ABSTRACT
Instructional strategies may be considered on various continua from teacher controlled to student controlled, from much to little student input, from expository to indirect, or from deductive to inductive. Lecturing tends to be on one end of the continuum with most teacher control, least student input, most expository form, and most deductive mode of instruction. Although these characteristics are neither negative nor positive, they do help to define the lecture. Sistek (1986) cited Simpson as saying: “Sir Barcroft used to define a lecture as a process by which information is transferred from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the student without going through the minds of either” (p. 1). Such a definition raises concern about the value of the lecture method. Chaudron and Richards (1985) stated that “the function of lectures is to instruct, by presenting information in such a way that a coherent body of information is presented, readily understood, and remembered” (p. 3). However, they recognized that not all lectures inherently function in these ways.
