Question of the Month: Should the Lecture Be Abandoned?

Specialties Educators

Published

  1. Should the Lecture Be Abandoned?

    • 1
      Yes definitely - There are much better active learning strategies that the instructor should use.
    • 5
      No - The lecture is the most efficient and effective information delivery system as is.
    • 19
      Mostly - The instructor should use mostly lecture with active learning strategies added.
    • 6
      Partial - The instructor should use the lecture only occasionally or rarely.

31 members have participated

Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

The lecture has come under much fire lately as being teacher-centered and putting the students in a passive (often near-comatose) mode. Instructors are encouraged to employ more active learning strategies in the classroom, such as group discussion, think-pair-share, and case studies (problem-based learning).

Nevertheless, the lecture has stood the test of time as the oldest teaching method. It remains the instructional method most widely used in the commmunity college or university setting. McKeachie (2002) states, "Through the ages a great deal of practical wisdom about techniques of lecturing has accumulated. Effective lecturers combine the talents of scholar, writer, producer, comedian, entertainer, and teacher in ways that contribute to student learning. Nevertheless, it is also true that few college professors combine these talents in optimal ways and even the best lecturers are not always in top form. Lectures has survived despite the invention of printing, television, and computers" (p. 52).

The one compelling reason not to abandon the lecture is lack of time. The lecture is an extremely efficient method of information delivery. Most nursing curriculum plans only allow the minimal time to deliver enormous reams of information.

So, my fellow educators, how do you feel about the lecture? Should it be abandoned for something better or simply modified? Awaiting your responses...

Reference

McKeachie, W. (2002). McKeachie's teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and unversity teachers (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Lecture may be the most efficient way of delivering information........but as a one-time nursing student, I must say that it certainly isn't the most efficient way of processing, absorbing and being able to use that information.

I'll admit my perspective is skewed a little by my being a visual/kinetic learner rather than a passive/auditory one. I need to read, look at diagrams, see how something is done, and then get my hands in it in order to learn something; that was why I did ever so much better in classes with labs, where I got hands-on experience, than I did in classes that were lecture-only. I'd sit in the back and fall asleep during lectures, not because I was bored or tired, but because I don't learn much that way. (It used to frustrate my mother something awful when she'd read me a letter from Aunt Somebody and then refer to it at some later point, when I'd forgotten there ever WAS a letter, let alone what was in it. Finally, when I was older, I told her, "Look, I don't remember anything that's read to me, so just let me read the damn letter MYSELF!!")

I know there are some students who do learn best by hearing the spoken word, and for them lectures are wonderful. But for those of us who learn best by reading and/or doing, lecture is pretty much a waste of time. I don't know how you would adapt a nursing program, which is by nature crammed full of information, to meet the needs of students who need the nuts-and-bolts scientific knowledge base just as much as others, but who don't process information via auditory means. It might be interesting to work on developing an alternative curriculum that contains the necessary information but provides active learning experiences that bring the art and the scientific principles of nursing to life and give them meaning.........hmmmmmm, I'll have to think about that one! :)

the lecture has come under much fire lately as being teacher-centered and putting the students in a passive (often near-comatose) mode. instructors are encouraged to employ more active learning strategies in the classroom, such as group discussion, think-pair-share, and case studies (problem-based learning).

nevertheless, the lecture has stood the test of time as the oldest teaching method. it remains the instructional method most widely used in the commmunity college or university setting. mckeachie (2002) states, "through the ages a great deal of practical wisdom about techniques of lecturing has accumulated. effective lecturers combine the talents of scholar, writer, producer, comedian, entertainer, and teacher in ways that contribute to student learning. nevertheless, it is also true that few college professors combine these talents in optimal ways and even the best lecturers are not always in top form. lectures has survived despite the invention of printing, television, and computers" (p. 52).

the one compelling reason not to abandon the lecture is lack of time. the lecture is an extremely efficient method of information delivery. most nursing curriculum plans only allow the minimal time to deliver enormous reams of information.

so, my fellow educators, how do you feel about the lecture? should it be abandoned for something better or simply modified? awaiting your responses...

reference

mckeachie, w. (2002). mckeachie's teaching tips: strategies, research, and theory for college and unversity teachers (11th ed.). boston, ma: houghton mifflin company.

i agree that lecture may not be the most beneficual way to deliver information, but i feel it is effective if the lecturer realizes that they must work to keep it from being boring.

[color=#9acd32]

[color=#9acd32]i have had instructors where all they do is read from slides, then it is boring. when i lecture, i make it a point to give more information than the slide has. i also include little stories, patient care examples, and ask questions. students are used to be my crazy way of describing things, and say that it helps them remember. lecture can be fun and educational, if we choose to take the effort to make it that way.

[color=#9acd32]

[color=#9acd32]that being said, we do have alot of online classes and i think they are also beneficial!

[color=#9acd32]

[color=#9acd32]hugs to all,

[color=#9acd32]emma :balloons:

Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed. The consensus so far seems to indicate keeping the basic lecture format (as most curricula are structured around the lecture), but add active learning strategies. This seems to be a promising strategy (with innovative use of latest technology):

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/PFshowstory.cfm?ArticleID=5663

'Interactive teaching' engages learners

From eSchool News staff and wire service reports

May 11, 2005

A wireless handheld technology similar to the remote control you use to control your television set is transforming large, impersonal college lecture courses into dynamic, interactive learning labs. Although initiated mostly in colleges, this style of instruction--dubbed "interactive teaching" by its proponents--has potential far beyond the lecture hall.

In a recent "Ethics and Public Policy" class, Brown University professor Ross Cheit asked his students if they had a moral obligation to report cheating if they knew about it.

The room began to hum, but no one called out an answer or raised a hand. Still, in 90 seconds, Cheit had roughly 150 student responses displayed on an overhead screen, plotted as a multicolored bar graph--64 percent, yes, 35 percent, no.

Several times in the average class period, Cheit's students weigh in on his questions using handheld wireless devices.

The devices, simply called "clickers" by Cheit's students, are increasingly finding their way into college classrooms and are being used on hundreds of campuses nationwide. Users say they change the classroom dynamic, providing a way to get feedback and engage students in large, impersonal lecture halls. They also say the devices provide a way around students' fear of giving a wrong answer in front of their peers, or of expressing unpopular opinions.

"I use it to take their pulse," Cheit said. "I've often found in that setting, you find yourself thinking, 'Well, what are they thinking?'"

In hard science classes, the clickers, which allow several possible responses, are often used to gauge understanding by posing multiple-choice questions. Cheit tends to use them to solicit students' opinions.

In both cases, students are required to get involved.

"It forces you to be active in the discussion, because you are forced to make a decision right off the bat," said Jonathan Magaziner, a sophomore in Cheit's class.

Megan Schmidt, a freshman from New York City, said the clickers are an effective tool for spurring conversation in class and getting a feel for what other students think.

Kevin McRoskey, a senior biomedical ethics major at Brown, uses a wireless device to participate in an ethics in public policy class. Ross Cheit, the professor of the class, uses the wireless devices to get input from his students on questions he projects on the screen. (Associated Press photo)

Stephen Bradforth, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Southern California, helped launch a trial of the clickers in an honors chemistry class there last fall.

He said the clickers increased class participation and improved attendance, though it's still too early to say whether students who used the clickers were doing better on standardized tests, such as those used to gain entrance to medical school.

Professors used the clickers to survey students to check their comprehension of the material, Bradforth said. The surveys sometimes showed the students easily grasped topics the professors thought would need a lot of explanation and stumbled on those they had thought the students understood.

That can make for better teaching, Bradforth said, though it requires significantly more work from professors, who have to think about their lesson plans in a different way, and learn to respond to the feedback they're now getting from students.

Eric Mazur, a Harvard University physics professor who's a proponent of interactive teaching, says teachers don't need technology like clickers to teach in a more responsive way. But he says clickers are more efficient and more comfortable for shy students than surveys conducted by a show of hands.

Mazur envisions students someday using their laptops, cell phones, or other internet-ready devices for even more interactivity.

For now, the clicker systems appear to be taking off. Some textbook publishers are writing questions designed to be answered by clicker and are packaging the devices with their books.

Most universities that use them require students to buy the clickers, although at Brown, they're loaned through the library.

Made by companies including the Maryland-based GTCO CalComp, eInstruction Corp., of Denton, Texas, and Hyper Interactive Teaching Technology, of Fayetteville, Ark., the devices cost about $30 a piece. Each company's device offers slightly different features, but the systems typically allow instructors to display class results as a whole, or record each student's individual response.

That means the clickers can be used to give quizzes that can be graded automatically and entered in a computerized gradebook, saving educators time. But several professors said they have avoided doing that so students to encourage students to see the handheld devices as positive, rather than punitive.

While at the college level, the devices originally took hold in science classes, they are finding their way into the social sciences and humanities, where the anonymity they offer might be an advantage.

When it comes to sensitive topics, such as affirmative action, "people [who] are against it will click, but they might not raise their hands and say it," Cheit said.

Cheit said the clickers also give each student a chance to weigh in.

"In a large class, the people [who] are willing to speak up and are vocal can dominate a class," he said. "This [technology] gives everyone an equal voice."

Links:

Brown University

http://www.brown.edu

University of Southern California

http://www.usc.edu

Harvard University

http://www.harvard.edu

GTCO CalComp

http://www.gtcocalcomp.com

Hyper-Interactive Teaching Technology

http://www.h-itt.com

eInstruction Corp.

http://www.einstruction.com

+ Add a Comment