As an instructor, making smooth transitions between topics in your instructional sessions is a subtle yet important consideration. Transitions are cues to let your learners know that you are moving on to something new. Good transitions are seamless, easily connecting what you have already covered to what you will be discussing next.

There are many techniques for linking various parts of what you are teaching. Listed below are just a few that are practical and easy to remember and to incorporate into your teaching style.

1. References to periods of time. Mentioning specific periods of time ("today," "this morning," "this afternoon") helps learners to organize the sections of your instruction in their minds and gives them a clear indication of where you are headed.

   "This morning we took a look at what not to do in an Internet search; this afternoon we will be focusing on what steps you should take to ensure good search results."

2. Mini-subject review. Taking a few moments to review what has been covered allows learners to reflect on what they have already learned and to prepare themselves for the next part of the session.

   "Let's quickly review what we've covered so far before we move on to our next topic of discussion."

3. Outline check. Posting the outline of the session helps to keep the group on track and serves as an easy reference when you are making subject matter transitions.

   "Taking a look at our outline for today, you'll see that we have already covered author and title searching in the online catalog. Now we are ready to address the topic of subject searching."

4. Change of visual aid. Introducing a new visual aid or changing to a different type of instructional tool can be used to indicate a transition to a new lecture topic.

   "Turning to our overhead transparencies, you'll see that I have listed the five basic steps of a search strategy approach to doing research that we will be discussing today."

5. Change of group format. Reorganizing the group into a new configuration is one of the clearest ways to mark a transition from one segment of your instruction to another.

   "I think it makes sense for us to move to the computers for our next exercise. If everyone will go to a computer and sit down, we'll get started."

Based on Active Training by Mel Silberman.