Presentation used on 14 April 2011 in a session about the future of the lecture that Donald Clark ran with Stephen Downes Follow the Sun, a 2 day "non-stop global e-learning conference" - http://www.webcitation.org/5xxdkJLxw - run jointly by the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) and the University of Leicester (UK). Stephen's talk is here: http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/the-lecture-must-stand

Clark, Donald

English

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Don’t lecture me!“Now, I cannot see thatlectures can do so muchas reading the books fromwhich the  lectures aretaken. I know nothing that can be best taught by lectures”Samuel JohnsonDouble standardsLittle changed: dominant usePlural of anecdote is not data!1. Tyranny of location•Costs too high•Need maintenance•Mostly empty2. Tyranny of time•Babylonian hour•Travel time to & from•Padded out3. Attention problems•Student attention falls (Johnstone 1976, Macmanaway 1970, Trenaman 1968 etc)•Lecturer performance falls (Lloyd 1992)•Heart rates fall (Bligh 2000)•Take less notes (Scorba 1992)•<25 mins (Cowan 1981)•20-30 mins (Bligh 2000)•Breaks beneficial (Wilkinson 1959, Weaver 1985, Ruhl 1995)4. Do lectures inspire & motivate?•Bligh: 15 studies show lectures less effective than other methods for encouraging positive attitudes, only 1 found the reverse•Hale Report: of 7 teaching methods. ‘lectures’ ranked 7th for efficiency, 5th for enjoyment, 1st for frequency •McLeish reported distaste for lectures in students from 10 Colleges of Education and several Universities5. Do lectures aid critical thinking? •Bligh: 21 studies found lecturing to be less effective than: discussion, reading, individual work in class and so on. He could not find a single study to show lecturing to be more effective than another method for the promotion of thought. •Bloom: during lectures students' solve problems, synthesise or inter-relate information only 1% of the time, mostly "passive or irrelevant thoughts about subject"•CLA longitudinal study on 2,322 students for 4 years from 2005-09 across broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities6. Do lectures teach values/attitudes?•Bligh: Dozens of studies show that lectures are less effective than other teaching methods•Kochan (2003), Dobbin (2006), and Kalev(2011) show that diversity training made no measurable difference, sometimes a backlash7. Do lectures teach knowledge?•Bligh: ‘no significant difference’Buildings & staff expensiveGo for cheaper options!•Bloom: The 2 sigma problemGroup 1: LectureGroup 2: Formative feedbackGroup 3: One to one8. Is student attendance a problem?www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/italics/vol5iss2/burd-att-italics-06-9.   20 ‘terrible’ reasons for lecturing Graham Gibbs (1981)http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/20reasons.htmlDoes it give students a rich and rewarding educational experience? NOGibbs 9 defensive arguments:1. Should be 1 hr. If I can do 1 hour, so can they2. Only way to make sure ground is covered3. Best way to get facts across4. Best way to get students to think5. Inspirational: improve students' attitudes towards subject, & students like them6. Makes sure that students have proper set of notes7. Students incapable of working alone8. Criticisms only apply to bad lecturing9. Value can only be judged in context of other teaching & learning activitiesGibbs 11 ‘real’ reasons for lecturing1.  Ignorant of evidence on effectiveness of lectures2.  Ignorant of alternatives to lectures3.  Alternatives involve more work4.  Changes take time5.  Shortage of books6.  Shortage of learning resources7.  Attitudes stop change: lectures a coping strategy8.  Institutionalised in way teaching hours counted9.  Institutionalised relationship between courses10  Course validation & external forces11. We don't know how to design courses10. Institutional inertiaCathy Ellis (Lecturer English Univ Huddersfield)“Default” or “Normative discourse”“This is evident in our job titles, our institutional   architecture, our workload models, our qualityassurance strategies, our timetabling software andcountless other systems and principles that define and demarcate our working lives.”http://tinyurl.com/6xgle43Recording lecturesRecording lecturesStudent survey of 5 Diploma coursesAll but one watched recordings & found useful Advantages noted by students :1. Original lecture went too fast2. Review lecture3. Revision for exams4. Clarification of difficult handwriting5. English was student’s second language6. Avoid writing notes (focus on lecture)7. See lecture after missing it through illness8. Relax when tired of readingStudents watching 13 hours a week on averageCompletely revolutionising the traditional teaching & learning model"One year of ICTP diploma courses on-line using the automated EyA recording system" -Computers & Education 53 (2009) 183-188. http://sdu.ictp.it/eya/about.htmlYouTube EDU“Data is not the plural of anecdote”http://fm.schmoller.net/2010/05/data-is-not-the-plural-of-anecdote-eric-mazur-talks-about-how-to-improve-large-group-learning.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v425/n6955/full/425234a.htmlPOLICTHEORYConclusion•”one serious difficulty…wasn’t any feedback from the students to lecturer”•“My own pint of view is pessimistic. I don’t think I did very well by the students…. the system was a failure.”•“It’s impossible to learn very much by sitting through a lecture”Emaildonald.clark@hotmail.co.ukBloghttp://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/Twitter@donaldclarkFacebookDonaldClark

Don't lecture me (Donald Clark) / The lecture must stand (Stephen Downes)

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Don't lecture me (Donald Clark) / The lecture must stand (Stephen Downes)

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