Education

What is lost when academics teach to empty lecture halls?

From Times Higher Education: “When veterinary parasitologist Jan Slapeta gave his first regular lecture at the University of Sydney 15 years ago, he found the experience ‘intimidating’. … This May, Professor Slapeta found himself disconcerted in a completely different way, when nobody showed up for a lecture. … ‘For me, the lecture is just a bigger tutorial. People say the lecture is dead, but I think there’s still value in it when you want to get a certain concept across. I could give students some paper or chapter to read, but it takes time. I can probably help them to grasp that material more quickly. They can ask me questions, and we can get to the bottom of it. If that’s what a lecture is about, it’s not dead; it’s alive. It’s very alive.’”

View the full article from Times Higher Education. [Subscription required.]