By Doug Ward
Lecturing as an educational form emerged at a time of scarce information and oral culture. It’s a top-down method of conveying information that under the right circumstances can be quite effective, especially at motivating listeners.
For many students, though, the lecture can seem like more of an endurance test than a learning experience. In a world of abundant information, lecturing is usually not the best method to help students learn. Many faculty members have long suspected as much, and research has been bearing that out.
The latest edition of Teaching Matters from the Center for Teaching Excellence looks at a movement at KU to shift away from traditional lecture. Among the articles you’ll find:
- Judy Eddy on KU’s efforts to provide deeper learning for students
- Dan Bernstein on the challenges of changing the culture of teaching
- Bob Goldstein and Ann Martinez on a new program that is using post-doctoral researchers to help faculty members transform gateway courses
- Andrea Greenhoot on a new community of faculty members, graduate assistants and postdocs working across disciplines to improve KU courses
Look for Teaching Matters in your campus mailbox. You can also find it online at the CTE website.
Doug Ward is an associate professor of journalism and a fellow at the Center for Teaching Excellence. You can follow him on Twitter @kuediting.
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