Ideas on The Lecture

1. Ideas on The Lecture

2. What’s the use of lectures?Donald Bligh 1972 His review of research found that lectures might be good for: • transmitting information ? • promoting thought ? • changing student attitudes ?

3. Rethinking University EducationLaurillard 1993 • Lectures are only one educational process: teacher transmits information • do not encourage dialogue, for example or encourage student reflection • ‘inspirational’ effects are rare and short-lived • many opportunities for student errors in getting information and making sense of it • lectures cannot deal with a variety of students • Q. why aren’t lectures scrapped?

4. Lecturing to large groupsAndreson 1990 faced with bigger classes and more classes, two responses are possible for lectures • refinement as theatre: enhance style, techniques, presentation skills • augmentation with student activity, feedback, dialogue, using other media

5. Learning to teach in HERamsden 1992 • lectures are no more economical than other methods in transmitting information to large numbers • they are efficient, but less so than reading • they will ‘cover the ground’ by the teacher, but not by the student learning • students are passive and dependent, promoting a surface approach to learning • not effective for deep learning outcomesneeding activity, responsibility, interaction

6. References • Lee Andreson, Lecturing to large groups, in C. Rust, Teaching in Higher Education, 1990, SCED Paper 57, ISBN 0946815178 • Donald Bligh, What’s the use of lectures? Exeter: Intellect, 1998, 5th ed. • Diana Laurillard, Rethinking University Education, 1993, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-09289-2 • Paul Ramsden, Learning to teach in Higher Education, 1992, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-06415-5 • www.umist.ac.uk/apt/ for presentation technology