The Invisible Adjunct raises the question of Lecture versus Discussion as a teaching method, and quotes two opposing viewpoints on the subject.
My experience has been that there are three factors that determine whether lecture or discussion is a better format: 1) the level of the course (e.g., intro, advanced undergrad, grad), 2) the subject matter, and 3) the size of the class.
Variable 1 is almost a continuous spectrum: the more advanced the class, the more that discussion becomes integral to the course. So that an intro-level general studies course is normally (for me) basically straight-discussion lecture (brain fade at original typing), while a graduate seminar should, ideally, consist almost entirely of the students discussing the course materials.
Indeed, there is a sub-set of the first variable, and that is the general competency level of the students, as I do a great deal of discussion in my Honors intro to American Government class (which is full of polisci majors and freshmen in the campus honors program), but find discussion to normally be utterly impossible in the general studies version of the same course, which is populated by freshmen through seniors, most of which really would prefer not to take the course in the first place.
I would also think that some disciplines are more lecture-oriented than others. I am not sure, for example, how much discussion there should or could be in an advanced chemistry class, for example.
And certainly the size of the class matters.
Posted by Steven Taylor at March 6, 2024 02:34 PM | TrackBackVariable 1 is almost a continuous spectrum: the more advanced the class, the more that discussion becomes integral to the course. So that an intro-level general studies course is normally (for me) basically straight-discussion, while a graduate seminar should, ideally, consist almost entirely of the students discussing the course materials.
Don't you mean to say "an intro-level general studies course is normally (for me) basically straight-lecture..."?
If not, then your sentence doesn't make sense.
Posted by: bryan at March 6, 2024 07:27 PMThis is why I love blogs. We can type endlessly about mundane topics that others have resolved long ago, pretend that we are making progress or, worse yet, think we're part of a great democracy project, and blah, blah, blah.
Well folks. If you have a big friggin' university and your department has a bazillion majors, you are going to have to do large lectures. There is no way around that. Oh sure, we could hire more professors, but then we could live in a world where robots cater to our ever need and we never get fat.
Oh, and with the latest trend in higher ed pedagogy, discussion sessions might just become a pure friggin' nightmare. We have to be "inclusive" and "sensitive," making sure we respect the different "learning styles" of everyone and their cultural context. Bullshit. I'm sick and tired of catering to stupidity in my classroom. Hey kids, its time to put down the newspaper or Game Boy, shut up and listen. And in statistics, there ain't no culturally sensitive answer.
Posted by: John Lemon at March 6, 2024 07:33 PMBryan,
You are correct. That was what it was supposed to say.
And John: bad week in the classroom?
Indeed, one of the advantages of where I teach is that 45-50 is considered a "large" class, and the upper division undergrad classes tend to be aorund 15 on average.
Posted by: Steven at March 6, 2024 09:14 PMActually, no week in the classroom. This Lemon has some buyout time to engage in research, travel and administrative fancy. (I'm just routinely cranky.)
Posted by: John Lemon at March 7, 2024 12:21 PM