Recently I was listening to a podcast from Teaching in Higher Education about a well-known statistics professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His courses are so popular that a researcher decided to take the course in order to better understand how the professor was able to connect so well with students. Something that stood out to me was what the professor called an “airport idea.” He made a point each lesson to highlight an idea, that even years later, if a student met him in the airport, the student would remember this concept and be able to share something about it with him. 

The goal of an airport idea is to “maximize the student’s focus” at the moment the idea is mentioned. There is also a motivational aspect for the student as they connect with the material in a way that grabs and holds their attention in a memorable way. Typically, this isn’t a  fact or formula — it is a meaningful conceptual “takeaway” underpinning the focus of a lecture.

For example:  When the professor introduced the concept of how it’s possible to “cherry pick” statistics in order to support almost any claim,  he simultaneously showed a slide with a picture of a girl picking bright red cherries—and consistently students would recall this key concept—even when asked after the course ended.

This reminded me of a conference presentation I heard earlier this semester and blogged about highlighting how to make lectures more engaging to maximize student learning. These are three of the steps :

1. Choose key ideas to highlight during the lecture
2. Call students’ attention to these key ideas in some way (visually, orally, with gestures, etc.)
3. Use simple/single images to highlight a concept

The “cherry picking” example does all three. 

This idea also resonates with me because of the connections between emotion and learning. If students are connecting emotionally with ideas, they are more likely to engage in the learning process. This could also be accomplished using memes and gifs, whether asking students to find or make a meme illustrating a concept or using a meme to focus students’ attention to a key concept or “airport idea” during a lecture. (For more ideas using memes and gifs, see the Faculty Focus article Memes and GIFs as Powerful Classroom Tools.) 

Are you already using visuals and/or “airport ideas” in  support of your lectures? Share your own examples here in a Teaching Tips blog.