Bulletin Special Supplement Jun 1965

palliatives of a sort can be devised. T h e last five minutes of an hour can be given u p to questions — b u t the bigger the class the less likely it is that a student w i l l be t emp t ed to reveal his difficulties; also, these difficulties may not be the same as those experienced by other students. Alternatively , if the lecturer remains i n the r o om for five minutes at the end of the lecture (if only to clean the blackboard) students can be encouraged to com e f o r wa rd w i t h their difficulties. Again, the lecturer may brea k off his argument to test the comprehension o f a given memb er of the audience by a question; b ut thi s me t h od is seldom valuable to the student and it has the disadvantage of i n t e r r u p t i ng concentration on a sequence of presentation. I n some countries (e.g. the U . S . A .) students are ready to i n t e r r u pt w i t h questions at almost any m o m e n t; b ut the questions may seem to be trival, and if numerous they w i l l prevent the lecturer f r om covering substantial parts of his course . Again, it is possible to set examinations or other tests to find out wh e t h er the students have mastered the contents of the course; b ut this is n o rma l l y too late for remedial action to be f u l ly effective. F i n a l ly it is possible for some lecturers to sense f r om thei r audience whether an argument is being followed or not , and if not, then to go back and elaborate it. T h i s not only destroys the sequence of exposition b ut ma y in some cases be unsuccessful; also not all lecturer s possess this i n t u i t i ve sense. T h e p r o b l em t h r o u g h o ut is t o devise a t wo - way communication i n a situation that does not lend itself to this k i n d of " f e e d b a c k ". T h e re is in fact no fully satisfactory solution to the p r o b l em other than the provision of a quite different f o rm of teaching period, more informal, perhaps slower in pace, whether in laboratory, seminar, examples class, other discussio n period, or tutorial. (ii) A f u r t h er serious drawback o f lectures as a sole f o r m o f instruction is that they allow no scope for activity on the part of the student other than attentive f o l l ow i ng of the speaker's argument and the taking of notes. I f n o t h i ng els e is sought b ut the power of attentive listening this wo u ld not ma t t e r; even then, unfortunately, the mean s of o b t a i n i ng information about the degree of comprehension are unsatisfactory in themselves and often d a u n t i ng t o the teacher. For they can onl y consist of the setting of tests or the h a n d i n g - in and checking of lecture- notes, an arduous d u ty and — for the student — not a very h e l p f u l one. I f on the other hand, importance is attached to disciplined forms of active participation by students, then lectures by themselves are unable to assist i n developing thi s activity. As we remark i n Section I, we adopt on this matter broadly the same position as that set out in A p p e n d ix B of the Report of the Comm i t t ee on T e a c h i ng Me t h o d s. I t has mu c h relevance to the question wh at place should the lecture occupy in undergraduate teaching. (iii) Yet another drawback of a p r o g r amme based largely on lectures is of a psychological character; in the course of a heav y day's p r o g r amme of lectures, it is impossible for students to avoid becoming tired, inattentive, and generally unabl e to devote a fresh m i n d to their wo r k. (iv) T h e re is a f u r t h er aspec t to a heavy lecture course: namely, the need for the teacher to deliver more lectures than h e could n o rma l ly be expected to give w i t h m a x i m um effectiveness. A n ill-prepared lecture (the result of too heavy a time-table) not o n ly discourages students b ut also demoralises the teacher himself, pushes h i m towards slovenly standard s (however excellent his standards may be a t the outset) and causes h i m t o regard his teaching as a drudgery, i n place of the exciting and challenging experience w h i c h it should be, an d w h i ch under more fortunate conditions it does i n fact prove to be. L4.5 A f t er this survey o f the disadvantages of lectures as a f o r m of teaching, it m i g ht be supposed that we regard t h em as an o u t mo d ed f o r m of c ommu n i c a t i o n, a t best an expedient wh i ch it has not been possibl e yet to abolish. But this is not in fact our view. On the contrary, we regard lectures as in some senses the most p owe r f ul tool in the a rmo u ry of the teacher. We attach great importance to the special merits and peculia r advantages of u n i n t e r r u p t ed exposition, as these are listed above . But like all p owe r f ul instruments, the lectur e mu st be used skilfully, not misused or over-used. L 4 .6 T h e success of any lecture course is not easily measured in a n objective ma n n e r; the more advanced the character of th e wo r k, the more evident this becomes. I n particular, if one of the chief merits of a lecture consists in its arousing interest i n the subject, as we ll as understanding, and if this interest is expressed in the f o r m of f u r t h er reading or study by th e p u p i l, it is clear that an i mp o r t a nt p r o d u ct of the good lecture—enthusiasm—can not be assessed quantitatively in any reliable way. T h e enthusiasm of the p u p il is more easily aroused wh en the teacher himself is plainl y enthusiastic about his topic, as we ll as competent to e x p o u nd it. B ut for this situation to come about, it is not usually enough to trust to luck, or personality, or the subject itself. A lecture cannot be f u l ly successful as a f o r m of teaching (though it may otherwis e be valuable) w i t h o ut attention to the f o l l ow i ng matters: (i) T h e lecturer must himself be quite clear in his m i n d on wh at he can accomplish in the t i me at his disposal. A lecture or a course w h i ch is only half- completed cannot be regarde d as satisfactory �； it mu st be carefully planned as an entity. ( i i ) Equally i mp o r t a n t, the student mu st k n ow wh at is bein g undertaken, and must be kep t f u l ly aware not only of the aims but also of the methods of the lecture. ( i i i ) I f there is need for illustrative materials (texts, diagrams, material w r i t t en on a blackboard, references 30