An excellent article talking about that lectures are not dead and are still useful.
The article points out that lecture method may have issues but the biggest failure probably comes from professors who are not trained to lecture and the fact that many schools do not emphasize teaching in their tenure process.
I agree with the author. Back in the day, great philosophers gave lectures and their pupils seemed to learn fine. The issue is that this art of lecture has been lost. I believe training professors to lecture better and giving more incentives will increase the efficacy of lectures.
I also agree that alternative learning methods are not a panacea. I have seen group works and online tests and they do not seem that effective as well. In group work, many students played with their phones and the online tests were taken last minute to get the grade. Hence, it would be dangerous for a professor to blindly follow alternative methods. Instead, the professor should experiment with various tools to see what methods work best.
For me, weaving the real world and class room material worked well for the students. I always included recent market and economic events in my class. I also taught them how to use SEC EDGAR and encouraged them to find interesting filings or things that they did not understand.
Finally, I believe that best learning occurs when the professor cares for the student and the student know this. Students will try harder when the professor is passionate and doing his best to help the student learn the material.
I pray that we do our best to prepare the next generation 😀
Pureum's Perspective 