Traditional lecture method Advantages

Gives the instructor the chance to expose students to unpublished or not readily available material. Allows the instructor to precisely determine the aims, content, organization, pace and direction of a presentation. In contrast, more student-centered methods, e.g., discussions or laboratories, re uire the instructor to deal with unanticipated student ideas, uestions and comments. !an be used to arouse interest in a sub"ect. !an complement and clarify text material. !omplements certain individual learning preferences. #ome students depend upon the structure provided by highly teacher-centered methods. $acilitates large-class communication.

Disadvantages

%laces students in a passive rather than an active role, which hinders learning. &ncourages one-way communication' therefore, the lecturer must ma(e a conscious effort to become aware of student problems and student understanding of content without verbal feedbac(. )e uires a considerable amount of unguided student time outside of the classroom to enable understanding and long-term retention of content. In contrast, interactive methods *discussion, problem-solving sessions+ allow the instructor to influence students when they are actively wor(ing with the material. )e uires the instructor to have or to learn effective writing and spea(ing s(ills.

Advantages of Lectures: Communicating interest in the subject. A good lecture can make something more exciting than even the best written book or most lively video. Conveying information not easily available in any other source. Structuring information to suit the purposes of the course and the instructor.

Disadvantages of Lectures: Students (especially less mature students tend to lose interest after a fairly short period of time. !ectures can play into the "dualist" mentality of immature students# that learning is about getting accurate information from the instructor and being able to repeat it.. Conversely# lectures are not very effective in teaching critical thinking or higher order skills

Advantages and disadvantages of lectures

Advantages
* Effective lecturers can communicate the intrinsic interest of a subject through their enthusiasm. * Lectures can be specifically organized to meet the needs of particular audiences. * Lectures can present large amounts of information. * Lectures can be presented to large audiences. * Lecturers can model how professionals work through disciplinary questions or problems. * Lectures allow the instructor maximum control of the learning experience. * Lectures present little risk for students. * Lectures appeal to those who learn by listening.

Disadvantages
* Lectures fail to provide instructors with feedback about the extent of student learning. * n lectures! students are often passive because there is no mechanism to ensure that they are intellectually engaged with the material. * "tudents# attention wanes quickly after fifteen to twenty$five minutes. * nformation tends to be forgotten quickly when students are passive.

* Lectures presume that all students learn at the same pace and are at the same level of understanding. * Lectures are not suited for teaching higher orders of thinking such as application! analysis! synthesis! or evaluation% for teaching motor skills! or for influencing attitudes or values. * Lectures are not well suited for teaching complex! abstract material. * Lectures requires effective speakers. * Lectures emphasize learning by listening! which is a disadvantage for students who have other learning styles. "lightly adapted from http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/CL1/CL/doingcl/advlec.htm

Comments
Looking at the list of advantages shows a clear place for lectures. &or example! members of the general public voluntarily attending a lecture on! say! genetic engineering or art appreciation. 'he audience need not take notes and will not be assessed on the content so the teaching need not be especially effective. &urthermore! such a self$motivated audience is probably receptive to inspiration by the lecturer. "tudents attending lectures as part of a course of study are significantly different. 'here is probably a greater diversity of learning styles than in the audience attending a lecture out of interest. (ndoubtedly! lectures will suit some students but it would be wrong to assume that all )or even most* of the students were motivated intrinsically by the material or by the inspirational style of the lecturer+ )'o believe this would be to ignore a huge body of evidence on personality! learning style and the factors that drive course,subject selection*. &urthermore! the assessment requirements significantly determine the learning process. n these cases! the disadvantages of lectures loom large so that! for many materials! lectures are probably not the vehicle of choice. 'hese lists of advantages and disadvantages rely on a fairly narrow view of lectures and it is possible to increase the interactivity of lectures and )at least partially* overcome some of the disadvantages. -ut! in the end! the prevalence of lectures probably has less to do with learning and more to do with the efficiency )time! cost* of lectures! the familiarity of the format to teachers )probably a function of teachers# learning styles* and time$efficiency of preparing them that sees them so broadly applied.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND TECHNIQUES All methods of instruction can be classified as telling, lecturing, or discussing; showing or demonstrating; or any combination of these. Often the best method of teaching combines the various methods. You must decide which methods to combine and the emphasis to place on each unless the curriculum itself dictates the com- bination needed. In making that decision, consider !" the nature of the trainees, #" the sub$ect matter, and %" the limitations of time. LECTURE METHOD &he lecture is still the most fre'uently used method of instruction. (owever, presenting a lecture without pausing for interaction with trainees can be ineffective regardless of your skill as a speaker. &he use of pauses during the lecture for direct oral 'uestioning creates interaction between instructor and trainee. )nfortunately, when classes are large, the instructor cannot possibly interact with all trainees on each point. &he learning effectiveness of the lecture method has been 'uestioned because of the lack of interac- tion; but it continues as a means of reaching a large group at one time with a condensed, organi*ed body of information. +roviding trainees with lesson ob$ectives before the lecture will enable them to listen more effectively. It will help them to take concise, brief notes concerning the ob$ectives rather than writing feverishly through- out the lecture. ,e discuss the lecture method first because the techni'ues involved serve as the basis for other methods of training. &hose techni'ues apply not only to lectures, but to many other kinds of presentations in which oral e-planations play a secondary, but important, role. .very method depends on oral instruction to give information, to arouse attention and interest, and to develop receptive attitudes on the part of the trainees. &herefore, as an instructor, organi*e your oral presentations with the following techni'ues in mind/ !. 0aintain good eye contact. As you speak, shift your ga*e about the class, pausing momentarily to meet the ga*e of each trainee. 0ake the trainees feel what you have to say is directed to each one personally. Your eyes as well as your voice communicate to them; and their eyes, facial e-pressions, and reactions communicate to you. ,atch for indications of doubt, misunderstanding, a desire to participate, fatigue, or a lack of interest. If you are dealing with young trainees, you may sometimes need to remind them that they must give undivided atten- tion to the instruction. #. 0aintain a high degree of enthusiasm. %. 1peak in a natural, conversational voice.2 .nunciate your words clearly. 0ake certain the trainees can hear every spoken word. 3. .mphasi*e important points by the use of gestures, repetition,

and variation in voice inflection. 4. 5heck trainee comprehension carefully throughout the presentation by watching the faces of the trainees and by 'uestioning. Observing facial e-pressions as an indication of doubt or misunderstanding is not a sure way of checking on trainee comprehension. 1ome trainees may appear to be comprehending the sub$ect matter when, in reality, they are completely confused. &rainees who are in doubt often hesitate to make their difficulty known. &hey may hesitate because of natural timidity, fear of being classified as stupid, or failure to understand the sub$ect matter well enough to e-plain where their difficulty lies. 6re'uently ask if the class has any 'uestions, thus giving the trainees an opportunity to e-press any doubts or misunderstandings on their part. 7ased on your personal knowledge and past e-periences, ask specific 'uestions about those areas which might give trainees the most trouble. 1ome instructors make the mistake of waiting until the end of the presentation to ask 'uestions. &he best time to clear away mental fog is when the fog develops. 0ental fog tends to create a mental block that prevents the trainee from concentrating on the sub$ect matter being presented. 8ater in this chapter we discuss techni'ues related to asking 'uestions, calling upon trainees to answer 'uestions, and evaluating answers." 9. Instruct on the class level. )se words, e-planations, visual illustrations, 'uestions, and the like, directed to the needs of the average trainee in the class. :. 1timulate trainees to think. &hink, as used here, refers to creative thinking rather than to a mere recall of facts previously learned. )se a number of instructional devices for stimulating trainee thinking. provoking 'uestions, class discussions, 5-4
Lecture as a Teaching Method: ,ecture is when an instructor is the central focus of information transfer. Typically, an instructor will stand before a class and present information for the students to learn. -sually, very little exchange occurs between the instructor and the students during a lecture. Pros of Lecture as a Teaching Method:

Among those devices are thought-

,ectures are a straightforward way to impart (nowledge to students uic(ly. Instructors also have a greater control over what is being taught in the classroom because they are the sole source of information. #tudents who are auditory learners find that lectures appeal to their learning style. ,ogistically, a lecture is often easier to create than other methods of instruction.

,ecture is a method familiar to most teachers because it was typically the way they were taught. .ecause most college courses are lecture-based, students gain experience in this predominant instructional delivery method.

Cons of Lecture as a Teaching Method:

#tudents strong in learning styles other than auditory learning will have a harder time being engaged by lectures. #tudents who are wea( in note-ta(ing s(ills will have trouble understanding what they should remember from lectures. #tudents can find lectures boring causing them to lose interest. #tudents may not feel that they are able to as( uestions as they arise during lectures. Teachers may not get a real feel for how much students are understanding because there is not that much opportunity for exchanges during lectures.

Final Thoughts : ,ectures are one tool in a teacher/s arsenal of teaching methods. 0ust as with all the other tools, it should only be used when most appropriate. Instruction should be varied from day to day to help reach the most students possible. Teachers should be cautioned that before heading into numerous classes full of nothing but lectures, they need to provide their students with note ta(ing s(ills. 1nly by helping students understand verbal clues and learn methods of organizing and ta(ing notes will they truly help them become successful and get the most out of lectures.