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What exactly is lecture?
The traditional
lecture has ruled the higher education environment for centuries (Waldeck &
Weimer, 2017). During a traditional lecture, students sit passively listening
to the instructor deliver course content. The delivery may be different and
students may answer questions or ask questions here and there, but students
still lack interaction and engagement. In fact, by definition, the word
“lecture” completely ignores the presence of the audience (the students). However, lecture is still an effective method
for presenting information to students.
Lecture is telling and there are many instances when students need to be
told specific information. Through lectures instructors can present up-do-date
evidence not presented in textbooks, explain complex concepts, highlight key
points to remember, provide examples, and clarity confusing points for students
(Bristol et al., 2019). When properly
delivered, lecture, like any instructional method can promote student learning
(Waldeck & Weimer, 2017).
What exactly is active learning?
Active
learning is defined as "anything that involves students in doing things
and thinking about the things they are doing" (Bonwell & Eison, 1991,
p. 2). Active learning pedagogies engage students with the course materials,
the instructor, and other students and also encourage them to reflect on their
learning. The focus is on student activities and engagement in the learning
process. Aside from listening, students are actively involved through reading,
writing, discussion, or engaging in solving problems (Bonwell & Eison,
1991). Active learning allows for
application of content. Also, active learning activities can serve as a basis
for evaluation and feedback to fulfill formative assessment conditions (Adkins,
2018).
Blending Lecture and Active Learning
Although lecture and active learning use
fundamentally different approaches, student learning can result from both.
Instead of relying solely on lecture for students to learn content, Adkins
(2018) discussed implementing both lecture and active learning pedagogy in a
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) course.
Twenty-two Information Systems graduate students were enrolled in the
course and attended class twice a week for seventy-five minutes. There was a
short lecture at the beginning of most class periods followed by activities
noted as active learning. The activities included a key to class, muddiest
point, student-generated test questions, empty outline, and directed paraphrasing.
The results of the action research project found that by blending the lecture
instructional method and active learning activities, students were active
participants in learning the course content. Exposing students to only lectures
limits students to the lowest two levels of Bloom’s taxonomy: remember and
understand (Heinerichs, Pazzaglia, & Gilboy, 2016). Students are not challenged
to think about the course content and apply it outside the classroom. Active
learning pedagogy can expand student learning through application, analysis,
evaluation, and creation.
Bristol
et al. (2019) explored the use of lecture and active learning by nurse
educators teaching in prelicensure programs.
The researchers collected data on the extent of time nursing faculty
lectured to their students in the classroom or engaged in active learning. The results revealed a widespread use of a
blend of active learning with lecture in nursing classrooms. Few nurse
educators used solely active learning or lecture. The blend of lecture and active learning was
based on the learning outcomes to be achieved and what teaching and learning
methods worked best considering those outcomes. When active learning activities
are added to classes, students interact with the course content, the
instructor, and other students instead of relying solely on lecture to learn
content (Adkins, 2018).
Conclusion
With a
blend of lecture and active learning, instructors can provide information to
students and also engage students in their learning process. In addition,
instructors can apply all levels of the Bloom’s taxonomy. The results from
numerous studies suggest that by using a blend of lecture and active learning
educators can improve student learning outcomes. In the next blog article, I
will discuss specific active learning techniques to get you started with
implementing active learning in face-to-face and online environments.
References
Adkins,
J. K. (2018). Active learning and formative assessment in a user-centered
design course. Information Systems
Education Journal, 16(4), 34-40.
Bonwell,
C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active
learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education
Reports. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED336049.pdf.
Bristol,
T., Hagler, D., McMillian-Bohler, J., Wermers, R., Hatch, D., & Oermann, M.
H. (2019). Nurse educators' use of lecture and active learning. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 14(2),
94-96. doi:10.1016/j.teln.2018.12.003
Heinerichs,
S., Pazzaglia, G., & Gilboy, M. B. (2016). Using flipped classroom
components in blended courses to maximize student learning. Athletic
Training Education Journal, 11(1), 54-57. doi:10.4085/110154
Waldeck,
J. H. & Weimer, M. (2017) Sound decision making about the lecture’s role in
the college classroom, Communication
Education, 66(2), 247-250. doi:10.1080/03634523.2016.1275721
Cite this blog:
Washington, G. (2019, May 28). Blending Lecture and
Active Learning [Blog post]. Retrieved
from https://pedagogybeforetechnology.blogspot.com/
