Lecture– Pros and cons

Most of us are familiar with the format of a lecture. It is the most common format or teaching method used in schools and universities. The instructor or teacher teaches orally to a group of students. Teachers usually read out a text from a book or a projector and sometimes write the keywords, important points on the board. The duration of a lecture may be 30 minutes or an hour.

Majority of my learning as a student was via lectures and only on rare occasions I had an opportunity to participate in group discussions, debates or presentations. During my college days, I remember that I and my friends would attend lectures only for the sake of attendance. The professors would come to class and read out texts from reference books. There was hardly any interaction between the professor and us. We would by busy noting down the important points or trying to understand the key words and sometimes lose track of what was being said. We would easily get distracted by commotion outside the classroom or whispers and comments passed by fellow students. There was no effective learning happening in the classroom. There was no specific method or time allotted for us to raise our doubts, rectify misconceptions or provide feedback for the lecture. Whenever we needed a clarification, we would raise our hands and pose our query. The response from the teacher would not be very encouraging, and in most cases we would not get satisfactory answers or our questions were left unanswered.

Many years later when I decided to become a teacher, I pondered over my experiences with my teachers and my expectations as a student. I made a small list of the pros and cons of the lecture format.

Pros

• It is an economical way to deliver information to large number of students.
• Lectures can be used to convey theories, ideas, facts and information to students.
• Information from various sources with latest developments, current statistics can be delivered in an organized and structured way.
• Gives the instructor/teacher the liberty to design the content, the pace and the aim of the lecture.
• The teacher is in full control of the class..

Cons

• Students do not get an opportunity to raise questions, or seek clarifications.
• There is hardly any dialogue or interaction between the students and the teacher, it usually one way communication
• Students are busy in jotting down the points and do not reflect on what is being said.
• The lecture must be carefully designed to cater to the students based on the requirements and understanding level of the students.
• Sometimes students do not find any relevance and get distracted and hence lose track of the lecture.
• It is difficult to track if the students are actually paying attention.
•  It is does not provide a medium to check the students understanding of the topic.

I vowed not to make these mistakes or follow the typical tried and tested method. I made a conscious effort to implement various formats such as group discussions, student presentations, role reversals, fish bowl along with the traditional format of lectures. The students took some time to get used to these various formats but eventually I realized that there was more enthusiasm in the classroom and the students began to enjoy the sessions. The students are now eager to learn and willingly participate in various methods and activities and to facilitate learning. The novelty factor is maintained as different formats are used and reused in different ways. I now use these formats more often than the lectures and am very pleased and contented with the positive outcomes.