There is a place for multiple teaching formats within the modern education system; very few teachers will, by choice, limit themselves to one form of delivery, such as formal lecturing.

Many factors have to be taken into consideration when planning a lesson or tutorial, which include; the subject matter, class size, students' age-range, time limitations, individual student ability, room availiablilty, staff specialisms and time-table restrictions.

It is well known that students assimilate information using different techniques. Some are kinaesthetic learners, whereas others may rely on acoustic delivery, either way, all learning requirements need to be catered for.

Certain topics lend themselves to an initial period of formal instruction using a lecturing format, for example, teaching scientific principles and mathematics. Others can be more appropriately discussed or demonstrated, for example English Literature or art techniques. The most appropriate delivery will use a combination of these if the classroom setting allows.

The majority of teachers will be used to dealing with school and college students with relatively small class sizes, whereas a university lecturer might have a department of several hundred students to cater for. In the latter case, instruction will often be shared between a large lecture-hall, with all students required to be in attendance, followed up by small classroom activities at a later time. It is a matter of timetabling. The larger the group, the less opportunity there will be for structured discussions and answers to detailed questions; there simply wouldn't be enough time available.

The downside to lecturing is the time-span. Tests have shown that the majority of adults can concentrate fully for approximately fifteen minutes; younger students concentrate for a shorter period of time. Primary school aged children (aged 5 - 11yrs), would be expected to listen attentively for up to fifteen minutes prior to participating in a re-enforcement of learning activity of some sort.

The positive aspect to lecturing is that the time allocation can be fully utilised and planned for in advance. Supporting media (video clips, overhead presentations etc.) can be planned and handouts pre-prepared (eliminating the need for note-taking). The teacher will be in control of the information that is delivered. Many teachers are comfortable with this mode of delivering their subject matter. There are unlikely to be any unforeseen questions that will cause distraction.

A negative aspect of using lecturing as the sole method of teaching is that it may not address the learning needs of everyone in the class / audience, and may be of a longer duration than most people can concentrate for. The percieved monotonic delivery may not suit kinaesthetic or some acoustic learners. Less confident students are unlikely to ask questions in front of their peers in this type of setting, meaning that there is very little opportunity to address misunderstandings. Students will not have the opportunity to practice the application of their new knowledge.

Modern teaching practice supports a mixture of learning techniques within each lesson; tailored to the age and ability of the student. No two students are alike; a confident and competent teacher will ensure that the learning needs of all students in the group are addressed using whatever technique or facility is available at the time.

Learn more about this author, Karen Jones.
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