What's the Use of Lectures? A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: New Meta-Analyses in Higher Education

Abstract

Whereas lecturing is a common educational practice, the effectiveness of lectures has repeatedly been called into question as in lectures, learners tend to lack the active engagement that leads to deep learning, transfer, sparks interest and motivation. We estimated the relative effectiveness of lectures compared to other teaching formats in a meta-analysis of 67 studies and 405 effect sizes across various educational contexts and learning outcomes. Lectures were found to be as effective as other teaching formats to convey declarative knowledge, but less effective for skills and non-cognitive outcomes. Student satisfaction was only significantly lower in lectures than other courses when students were randomly assigned to the courses. Our findings are informative for effective teaching in and outside higher education.

Authors

• Maja Sophie Flaig, University of Tuebingen

• Tobias Heltemes, University of Trier

• Kay Lendermann, University of Trier

• Michael Schneider, ETH Zurich