What Don’t We Know About Interactive Lectures?

Abstract

This article considers aspects of lecturer-student interaction within the context of lectures in higher education. In particular it considers ways in which lectures can involve observable interactions between students and lecturers, and how these sometimes involve novel uses of visualisation supported by modern technologies. It goes on to consider the different ways in which interactive lectures can involve the use of new technologies such as voting systems and SMS messaging from mobile telephones. A full range of types of interactive lectures is reviewed, and the article notes the serious lack of research in existence which can inform thinking about what is a very widely used form of teaching throughout higher education. As well as considering the possible implications for students and lecturers of participating in interactive lectures, this article also goes on to consider ways in which this type of educational situation could be subjected to rigorous research investigations. It is argued that such research needs to focus both on the processes of interactive lectures as well as their impact on student learning outcomes.