Bulletin Special Supplement Jun 1965

to library books, manuals, etc.) then it is essential that these should be available at the time when they are required: no t h i ng must be taken for granted by the lecturer. A n y t h i ng less than the most scrupulous attention to details of this k i nd may be taken by the student to i mp l y that he too may be less than scrupulous in wo r k i ng over the material or complying w i th the lecturer's requirements. (iv) T h e lecturer must not assume that students are as knowledgeable as h e is when it comes to making notes on what he has said. There can in our view be no general prescription for note-taking. Sometimes he may wish to dictate a formula, phrase, or passage, or cause it to be copied down exactly; sometimes he may consider i t necessary to distribute notes or examples relating to part of his course; sometimes none of these things w i ll be needed. But he should at all times have in m i n d a view of what the student may s u p p o s e h i m to be saying; and act in the light of his judgement. I t is not enough to suppose one has given a lecture when one has spoken for a certain period of time on a topic. A lecture is an act of communication the merit of wh i ch lies in what has been received; and students, being by definition less experienced or learned than their teachers require a n approach wh i ch is different f r om that wh i ch on e wou ld use in addressing an audience of peopl e of equivalent experience to one's own. Each lecturer mus t decide for himself whether he is speaking (ideally) to the cleverest student in the class, or to the least advanced one, or to an imaginery average student . L4.7 I f all these conditions are satisfied, it does not automatically follow that a lecture or lecture course w i ll be outstandingly successful. We have heard evidence f r om colleagues, in certain cases, to the effect that thei r teaching would be more effective if they were involved in fewer courses. I f this is indeed so, an d their courses contain a large component of lecturing, then i t may well be that some colleagues have difficulty in finding the time to make e a ch of their lectures the important, unique and decisive event that it should ideally be. I n a later section we suggest a general approach to the volume of lecturing wh i ch could result in an alleviation of this difficulty, at least in some cases (paragraph 5.13). L4.8 A further, and more personal, problem arises when one considers the topic of presentation. I t is by no means obvious that the highest qualities of scholarship are invariably backed by high powers of public speaking; ye t in dealing w i th a large class these power s can be extremely useful. A great scholar might quite easily not enjoy public speaking and wo u ld be n o less an excellent university teacher. But it is essential that a m i n i mum standard of delivery should be attained by all teachers without exception; otherwise an excellently prepared lecture may fail of its effect by the simpl e fact that some students do not hear important parts of it. As numbers grow in the University, the reality of this matter may become more obvious than i t is in the present stage of growth. I t is however certain beyond all doubt that a lecturer, whose mode o f delivery must always be a personal one, should not b e asked to conform to some u n i f o rm manner or style. I t is no less certain that a university is not primarily an academy of public o r a t o r y. Moreover, an experienced lecturer, even if he wished, may not find it easy t o alter his delivery w i t hout adversely affecting the cogency of his manner of exposition. N o r is it clear in what way he could be helped, other than by being advised to be audible. L4.9 As compared w i th the experience d teacher, a beginner may however be given great assistance. He will, more often than not, attempt to include too much informatio n in a lecture: it is easy to correct this. He may he new to lecturing, in wh i ch case he w i ll appreciate advice on style of delivery. I t is har d to say, however, who should give this advice. On the one hand it may be argued that only a specialist in his own field can criticise the organisation of the material he presents. On the other hand, the use of his voice is a matter on which great help can be derived in a very small time f r om a different k i nd of specialist: either a person w i th experience of producing — say wireless programmes or plays — or a person accustomed to giving advice on teaching in schools. I n th e interests not only of students but also of their teachers, the University might w i th advantag e consider whether for all newly-appointed future lecturers it could make available on an optional basi s a central service of advice and help, such that an experienced colleague could attend and subsequently criticise or discuss in a helpful way several of th e first lectures delivered in a course. Such advice should no t be left solely to senior members of departments, wh o have many other duties and are in any case less likely to be regarded as an anonymous counsellor by their j u n i or colleague. L4.10 I n the foregoing paragraphs we have confined ourselves very largely to generalities. We are aware that the number o f lectures given varies very widely f r om course to course; that the character of a lecture varies very mu ch according to the subject; that some Departments use techniques which are of no great relevance to others; and that the sizes of class also vary greatly. Ha v i ng heard the opinions of many colleagues, we consider tha t an important general point should, if possible, b e widely accepted — namely, that every lecture should always be regarded as having a specific teaching purpose , and not be given as a matter o f routine �； and that to this end not onl y should every lecturer consider very carefully his aims and his methods in respec t of every hour he uses, but should also be free f r om an excessive n u m b e r of lecturing periods. Only in this wa y can there be every chance of students deriving f u ll benefit f r om this f o rm of teaching. 31