“We just don’t sit there. We participate, interact and learn, and we rarely get bored” – That is a lectorial

Abstract

Addressing the many changing learning needs, styles and readiness of students, along with changing environments and advances in technology, the "lectorial" as an educational method was introduced to first-year university students undertaking a science course in 2016 and 2017. It was deemed an innovative and radical development from the traditional classroom. Reported by de la Harpe and Prentice ( 2011) after an extensive study of their Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology students undertaking undergraduate courses, the lectorial featured the use of flexible multi-media learning spaces, an accessible online interactive platform that engaged students with the content before the face-to-face lectorial and an active and conducive large-class environment, which allowed for optimal engagement with content, peers and staff. Moreover, the lectorial was identified as a strategy to reduce boredom in classrooms, a universal experience of university students. It is different from a flipped classroom (Milman, 2012), in that the learner is exposed to the content outside the classroom and is able to identify and address areas of strength and weakness and engage in various activities involving authentic case scenarios.

Students from a large Australian university use Twitter to identify difficult course concepts to review during face-to-face lectorial sessions

“…The data clearly demonstrate that 87% (48% agree and 39% strongly agree) of the respondents valued the lectorial sessions. Effectively designed review sessions, like these lectorials, are highly rated by students for their usefulness in reviewing difficult content (35).…”

“…Lectorials as the name suggests is a blend of lecture and tutorial format. Lectorials have been effective in reviewing difficult concepts, and students rate them highly because they allow for greater engagement in content and help to improve student understanding of difficult concepts (11,35). There are many versions of a lectorial format.…”