But I still do like the lecture!!!

OK, we need to return to Bligh's point that the lecture can be effective or at least is not necessarily inferior as a means of transmitting knowledge.

There is a nice site hosted by the University of Minnesota which gives some useful tips on active lecturing using Powerpoint. The ideas there are great -- here we have a model of a repertoire of teaching-learning strategies being combined.

Moving on beyond a diet of lecture-notetaking-quiz

OK, as much as the lecture is a really good instructional tool, it remains the default teaching-learning process which we are captive to.

This is what people have said about the lecture:

In most college classrooms, the professor lectures and the students listen and take notes. The professor is the central figure, the "sage on the stage," the one who has the knowledge and transmits that knowledge to the students, who simply memorize the information and later reproduce it on an exam--often without even thinking about it. This model of the teaching-learning process, called the transmittal model, assumes that the student's brain is like an empty container into which the professor pours knowledge. In this view of teaching and learning, students are passive learners rather than active ones. Such a view is outdated and will not be effective for the twenty-first century, when individuals will be expected to think for themselves, pose and solve complex problems, and generally produce knowledge rather than reproduce it. (Karen King, "From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side" College Teaching Winter 93, Vol. 41, Issue 1

Consider the lecture - that venerable relic of the information-starved middle ages. If students back then could have photocopied or electronically transmitted information with the ease with which we can do so today, I doubt whether the lecture would even have survived as an educational medium. Yet it is one of the most emulated models in modern distance learning programs. (Raymond Albrektson “Mentored Onliine Seminar: A model for graduate-level Distance Learning” in On the Web, Oct 1995, pp 102)

After a few decades of taking and giving lecture courses, most teachers internalize one basic ground rule: teachers do the work. In the lecture mode, the students participate actively after they leave the teacher's presence, when they study, do research, and write papers. Lecture classes provide more exercise for student's finger muscles than their brains. -Abby J. Hanson "Establishing a Teaching/Learning Contract" in Education for Judgment , p.125

Here is an article which suggests active learning strageties and more engaging teaching-learning processes by intentionally changing your primary role as the "sage on the stage" to "guide by the side." The article, "From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side" was written by Karen King in 1993. You hear the phrase used alot but many don't know who or where it originated from. YOU DO NOW!!!

Another great article, which applies more to our younger people is Knowlton and Schaeffer's "Shifting toward a constructivist philosophy for teaching Biblical principles in K-12 Christian schools" Christian Education Journal Series 3, vol 1 2004, pp. 116-129

These articles transition us from the more traditional, default, standard educational offering to a range of alternative teaching-learning processes. Hope they will help increase your repertoire of creative teaching-learning processes which you can apply to teaching in seminary, Sunday School, training situations, church camps, etc.

The Value of Lectures

In his book What's the use of Lectures?, Donald Bligh writes:

The lecture is as effective as other methods of transmitting information. Most lectures are not as effective as discussion for promoting thought. Changing attitudes should not normally be the major objective of a lecture.
1. Lectures are relatively ineffective for teaching values associated with subject matter.

2. Lectures are relatively ineffective for inspiring interest in a subject.

3. Lectures are relatively ineffective for personal and social adjustment.

Lectures are relatively ineffective for for teaching behavioral skills.

What are some strength of the lecture mode? List them out.
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What are some weaknesses of the lecture mode? List them out.

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5.


Web literature on lectures

1. Discussion Point: What's the use of lectures? (Peter Goodhew) http://www.materials.ac.uk/discuss/lectures.asp

2. Preparing to Teach the Large Lecture Course http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/largelecture.html

3. Book reviews of Donald Bligh's What's the use of lectures?
http://www.exchangesjournal.org/reviews/review_1080.html

http://www.exchangesjournal.org/print/Print_1048.html

The lecture and double cultural captivity

Alien Anthropologist

I saw a space ship land on the basketball court at SBC this morning. It was not very large - the size of a compact sized car at most - with large portholes and a flashing red light on its top.Thoughts of what might happen next ran wildly across my mind when suddenly the door of the spacecraft opened. A solitary alien walked out of the ship toward me and said:
Take me to your leader!

"My leader is away," I replied, sizing up the little green creature. "What is the purpose of your visit?"

"I have been sent from the Planet EdhukateWel and we want to find out how earthlings learn. We want to discover how earthlings transmit knowledge of the head, heart, and hands. Take me to your leader!!!" he insisted.

"My leader is away," I repeated. "but I can help you. I will take you to different places where you can observe what happens in our learning spaces."

"I have learned your ways of observing educational spaces" said the alien. "An old Earthling told me about your observation sciences. He said to observe the material lore, the verbal lore and the customary or ritual lore in your educational spaces."

"What that lore stuff again?" I inquired.

"Material lore, verbal lore and ritual law. The old earthling told me these are terms from the study of human culture and anthropology" he responded, pleased that he seemed to know more than an earthling. "The material lore in your educational spaces would comprise of the architecture of your learning space and all the artifacts found within that space. The verbal lore is what is said within and about the educational space, and the customary or ritual lore would be the ritual behavior found there."

"I see. I was confused for a moment. I thought you were speaking Singlish. I thought you said you wanted to observe material lor, verbal lor, and customary lor. It didn't make sense at first, but now I understand lor."

(Thinking in his mind) "Singlish is very confusing!"

"Hey, can you explain ritual lore and ritual behavior again?" I asked

"These are the regular rituals and fixed behaviors performed either consciously or unconsciously by the participants in learning spaces." he replied" In our planet, all the participants including the leader walk in circles when we learn. That is just the expected customary behavior.""But enough talk. We will go now" the alien insisted impatiently.

"Where shall we go?" I asked

"Take me to your leader!" he insisted strongly.

"I cannot, but I will take you to observe three spaces: 1.___________, 2. _____________, 3.____________"

"I am keen to observe you earthlings. We have many problems in our planet, and we need to learn from others to educate our people well."

Questions for your consideration:

1. What teaching-learning processe do you think the alien will observe in Christian educational settings?
   
2. Will it be very monolithic?
3. What educational innovations and best practices will he observe?
4. Where?

Question: Hey for those of you from surrounding Asian cultures, would any part of this imagenary story be culturally insensitive? Let me know!

Road Map of the Teaching-Learning Process class (CE 501)

Here is roadmap of the teaching learning class. What you will notice about it is that it has two parts running parallel with each other.

The first map (the yellow section) establishes the pervasive, default teaching-learning process which we find in most learning encounters. That is what some have called the default setting which we are double cultural captives of (Asian as well as British legacies!) In order to transform the default teaching-learning process which inevitably most people will perpetuate, I will be introducing several alternative educational experiences. These are not meant to replace the default teaching-learning process, for that would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Instead, I am seeking to widen your repertoire of teaching-learning processes which you can employ in the different settings. Some of them involve the use of computers and the Internet, others will not, but all are attempts at encourage active learning.


The second map (the green section) involves reading, understanding and discussing the literature available which give you labels, concepts, theories, imaginative ideas. I will be requiring you to read sections from the literature, and to discuss them as a class.

These two maps are not intended to be independent of each other. All through the course, I want you to be asking how the literature informs practice/experience, and how the practice/experience confirms or challenges the literature.