Lecture Classes: Not an Effective Way of Learning
Jessica Boxamm
Kathy Moore
English 098
1st of November
Lecture Classes: Not an Effective Way of Learning In the essay, “College Lectures: Is anybody Listening?,” written by David Daniels, he suggests that college lecture classes should be replaced by classes that provide more of an active learning environment. He also points out that the lecture system is outdated, because it originated from the fact that, formerly, people couldn’t afford to buy books. He explains how the large number of students in one lecture hall makes student-instructor interaction more difficult than it should be. He illustrates how this is particularly true for students attending college in their first year, because those students are not yet equipped with the tools to succeed in a lecture style course. He feels that this is the time when students need to be nurtured and have a more hands on experience in order to learn effectively. He talks about how the students become bored during lectures, not paying attention, and drifting off into space. Based on my own experience and observations, I agree with Daniels. First I agree with Daniels that lecture classes are not an effective way of learning. Throughout the years, I found that I learn better by getting involved with classmates in group projects, writing research papers, or doing some sort of in-class assignment that assisted me in better learning the material. From the beginning of my academic career I was taught in an active learning environment. My biology class is an excellent example. The instructor could have stood at the front of the class and talked all day about how to dissect a frog, but the only way it was really going to have an impact in my learning was to actually pick up the scalpel and forceps and cut into it myself. Only then could I better understand what the instructor had been trying to teach all along, which was what the internal organs looked like, and how they functioned. It’s very similar with all my English
Kathy Moore
English 098
1st of November
Lecture Classes: Not an Effective Way of Learning In the essay, “College Lectures: Is anybody Listening?,” written by David Daniels, he suggests that college lecture classes should be replaced by classes that provide more of an active learning environment. He also points out that the lecture system is outdated, because it originated from the fact that, formerly, people couldn’t afford to buy books. He explains how the large number of students in one lecture hall makes student-instructor interaction more difficult than it should be. He illustrates how this is particularly true for students attending college in their first year, because those students are not yet equipped with the tools to succeed in a lecture style course. He feels that this is the time when students need to be nurtured and have a more hands on experience in order to learn effectively. He talks about how the students become bored during lectures, not paying attention, and drifting off into space. Based on my own experience and observations, I agree with Daniels. First I agree with Daniels that lecture classes are not an effective way of learning. Throughout the years, I found that I learn better by getting involved with classmates in group projects, writing research papers, or doing some sort of in-class assignment that assisted me in better learning the material. From the beginning of my academic career I was taught in an active learning environment. My biology class is an excellent example. The instructor could have stood at the front of the class and talked all day about how to dissect a frog, but the only way it was really going to have an impact in my learning was to actually pick up the scalpel and forceps and cut into it myself. Only then could I better understand what the instructor had been trying to teach all along, which was what the internal organs looked like, and how they functioned. It’s very similar with all my English