitation of the presented material, but should force the participants to apply the concepts learned and think critically. The questions may take any form: fill in the blank, matching, multiple choice, problem solving, narrative, etc. The answers to the questions should also be provided.