Lectures (meaning of the word - "I read" in Latin) as a method of transferring information from a mentor to students arose back in those distant times, when philosophy was just beginning to emerge. In the middle of the first millennium, in a number of developed countries (China, India, Hellas, European states), lectures were used to simultaneously teach a large number of people by one teacher.
Since books were extremely expensive and rare things in those days, the task of the lecturer was to publicly read or quote the works of scientists by heart.
Today, almost everyone knows what a lecture is, because the meaning and content of the method have not changed. Middle and high school teachers everywhere enjoy its benefits, constantly improving and supplementing their own techniques.
What is a lecture: meaning and application
Deepening into the meaning of the term, we can say that a lecture should be called a way of presenting information thathas a coherent logical structure, built from the standpoint of consistency, and also deeply and clearly reveals the subject.
The core component of most curriculums is the lecture. Its purpose is as follows:
- The presentation of the most important information on a given topic.
- Help in mastering the fundamental problems of the course.
- Simplify the process of mastering the methods of scientific knowledge.
- Popularization of the latest achievements of modern scientific thought.
Functions of lectures
After studying the data proposed above, we can list the main functions of the lecture: methodological, organizational, informational. Sometimes this method of learning becomes the only one available, for example, if there are no textbooks and manuals. This often happens in educational institutions in the periphery and when developing new educational programs.
In this case, a lecture is a means of revealing the conceptual apparatus of a particular field of science or knowledge, as well as its problems. It is able to give a holistic view of what is the essence of the subject, and show how it is interconnected with other sciences. Lectures provide a basic basis for using other forms of study, such as a seminar, laboratory and practical classes, course and diploma projects, consultations, tests, exams.
Method advantages
Without a comprehensive and objective study, it is impossible to form a reliable idea of what a lecture is. Like any other teaching technique, it hasadvantages and disadvantages. Consider the main benefits:
- The responsibilities of the lecturer include planning and monitoring the course of the lesson. This means that the educational process has a clear system, and the slightest deviations from the planned plan can be quickly eliminated.
- A lecture is a great way to convey information to a large number of people at one time. Thus, a fairly large audience is reached.
- The use of such a system can significantly reduce the cost of an educational institution per student. This comes as a result of speeding up and simplifying the teaching process.
Disadvantages inherent in the lecture system of presenting information
Choosing lectures as a way to transfer fundamental knowledge to students, the administration of the institution should be aware that it has some specific features.
In order for the learning process to be of really high quality, the lecturer must have not only the necessary information and experience, but also the ability to teach. Many people can remember the jokes about boring and long lectures that are popular among students. Is it necessary to say that the data dictated by a monotonous voice without intonations are practically not assimilated? This problem is effectively solved by training the oratorical skills of the teacher.
Another feature lies in the very concept of what a lecture is: in fact, it is a monologue. The maximum communication between the lecturer and the student isin response to student questions. However, as a rule, the initiative rarely comes from listeners. As a result, one can observe low student involvement, lack of activity and a high level of learning.
Types of lectures: characteristics of the introductory lecture
Depending on the tasks, purpose and style of conducting, there are several main types of lectures:
- Introductory.
- Informational.
- Overview.
- Problem.
- Visualization.
- Binary.
- Conference.
- Consultation.
Introductory lectures are given to give a first idea of what the subject is. Thanks to this, students can orient themselves in the system of future work. The task of the lecturer is to familiarize students with the purpose and main objectives of the course. He tells about his role and place in the system of disciplines.
Students receive a summary of the future course, learn about the milestones in the development of science and practice, as well as which scientists made the most important achievements and when they were made. In addition, the introductory lecture includes a presentation of promising directions in research.
Also, the lecturer explains to students what a lecture, a seminar and other organizational types of the educational process means. It specifies what literature they should use, when and in what form to submit reports.
Overview, information and other lectures
Lecture-information is a name given to such activities, the purpose of which is to inform students about a subject. Lecturer atin general terms or in more detail sets out and explains to students the scientific information that must be comprehended and memorized by them. Often, in the process of holding such events, each student keeps a lecture note, where he briefly captures the most important moments of the speech. It should be noted that informational lectures are of the traditional type.
The review lecture is designed to systematize scientific knowledge at a fairly high level. At the same time, its feature is the presence of a large number of associative links involved in the comprehension of information. Usually, review lectures do not provide for concretization and detailing, they are intended to reveal intra-subject and inter-subject connections.
Events where the lecturer uses visual means of conveying material are called visualization lectures or video lectures. The teacher's task is to timely comment on the videos, photos or slides shown. This method of presenting educational material is used in the practice of many educational institutions that provide humanitarian or technical education.
Binary - an interesting type of lecture, in which instead of a monologue, students are offered a dialogue between two teachers. As a rule, each of them represents a separate scientific school or advocates a specific view of the subject under consideration.
Lecture-conference: what is it and how is it different from other types
When an event takes the form of a scientific and practical lesson, that is, there is a pre-set problem andsystem of reports, then it is called a lecture-conference.
The speeches that make up such a lecture have a strict logical structure (introduction, main body, conclusion). They are prepared in advance on the basis of assignments provided by the teacher. The result of all speeches is a comprehensive coverage of the problem. The role of the lecturer is reduced to the formulation of the conclusion and summing up the results of independently prepared texts. In addition, it supplements and clarifies the information presented.
Specific lecture-consultation
There are several scenarios for this type of lecture:
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In the first case, the structure of the event fits into the "question - answer" scheme. The teacher, throughout the entire period of time allotted for the lesson, gives answers to students' questions (regarding a specific section or the entire course).
lecture it - The second option can be schematically depicted as a question-answer/discussion. This is a kind of combination of three elements: the lecturer presents new material, raises a number of questions and organizes a discussion to find answers. However, this type of presentation of information should not be confused with others, as there are significant differences between a lecture and a seminar and training.
Structure and sections of the classic lecture
Usually, a lecturer's speech consists of several parts: introduction, main content and conclusion.
The introduction is intended to establish a connection between this topic and what has already been learned. Here the goals and objectives of the speech are voiced,as well as his plan. Sometimes in this section a list of sources used in the preparation is indicated, but more often it is left for conclusion. Introduction takes no more than 5-8 minutes.
The second part (main content) is the most important and meaningful stage of the lecture. Here the teacher reflects the key ideas and theory of the issue, sets out different points of view, provides value judgments.
The final part of each lecture is reserved for generalization and conclusions on the information presented. Then the future lecture material can be presented, and the direction for independent work of students is determined.
