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Advantages and Disadvantages of Lectures
Advantages and disadvantages of lectures as quoted from Bonwell (1996) who cited Cashin (1985) as the original author.
Advantages of the lecture
- Effective lecturers can communicate the intrinsic interest of a subject through their enthusiasm.
- Lectures can present material not otherwise available to students.
- 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 of the lecture
- Lectures fail to provide instructors with feedback about the extent of student learning.
- In lectures students are often passive because there is no mechanism to ensure that they are intellectually engaged with the material.
- Students' attention wanes quickly after fifteen to twenty-five minutes.
- Information 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.
Bonwell, C. C. (1996). "Enhancing the lecture: Revitalizing a traditional format" In Sutherland, T. E., and Bonwell, C. C. (Eds.), Using active learning in college classes: A range of options for faculty, New Directions for Teaching and Learning No. 67.
Cashin, W. E. (1985). "Improving lectures" Idea Paper No. 14. Manhattan: Kansas State University, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development.
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