CLLectures

The Cooperative Lecture

Sage on the stage, or Guide on the side?

Faculty role:
1. Help students construct their own knowledge, which requires
that the instructor and students are actively engaged with one
another in constructing knowledge and understanding.
2. Develop students’ competencies and talents; develop
students’ potential and transform them into more
knowledgeable and committed individuals.

Appropriate Uses of the Lecture

1. Disseminate information.
2. Present material that is not available elsewhere.
3. Expose students to content in a brief time that might take
them much longer to locate on their own.
4. Arouse students’ interest in a subject.
5. Teach students who are primarily auditory learners.
Concentration during lectures of medical students, who
presumably are highly motivated, rose sharply, peaked 10 to 15
minutes after the lecture began, and then fell steadily thereafter
(Stuart and Rutherford 1978). A research study in the 1960s
found that students wrote notes on 41% during the first 15
minutes, 25% of that presented in the first 30 minutes, and only
20% of that presented during 45 minutes (reported in Penner
1984).
 Lecturette - Groupette
1. Introductory focused discussion: Give pairs of students 4 or 5
minutes to complete the initial task. Aimed at promoting
advance organizing of what the students know about the
topic to be presented and establishing expectations about
what the lecture will cover.
2. Lecture segment 1: 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Pair discussion 1: Give students a discussion task that can be
completed within 3 to 4 minutes; the purpose is to ensure that
students are actively thinking about the material. Ask them to
answer a question, react to the theory, concepts, or
information being presented, or relate the material being
presented to past learning. Each student formulates his or her
answer, shares their answers with their partners, and listens
carefully to the partner’s answer. Together they create a new
answer that is superior to each one’s initial answer. The
instructor then randomly chooses 2 or 3 students to give 30
second summaries of their discussions.
4. Lecture segment 2.
5. Pair discussion 2.
6. Repetition.
7. Closure – focused discussion: 4 or 5 minutes for students to
summarize and discuss the material covered in the lecture.