Performing

The lecture is a performance. It may be a good one or a bad one; it may be sprinkled with student input, but it is a performance, which isn't a bad thing in itself. This is just its nature. Of course, performing may satisfy the performer in many ways and it gives the security of control. In fact, I enjoy lecturing and I enjoy hearing a good lecture, and there isn't any reason a teacher can't offer a hybrid class of lecture and active learnng, possibly even as a transition phase. I believe, just the same, that one reason some are disinclined to reduce the presence of classroom lectures is the reluctance to abandon the satisfaction and control. Understandably by surrendering this control, a teacher could feel anxious that students might not be introduced to key points or, worse, they may misunderstand and distort key points.

Still, as I recall the examinations and papers I've graded over many years of the traditional approach, I recall that despite my efforts some students were not retaining enough information and, worse, some were distorting it. I wish the control of the lecture could eliminate these problems, but they remain regardless. Active learning isn't going to eliminate these problems either, but because the students are more directly and persistently engaged in their work, my sense of things over the last few years and a noticeable increase in higher marks seem to indicate that retention and comprehension are getting better.

Finally, the teacher in the active classroom, even without the occasional lecture, does still perform. Now instead of a solo performance, the conversational nature of active learning makes it an ensemble performance where all who participate can appreciate the satisfaction and control.