A lecture on linear algebra at the Helsinki University of Technology

A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a

particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey
critical information, history, background, theories and equations. A politician's speech, a
minister's sermon, or even a businessman's sales presentation may be similar in form to a lecture.
Usually the lecturer will stand at the front of the room and recite information relevant to the
lecture's content.

Though lectures are much criticised as a teaching method, universities have not yet found
practical alternative teaching methods for the large majority of their courses. Critics point out
that lecturing is mainly a one-way method of communication that does not involve significant
audience participation. Therefore, lecturing is often contrasted to active learning. Lectures
delivered by talented speakers can be highly stimulating; at the very least, lectures have survived
in academia as a quick, cheap and efficient way of introducing large numbers of students to a
particular field of study.

Lectures have a significant role outside the classroom, as well. Academic and scientific awards
routinely include a lecture as part of the honor, and academic conferences often center around
"keynote addresses", i.e., lectures. The public lecture has a long history in the sciences and in
social movements. Union halls, for instance, historically have hosted numerous free and public
lectures on a wide variety of matters. Similarly, churches, community centers, libraries,
museums, and other organizations have hosted lectures in furtherance of their missions or their
constituents' interests. Lectures represent a continuation of oral tradition in contrast to textual
communication in books and other media.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Etymology
 2 History
 3 Research
 4 Other forms
 5 See also
  6 Notes
 7 References
 8 External links

[edit] Etymology
The noun "lecture" dates from 14th century, meaning "action of reading, that which is read,"
from the Latin lectus, pp. of legere "to read." Its subsequent meaning as "anal discourse on a
given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction" is from the 16th century. The verb
"to lecture" is attested from 1590. The noun "lectern" refers to the reading desk used by lecturers.

[edit] History

A lecture at a medieval university (1350s) showing the lecturer reading a text from the lectern to
students.

The practice in the medieval university was for the instructor to read from an original source to a
class of students who took notes on the lecture. The reading from original sources evolved into
the reading of glosses on an original and then more generally to lecture notes. Throughout much
of history, the diffusion of knowledge via handwritten lecture notes was an essential element of
academic life.

Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp

Even in the twentieth century the lecture notes taken by students, or prepared by a scholar for a
lecture, have sometimes achieved wide circulation (see, for example, the genesis of Ferdinand de
Saussure's Cours de linguistique générale). Many lecturers were, and still are, accustomed to
simply reading their own notes from the lectern for exactly that purpose. Nevertheless, modern
lectures generally incorporate additional activities, e.g. writing on a chalk-board, exercises, class
questions and discussions, or student presentations.

The use of multimedia presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint has changed the form
of lectures, e.g. video, graphics, websites, or prepared exercises may be included. Most
commonly, however, only outlines composed of "bullet points" are presented. Critics such as
Edward Tufte contend that this style of lecture bombards the audience with unnecessary and
possibly distracting or confusing graphics.[1]

[edit] Research

William Hogarth's 1736 engraving, Scholars at a Lecture

Bligh, in What's the Use of Lectures? argues that lectures "represent a conception of education in
which teachers who know give knowledge to students who do not and are therefore supposed to
have nothing worth contributing." Based on his review of numerous studies, he concludes that
lecturing is as effective, but not more effective, as any other teaching method in transmitting
information. Nevertheless, lecturing is not the most effective method for promoting student
thought, changing attitudes, or teaching behavioral skills. Bligh summarises research on memory
to show the significance of the meaningfulness of material on retention (Marks and Miller 1964)
and the importance of immediate rehearsal of information (Bassey 1968). He relates his own
research on arousal during lectures to suggest a decrement in attention during the first 25
minutes. Lloyd (1968) and Scerbo et al. (1992) showed that students take fewer and fewer notes
as lectures proceed. Bligh shows that after a short break filled by buzz group discussion,
attention will recover somewhat. The largest section of Bligh's book is devoted to lecturing
technique, particularly the organisation of lectures, how to make a point, the effectiveness of
taking notes, the use of handouts and ways of obtaining feedback. Early editions of the book
contained a reply paid evaluation card. This research showed that the section on alternative
teaching methods within lectures was the most highly praised.[2]

[edit] Other forms

While lecture is generally accepted as an effective form of instruction, there have been some
prominent educators who have succeeded without the help of lectures.

Many university courses relying on lectures supplement them with smaller discussion sections,
tutorials, or laboratory experiment sessions as a means of further actively involving students.
Often these supplemental sections are led by graduate students, tutors, Teaching Assistants or
Teaching Fellows rather than senior faculty. Those other forms of academic teaching include
discussion (recitation if conducted by a Teaching Assistant ), seminars, workshops, observation,
practical application, case examples/case study, experiential learning/active learning, computer-
based instruction and tutorials.

In schools the prevalent mode of student-teacher interaction is lessons.

The term "parlor lecture" gained currency throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations and
the United States of America during the mid-19th century. It referred to the custom of inviting
noted speakers to deliver private lectures, which were typically hosted in the parlors of wealthy
and socially influential families.[3]

Audio-visual
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The term audio-visual (AV) may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the
production or use of such works, or to equipment used to create and present such works. Slide
tape presentation[1],Films and television program are examples of audio-visual presentations.[2]

Business presentations are also usually audio-visual. In a typical presentation, the presenter
provides the audio by speaking, and supplements it with a series of images projected onto a
screen, either from a slide projector, or from a computer connected to a projector using a
presentation program (software).

The term audio-visual or A/V is used usually as industry jargon, describing works with a type of
visual and/or audio format. In the developed world, there has been a huge uptake of computer-
based audio-visual equipment in the education sector, with many schools and higher educational
establishments installing projection equipment and often using interactive whiteboard
technology.
One of audio-visual media’s strengths is its ability to heave massive amounts of information at
us. Audio-visual media is a high volume media because it sends so many messages at one time.
AV media supports the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" because AV media delivers
millions of messages to those who consume it.

[edit] References
1. ^ Barman, Charles R.. "Slide-Tape Presentations on a Classroom Budget". University of
California Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4447864. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
2. ^ "audio-visual". http://www.answers.com/topic/audio-visuals.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also
 Professional audiovisual industry
 Multimedia