Lecture as pedagogy has been under fire in recent years, as reported here often. Faculty members who cling to lecturing are occasionally seen as obstacles to educational reform—relics who should change their ways or limp off to wherever old teachers go.

As noted before, one organization, the National Center for Academic Transformation, devotes much of its energy to abolishing the lecture (have a look at their crossed-out lecture hall image on the right). The group cites statistics purportedly indicating better ways to improve retention and increase learning—at a much lower cost. If you have not perused NCAT's site, it might be a good idea.

Faculty members are quick to point out that many students prefer lecture. As we move into an age of paying more attention to student evaluations (Thanks, Legislature!), it might be interesting to see what pedagogical techniques rank highest. On the other hand, there is probably too much pandering to student preferences already. Real learning can be uncomfortable, tedious, and exhausting. These traits don't show up in promotional campaigns.

Nonetheless it's ironic that the student-as-customer movement could fly in the face of the abolish-lecture movement.

Supervisors of faculty report that student evaluations containing comments such as "awesome!" and "amazing!" often refer to teachers who use traditional lecture methods. As educators, we can recall lecturers who made a difference in our personal intellectual development. A good teacher of Moby-Dick can bring that infernal whale right into the room.

One raw fact of life is that college teachers, by definition, were probably good students themselves. But we must also admit that strong students tend to succeed no matter what the methodology. The challenge is to devise techniques and approaches for the vast majority, without resorting to mushy, unproven strategies or lowering standards. It would be monumentally tragic to compel a gifted lecturer to use methods that are less effective, or to feel like a criminal for remaining steadfast.

Historians of higher education say the lecture was first devised in Europe when one-on-one tutoring and mentoring were no longer practical or economically viable. Undoubtedly, many commentators lamented the shift. It would be foolish to insist that any pedagogy remain in place forever, but let's hope changes are made for the right reasons.

A recent online documentary on the subject from the respected American RadioWorks is available here. It was broadcast over the holidays. By navigating through the site, you can familiarize yourself with the various issues and some interesting alternatives to lecture. Not a bad place to begin as we plan for another semester.