Monday, January 18, 2010

The Lecture is Dead

Well, not really. It needs to be taken out of the classroom though. Lectures are commonly seen as the staple of University education. It is a sure-fire way to make sure that teaching is happening. Can you be sure that learning is happening though? Is there a better way of doing this education thing?

Well since lectures came along, video and audio recording technologies have been invented. Why not record the lecture and let students access it so that they can listen to lectures on their own time? Then students can pause the lecture at any point and even review segments of it to make sure that they have mastered a concept. Futhermore, class time can be used for questions, feedback, and interaction - yes, a tutorial. If things were done this way, then instructors would be much more involved and aware of the learning process going on with their students.

Why do you think most Universities don't do this? Is it because it just hasn't occurred to them? Are they too lazy? Are lectures too sacred? Or is my suggestion just plain flawed?