Apparantly, traditional lectures are ineffective in generating and transferring knowledge, this study finds. This makes a nice comparison to a MOOC which is the exact opposite of a traditional lecture. Very interesting article!
As a recent graduate, I can attest to the fact that lectures were not the most effective method for learning. The classes that contained active participation and in-depth discussions (typically the smaller sized classes) were the ones that provided a deeper level of understanding for the course material. I also agree with the article that lecturing does not need to become obsolete. It does have a place in higher education, however based on this meta-analysis it is clear that lectures need to be complimented with a more participatory approach.
In the professional workplace, lectures are also rarely used for conveying knowledge. Even a majority of training now seems much more hands-on and participatory. Lectures have their place, but are most likely highly over-used in the educational world.
i agree Ken. Lectures should feed students with the what i call "the energy of the desire to know" coming from the professor or lecturer...very few are able to give this and through my studies i still hold inside that energy whenever i met chaps with that energy inside...Otherwise i would move to hands on, cooperative learning, learning by doing, problem based learning, mooc and the rest...
Even though it has now been proven that traditional lectures is one of the most ineffective ways of conveying knowledge, they will not be completely eliminated. This article concludes that being taught on a computer screen is no different than being taught in an auditorium. One could think that this means that MOOCs is just as ineffective as lectures, but this is not the case. MOOCs are a lot more interactive than traditional lectures, so even though MOOCs are being taught online they are still more effective compared to lectures, which is an important point that this article does not take into consideration.
started by anonymous on 10 Sep 14
http://news.sciencemag.org/education/2014/05/lectures-arent-just-boring-theyre-ineffective-too-study-finds
I also agree with the article that lecturing does not need to become obsolete. It does have a place in higher education, however based on this meta-analysis it is clear that lectures need to be complimented with a more participatory approach.
Brian