Assessment, Learning & Teaching Reflections |
Friday 18 November
Thinking about architecture and pedagogy , next time you are in a large lecture theatre, take a moment to consider its design. You will notice that the tiered seats all face in one direction, offering a good view of the front of the theatre. Out-front, the chalk-board and even the white-board may now have been replaced by the screen for overhead projection and Power-Point presentations. But the intention remains the same as it has for over a century and a half, to focus the audiences’ attention to the front and to project information clearly from the lecturer to the audience.
We might ask: what assumptions about learning and teaching informed this design? What kinds of learning can take place in this environment, and what can’t be achieved? Who is the main source of knowledge? Who has the most space? Who controls the pace and content of the lecture? Having considered these questions and formed a response, might it be appropriate to ask whether we should continue to use the large lecture theatre as one of the main settings for university teaching and learning? In an era of mass higher education, might there be better ways to commune with our students?
David Kirk
Dean, Carnegie Faculty
