Transcript Slide 1

Today:
• pedagogy of lectures
• impact on lecture theatre design
• challenges of lecture theatres
• design changes
• teaching practice
• discussion
The Lecture Theatre:
White Elephant or Blue Ribbon Space?
Jo Dane - Monash University, Faculty of Art & Design
Lecture: “a discourse given before an audience upon a
given subject, usually for the purpose of instruction”
Lectura: “to read”
OED Online
New pedagogies – collaborative and interactive learning
Traditional lecture theatres
1. Are lecture theatres in their current format,
good value investments of infrastructure?
2. Should they be designed differently to improve the
educational outcomes for students?
Cost effective and space effective
“Lecture: A process by which the notes of the professor
become the notes of the student, without passing through
the minds of either.”
R.K. Rathbun
1. acquisition of information
2. promotion of thought/new concepts
3. changes in attitude
level of performance
lecturer
students
lecture
effectiveness
time
Level of performance during a lecture
Source: Bligh, 1972
“What you can do in a lecture in terms of encouraging
students to interact together…
is to some extent determined by the layout of the room.”
Brown and Race
Form follows behaviour
1. The layout of traditional lecture theatres inhibits the possibility
of interactive or collaborative activities from taking place
2. Lecturers are not encouraged to develop a student-centred
approach to learning in lectures
CHALLENGES OF LECTURE THEATRE LAYOUTS
• How to create more mobility for lecturers and students to
move around?
• How to enable students to interact with each other during
lectures?
• The focus is all on the lecturer.
• Reduce the necessity of students to write notes at the
expense of listening for comprehension.
• Lecture theatres sit idle when not timetabled.
What is the one thing you could change to make lecture
theatres more educationally effective?
Consider different models – eg. cabaret!
Change teaching practice
MAKING A DIFFERENCE…
• new pedagogies are difficult to implement in
lecture theatres
• lectures can be organised to be studentcentred
• lecture theatres should be designed with an
White Elephant or Blue Ribbon Space?
understanding of the behaviour that is
intended
• we need to reconceptualise lecture theatres
to foster student interaction and studentcentred learning