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The lecture format is a mode of teaching in which the teacher is in the active mode while he delivers the whole lesson. He is the centre of attention while his class which can range from twenty to thousands try to scribble down every word that he is delivering. His students must pay attention to him or lose any point that he is making. If his students are not able to catch any diamond of wisdom that he delivers, they are seen to be bad listeners, bad writers or simply not paying enough attention to him.

To some students, the lecture format is a given. There is no other way to learn as they are adult, or nearly so. All they need to do is to take down what the lecturer gives in the form of notes. If they listen well enough, they might even catch a hint of what will be coming out in the examinations. They are able speed writers who can write the best and the fastest in the class. They have the best abbreviations that only they can understand. Woe betide those who try to steal their precious notes - they would need to break through their secret codes to understand what they have written. The lecture format thus trains very good note takers who will do well as secretaries and copiers. They are definitely the top notch listeners of the crop as well.

The lecture format separates the goats from the sheep. The eager learners are the early birds in a free seating situation. They make sure that they get the best seats by reporting to the lecture theatre or to the classroom earlier so that they can grab the front seats that are just a few feet away from the lecturer. They also develop a very good network among those of the same mind. They would take turns to reserve seats for their group so that they need not rush all the time. The lecture format thus develops very co-operative networking partners who always ensure the lecturer of a very attentive audience right in the front and make his preparations for the lecture worth the while.

The lecture format enables the lecturer to identify responsible students who are keen learners. They are those who sit right in front of the class, nearest him and are busy taking notes which he delivers at top speed. Those sitting in the dark recesses of the lecture theatre are nearly always the talkers during the lecture, the ones who will probably fail because they are slow in writing. They are slow because they do not listen well. Hence they find it difficult to understand the lecture and are thus unable to take good notes. They are

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