Re: Colleges Looking Beyond the Lecture

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On 2/21/12, pixie wrote:
> I think short lecture segments can be interspersed with
> interactive learning activities that students do in pairs or
> small groups. Research shows that students learn best in a social
> contexzt and learn least through lecture.
>
>
>
> On 2/18/12, Prof Phil wrote:
>> On 2/16/12, pixie wrote:
>>> FYI; This was in today's Washington Post.
>>
>> Good article, but not much new. Leading educators have been
>> saying this for years.
>>
>> I have been teaching at the university for over 25 years. I
>> have some classes where I still lecture and some where I have
>> been able to replace lecture with learning activities. The
>> problem I see is that it takes a lot more work to create
>> significant learning experiences to replace the lecture (ref.
>> Dee Fink's book : Creating Significant Learning Experiences).
>> It also can demand more time that most class periods allow.
>>
>> As class sizes go up, it seems like workload goes up. This
>> discourages faculty from leaving the lecture model.
>>
>> We are adding a three hour lab to one of my courses so that we
>> can include the learning activities. Going to be interesting
>> to see how that works out...I'm excited to try it

I agree that learning activities are better than straight lecture
most of the time, but not "all" research shows that students learn
least through lecture. I reference the book "What the Best College
Teachers Do" by Bain. The book doesn't promote lecturing as a
primary methodology, but it does point out that some of the best
teachers still lecture--but very effectively. The book is an
excellent read.

Today's younger generation doesn't like lectures. I reference the
book: "The Shallows" on that one. Problem is they don't really
understand what deep learning is and aren't headed in that
direction.

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