Document Type
Article
Abstract
This video and companion paper discusses the lecture as a teaching tool and features Professor Wayne Roosa (Art History) as he reflects on reasons for using lectures, the thoughts and processes involved in lecture design, and techniques that have proven successful. In addition to viewing a lecture in a 300 level course, hear Wayne’s thoughts about dealing with “too much material and too little time,” facilitating learning apart from the lecture, and preventing student boredom and information overload. (video length 51:09)
From the introduction to the paper: The lecture mode is certain to be included in your repertoire as a teacher – it does however, have serious limitations. Before looking at suggestions to support effective lecturing, I would like to describe the problems associated with lecturing. Henderson and Nash (2007) observed that lectures are a one-way process. Students are passively listening to information. This hinders the comprehension of students who have not learned to be effective listeners or note-takers. Lectures can be repetitious and limit the pace of learning to the pace of the speaker. Lectures evolve around the interest of the speaker which causes the students to accept the teacher as the final authority on the topic. McKeachie (1986), in his summary of decades of research, found that students retain 70% of information in the first 10 minutes of a lecture; the retention is only 20% in the last 10 minutes. Kulick (1975) found that lecturing is a superior method for promoting the learning of factual information, but the discussion method is better suited for promoting critical thinking. Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1991) found that when students need to analyze, synthesize, or integrate knowledge or when long-term retention is desired, lecturing is not the most effective method.
Publication Title
Engaged Teaching and Learning: Bethel Faculty in Action
Publication Date
11-2010
Recommended Citation
Roosa, Wayne and Rasmussen, Jay, "To Lecture or Not to Lecture: Engaged Teaching and Learning" (2010). Faculty Development Publications. 1.
https://spark.bethel.edu/fac-dev-publications/1
Included in
Higher Education and Teaching Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons
Comments
Video and Paper are part of the series: Engaged Teaching and Learning: Bethel Faculty in Action