October 1999 Instructor Guide for Introduction to Oracle: SQL and PL/SQL Author Priya Nathan Copyright ” Oracle Corporation, 1999. All rights reserved. This documentation contains proprietary information of Oracle Corporation. It is provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and is also protected by copyright law. Reverse engineering of the software is prohibited. If this documentation is delivered to a U.S. Government Agency of the Department of Defense, then it is delivered with Restricted Rights and the following legend is applicable: Restricted Rights Legend Use, duplication or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions for commercial computer software and shall be deemed to be Restricted Rights software under Federal law, as set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii) of DFARS 252.227-7013, Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software (October 1988). 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Oracle Education Products 3 Introduction Introduction Introduction to Oracle: SQL and PL/SQL is often the first course that many Oracle students attend. You might be their first contact with any Oracle personnel. At the same time, this may be one of the first courses that you teach as an Oracle instructor, so you might appreciate some help in achieving the best performance possible at an early stage of your career. The tools and tips in this section come from the highly recommended AIT (Advanced Instructional Techniques) class, which many Oracle Educaton instructors have attended. If you attend that class, you will learn all that is here—and much more. Aim of This Document • To help you make this the best technical course that students have ever attended, to excite them to learn, and to make them want to come back for more • To give you some tips and techniques to help you vary your lecture style, avoid monotony in classes, and make the learning experience more entertaining and interesting for both the students and yourself This document is not a substitute for your own personal training and delivery instructions that you receive from your Education department. Using This Document None of these suggestions and techniques are mandatory. They are simply examples of how to introduce variety and change of pace into your classes. Not all techniques suit all instructors. Choose those with which you feel most comfortable. If possible, test the techniques with a fellow instructor who is also eager to encourage interactive learning in the classroom. 4 Oracle Education Products The Learning Environment Introduction Establish a pleasant and effective learning environment at the start of a class. Tips to Improve the Class Climate When students first arrive at a course, they have doubts, concerns, and fears. To change these negative feelings to positive ones, try to make students feel welcome, safe, comfortable, important, competent, understood, and responsible. Think carefully about what you can say and do to foster these feelings of comfort and familiarity in your students, especially in the first 30 minutes of the course. Students learn more effectively in a physically and emotionally comfortable environment. Early Arrivals Some students arrive early for class. Do not ignore these students—welcome them with a smile. Make them feel comfortable by introducing yourself and providing details about the class and the environment. Housekeeping Explaining the “housekeeping” ground rules at the start of a class is very important to make students feel comfortable and confident in their surroundings. Remember to explain some of the following points: • Layout of building: Point out the location of restrooms, refreshments, and so on. • Timing of class: State the start and end times and lunchtime. • Questions: Encourage students to ask questions during the class. Personal Introductions Allowing time for students to introduce themselves is important for you and for them. When you know that course timings are tight, it is very tempting to reduce time allowed for introductions or skip them altogether, but you do so at your peril. Introductions help foster a good relationship between all the students. Use introductions to find out more about your audience: those who might not have sufficient prerequisite knowledge, those who might cause problems because they are eager to prove themselves in front of others, and so on. Thought for the Day Never do for the learners what they can do for themselves. Efficient Use of Icebreakers You can use icebreakers successfully throughout the course. • At the beginning of a class: Choose something that helps students get to know others in the class. Oracle Education Products 5 The Learning Environment • After break times: Occupy and entertain those who return early from breaks. • Afternoon: Avoid the graveyard-shift syndrome. Give students a short, light activity to refresh them after lunch or in the late afternoon. Icebreakers to Use in Class Introductions You can vary your class introductions with either of these icebreakers: Partner Introductions • Ask each person to select a partner who is a stranger to them. • Give ten minutes for partners to interview each other and find out as much as possible about each other. • Suggest that they take notes during their interviews. • After the interviews, ask each person to stand in turn and introduce their partner to the entire group (encourage them to refer to their notes). Note: This icebreaker works best with smaller groups (fewer than 20). For larger groups, it is too time-consuming. Icebreakers for After-Lunch Activity Try using one of these to wake up the group after lunch: Common Ground Use this icebreaker for small groups or for each small group sitting together as a team (example: four to six people). • Give the groups a specific time (example: five minutes) to list everything they can find that they all have in common. Tell them to avoid the obvious (example: “we are all taking this workshop”). Ask them to make a list. • After the time is up, ask each group how many items they have in their list. • For fun, ask them to announce some of the most interesting items in their lists. Dreams and Nightmares • Each person states a dream about something positive that they hope will happen in this course. • Each person states a nightmare about something negative that they hope will not happen in this course. • Put the dreams and nightmares on a flip chart so all groups can read them. Notice that most of these icebreakers are brief exercises that focus on getting to know the people they will work with. If groups are changed regularly, start each session with a different icebreaker. 6 Oracle Education Products Lecture Styles Keywords • As you speak, write keywords on a flip chart to create an emerging content outline. • When you fill a page, tape it to the wall and start a new one on the flipchart. • Put no more than seven keywords on a page. • When finished, ask the students to review by recalling the content that is triggered by each keyword. The review can be an individual exercise or it can be done through discussion in small groups. Cartoon Lecture • Find cartoons that relate to the content of your lecture. Transfer the cartoons onto overhead transparencies. • For each key point in the lecture, show the cartoon after you have described the content verbally. • When the lecture is finished, show each cartoon again and have the students review the content using the cartoon as a mental trigger. The review can be an individual exercise or it can be done through discussion in groups. The mind is like the stomach. It’s not how much you put into it that counts, but how much it digests. Examples and Exceptions • Good lectures often contain examples, analogies, and metaphors. • As you deliver a lecture, ask students in small groups to create an example or analogy of the point you are describing. • For a change of pace, ask them to create exceptions to the point. • Encourage learners to use situations from their own experience as the source for examples, where possible. Fill in the Blank • Design a printed outline of the key ideas to be covered in the lecture. • Leave out a word or short phrase in each item in the outline. • As you lecture, ask students to fill in the missing words. Before I speak, I have something important to say. Groucho Marx Search and Learn • Rather than deliver a lecture, put the content in printed form. Use headings and bullets rather than paragraphs. • Give learners a series of questions to answer by searching through the printed material. If you want a competitive element, have small groups search quickly for the answer. The group that finds it first raises their hands and announces the location of the answer. If they Oracle Education Products 7 Lecture Styles are correct, they receive a point. At the end, you could have a prize for the winning group. Forming Effective Questions The following points will help you to make your questioning more effective: • Employ the characteristics of a good question: – Concise and contains only one idea – Thought provoking and interesting – Focused on important material – Open-ended (requires more than a “yes” or “no” answer) – Requires reasoning rather than memory – Challenging but answerable • Four directions for questions: – Direct: Ask a specific student. – Overhead: Ask the students in general; anyone can answer. – Relay: Ask someone else to answer a student’s question. – Reverse: Mirror a student’s question back to the same student. • Do not repeat students’ answers. Otherwise, students may stop listening to each other. • Use “crossfire” questioning. Refer questions to others, such as: – “How would you have answered that?” – “Why do you think that?” – “What do you think of that answer?” – “What evidence do you have for that?” • When answering a question, use these techniques: – When someone asks you a question, smile, take a step toward them, and say “yes” as if you are pleased to have a question. – Check to be sure everyone heard and understood the question. – Answer briefly and state reasons for your answer. – Tie your answer to key points in your lesson, if possible. – If you do not know an answer, admit it—never bluff. Ask if anyone else knows the answer. If no one does, offer to find out. – If someone asks a contentious question, give a direct and friendly answer. Do not be provoked into a defensive position. – If someone asks a question that you will be covering later, say “That’s a good question. We will be covering that in a few minutes.” 8 Oracle Education Products Bibliography Eitlington, Julius. The Winning Trainer. Gulf Publishing, 1984. Forbess-Green, Sue. Encyclopedia of Icebreakers. University Associates, 1990. Jones, Philip (ed.). Adult Learning in Your Classroom. Lakewood Publications, 1982. Newstrom, John, and Edward Scannell. Games Trainers Play. McGraw-Hill, 1980. O’Connor, Joseph, and John Seymour. Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Thorsons, 1995. O’Connor, Joseph, and John Seymour. Training with NLP. Thorsons, 1994. Pike, Robert. Creative Training Techniques Handbook. Lakewood Publications, 1989. Scannell, Edward, and John Newstrom. More Games Trainers Play. McGraw-Hill, 1991. Oracle Education Products 9 About the Course About the Course Lesson Objectives and Aims Each lesson starts with an objectives page that describes the reasons for the lesson; there is also an objectives slide that should be used. The intention of each lesson should be clear to everyone—lecturer and students—at the start of every lesson. The topics covered in each lesson should give students enough information to complete the required part of each practice. Lesson Timings If a lesson drags on, for whatever reason (yes there will be those exceptions) then break the lesson for five minutes. Give everyone a rest. Practices Practices are as important as the lesson. Practice timings are usually the same as or more than the lecture time allowance, to ensure that the students get as much exposure to the product as possible. The "If you have time" questions are there for those who need a challenge; for example, for students who already have SQL knowledge or are finding the subject easy. What questions students are expected to complete is made clear in the table at the start of each practice. Enforcing Learning Points Consider the following ideas when teaching: • Always use the lesson objectives slide to stress the intention of the lesson, and use the summary slide to reiterate learning points. • Invite student questions at all times. • At the start of a new day, spend 5 minutes of your time to remind students of the topics covered the previous day. No detail is required, this is just a memory-jogging session. • Do not discuss syntax slides word-for-word. Identify and discuss the main learning points. In most cases, students have an opportunity to use the syntax during the practices. Practice Sessions Some practices, contain "if you want extra challenge" questions. Let the student do these only if you they have completed all of the other questions within the allocated time and would like a further challenge to their skills. Demonstrations Do not show slides and demonstrate for each slide; use demonstrations to stress learning points: • There is not enough time. • Students get bored watching the lecturer doing all the work and having all the fun, it 10 Oracle Education Products seems, when they are itching to get their hands on the product. • You can use the Class Management Notes to assist you when teaching the courses. This document has been constructed to try to help instructors identify what the main learning points are for any lesson. • You can present the course without any demonstration at all. Interaction Ensure the students are aware that the course is interactive. As much as you are there to teach, the students are there to understand, assimilate, and experiment. If they do not understand anything that is presented, they should ask questions. Students should not be afraid to ask questions, or be worried as to whether the questions are relevant. Of course some questions may be beyond the scope of the course (if that is the case, say so) or beyond the scope of your knowledge. Appendixes and Answers Clearly identify which appendixes are available and where to find them in the manual and specifically where to find the practice demostrate tables and practice solutions. Snippets This course includes animation and activity snippets. A description of these snippets can be found in Snipdesc.doc along with the other lessons for this course. Structure of the Instructor Guide Element Description Additional information Additional information that the instructor can share in class Hint A hint to the instructor with specific reference to the slide Additional example An additional example to explain in class Additional reference Where the instructor can look up additional information related to the subject of the slide [...]... Education Products Introduction About PL /SQL • PL /SQL is an extension to SQL with design features of programming languages • Data manipulation and query statements of SQL are included within procedural units of code Additional Information If time permits, share this information with the class PL /SQL is the procedural extension to SQL, provided by Oracle Through PL /SQL, the data manipulation... functions that are stored in the database Hint One of the ways of introducing PL /SQL to the class is by explaining the capabilities that SQL lacks and how PL /SQL serves as an extension to SQL The objective of this slide is to highlight that PL /SQL combines the data manipulating power of SQL with the data processing power of procedural languages The Problem: SQL is the most powerful and comprehensive... that SQL lacks It provides control-of-flow constructs and lets you declare and use variables PL /SQL gives the flexibility of row-wise access to the records in the underlying table Additional Reference http://st-doc.us.oracle.com/8.0/815/server.815/a67842/ 01_oview.htm#651 Oracle Education Products 17 PL /SQL Environment PL /SQL engine PL /SQL block PL /SQL block PL /SQL. .. Comparison Operators Operator Meaning = Equal to > Greater than >= Greater than or equal to < Less than = or SELECT... Explain SQL* Plus commands as being very useful to modify the command in the buffer, without which we would have to retype the entire command again or use an editor Formatted Report Additional Reference http://st-doc.us.oracle.com/ 8.0/815/server.815/a67779/ ch1.htm#216 SQL Statements Versus SQL* Plus Commands SQL • A language • ANSI standard • Keyword cannot be abbreviated • Statements manipulate data and. .. in the database SQL statements SQL buffer SQL* Plus • An environment • Oracle proprietary • Keywords can be abbreviated • Commands do not allow manipulation of values in the database SQL* Plus commands SQL* Plus buffer Hint For SQL commands, demostrate: • How the lines are automatically numbered as they are entered • How commands cannot be abbreviated Type a keyword, abbreviated command, and demostrate... PL /SQL SQL Procedural Statement Executor SQL Statement Executor Oracle Server Hint Draw attention to the fact that PL /SQL can reside in two environments: • The Oracle Server • Oracle Tools Explain the diagram on the slide as follows: The diagram shows the PL /SQL engine processing an anonymous block The engine executes procedural statements but sends SQL statements to the SQL statement executor in the... Versus SQL* Plus Commands SQL • A language • ANSI standard • Keyword cannot be abbreviated • Statements manipulate data and table definitions in the database SQL statements SQL buffer SQL* Plus • An environment • Oracle proprietary • Keywords can be abbreviated • Commands do not allow manipulation of values in the database SQL* Plus commands Hint Explain the main categories of the SQL* Plus commands: environment,... operator SQL> SELECT 2 FROM 3 WHERE Hint Explain that it would be a good idea to use the NVL function and check for a field for NULL values before including the field in any calculations ename, mgr emp mgr IS NULL; ENAME MGR KING Oracle Education Products 33 Using the AND Operator AND requires both conditions to be TRUE SQL> 2 3 4 SELECT FROM WHERE AND. .. capabilities of SQL are combined with the processing capabilities of a procedural language PL /SQL provides features like conditional execution, looping, and branching PL /SQL supports subroutines too The basic unit in any PL /SQL program is a block, which can occur sequentially (one after the other) or nested (one inside the other) Using PL /SQL you can write subprograms, procedures, packages, and functions . Reference http://st-doc.us.oracle.com/ 8.0/815/server.815/a67842/ 01_oview.htm#962 PL /SQL Environment PL /SQL block PL /SQL engine Oracle Server Procedural Statement Executor PL /SQL SQL SQL Statement Executor PL /SQL block Oracle. October 1999 Instructor Guide for Introduction to Oracle: SQL and PL /SQL Author Priya Nathan Copyright ” Oracle