A lecture hall (or lecture theatre ) is a large room used for instruction , typically at a college or university . Unlike a traditional classroom with a capacity normally between one and fifty, the capacity of lecture halls is usually measured in the hundreds. Lecture halls almost always have a pitched floor , so that those in the rear are sat higher than those at the front (i.e. tiered seating), allowing them to see the lecturer. The importance of lecture halls is so significant that some schools of architecture have offered courses exclusively centered on their design. The noted Boston architect Earl Flansburgh wrote numerous articles focusing on achieving efficacious lecture hall design.
55-407: Lecture halls differ from other types of learning spaces , seminar rooms in particular, in that they allow for little versatility in use, although they are no less flexible than, for example, chemistry laboratories. Experimentation, group work, and other contemporary educational methods are not practicable in a lecture hall. On the other hand, lecture halls are excellent for focusing the attention of
110-440: A teaching method , universities have not yet found practical alternative teaching methods for the large majority of their courses. Critics point out that lecturing is mainly a one-way method of communication that does not involve significant audience participation but relies upon passive learning . Therefore, lecturing is often contrasted to active learning . Lectures delivered by talented speakers can be highly stimulating; at
165-424: A chalk-board, exercises, class questions and discussions, or student presentations. The use of multimedia presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint has changed the form of lectures, e.g. video, graphics, websites, or prepared exercises may be included. Most commonly, however, only outlines composed of "bullet points" are presented. Critics such as Edward Tufte contend that this style of lecture bombards
220-433: A decrement in attention during the first 25 minutes. Lloyd (1968) and Scerbo et al. (1992) showed that students take less and less notes as lectures proceed. Bligh shows that after a short break filled by buzz group discussion, attention will recover somewhat. The largest section of Bligh's book is devoted to lecturing technique, particularly the organisation of lectures, how to make a point, the effectiveness of taking notes,
275-400: A large group on a single point, either an instructor or an audio-visual presentation, and modern lecture halls often feature audio-visual equipment. A microphone and loudspeakers are common to help the lecturer be heard, and projection screens may be used for large displays. The acoustic properties of lecture halls have been the subject of numerous international studies, some even antedating
330-497: A long history in the sciences and in social movements . Union halls , for instance, historically have hosted numerous free and public lectures on a wide variety of matters. Similarly, churches, community centers , libraries , museums , and other organizations have hosted lectures in furtherance of their missions or their constituents' interests. Lectures represent a continuation of oral tradition in contrast to textual communication in books and other media. Lectures may be considered
385-458: A particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher . Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theories, and equations. A politician's speech, a minister's sermon , or even a business person's sales presentation may be similar in form to a lecture. Usually the lecturer will stand at the front of the room and recite information relevant to the lecture's content. Though lectures are much criticised as
440-503: A riot left a number of students dead. The university went on strike and they did not return for two years. Most universities in Europe were recognized by the Holy See as studia generalia , testified by a papal bull . Members of these institutions were encouraged to disseminate their knowledge across Europe, often lecturing at a different studium generale . Indeed, one of the privileges
495-471: A teacher in Toulouse had the right to teach everywhere without further examinations ( ius ubique docendi ), in time, transformed this privilege into the single most important defining characteristic of the university and made it the symbol of its institutional autonomy .... By the year 1292, even the two oldest universities, Bologna and Paris, felt the need to seek similar bulls from Pope Nicholas IV ." By
550-540: A teaching assistant), seminars , workshops , observation , practical application, case examples / case study , experiential learning / active learning , computer -based instruction, and tutorials . In schools , the prevalent mode of student-teacher interaction is lessons . The term " parlor lecture" gained currency throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations and the United States of America during
605-490: A type of grey literature . The noun "lecture" dates from 14th century, meaning "action of reading, that which is read," from the Latin lectus , pp. of legere "to read." Its subsequent meaning as "oral discourse on a given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction " is from the 16th century. The verb "to lecture" is attested from 1590. The noun "lectern" refers to the reading desk used by lecturers. The practice in
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#1732855938701660-510: Is as effective, but not more effective, as any other teaching method in transmitting information. Nevertheless, lecturing is not the most effective method for promoting student thought, changing attitudes, or teaching behavioral skills. Bligh summarises research on memory to show the significance of the meaningfulness of material on retention (Marks and Miller 1964) and the importance of immediate rehearsal of information (Bassey 1968). He relates his own research on arousal during lectures to suggest
715-576: The Renaissance due to the scholastic and Aristotelian emphasis of its curriculum being less popular than the cultural studies of Renaissance humanism , Toby Huff has noted the continued importance of the European universities, with their focus on Aristotle and other scientific and philosophical texts into the early modern period, arguing that they played a crucial role in the Scientific Revolution of
770-571: The University of St Andrews (1413) begun as private corporations of teachers and their pupils. In many cases universities petitioned secular power for privileges and this became a model. Emperor Frederick I in Authentica Habita (1158) gave the first privileges to students in Bologna. Another step was Pope Alexander III in 1179 "forbidding masters of the church schools to take fees for granting
825-416: The campus of a modern university. Classes were taught wherever space was available, such as churches and homes. A university was not a physical space but a collection of individuals banded together as a universitas . Soon, however, universities began to rent, buy or construct buildings specifically for the purposes of teaching. Universities were generally structured along three types, depending on who paid
880-399: The medieval university was for the instructor to read from an original source to a class of students who took notes on the lecture. The reading from original sources evolved into the reading of glosses on an original and then more generally to lecture notes. Throughout much of history, the diffusion of knowledge via handwritten lecture notes was an essential element of academic life. Even in
935-538: The 13th century, almost half of the highest offices in the Church were occupied by degree masters ( abbots , archbishops , cardinals ), and over one-third of the second-highest offices were occupied by masters. In addition, some of the greatest theologians of the High Middle Ages , Thomas Aquinas and Robert Grosseteste , were products of the medieval university. The development of the medieval university coincided with
990-487: The 16th and 17th centuries. As he puts it " Copernicus , Galileo , Tycho Brahe , Kepler , and Newton were all extraordinary products of the apparently Procrustean and allegedly Scholastic universities of Europe... Sociological and historical accounts of the role of the university as an institutional locus for science and as an incubator of scientific thought and arguments have been vastly understated." Initially medieval universities did not have physical facilities such as
1045-498: The Bologna university the students ran everything—a fact that often put teachers under great pressure and disadvantage. In Paris, teachers ran the school; thus Paris became the premiere spot for teachers from all over Europe. Also, in Paris the main subject matter was theology, so control of the qualifications awarded was in the hands of an external authority – the chancellor of the diocese. In Bologna, where students chose more secular studies,
1100-486: The Kingdoms of Sicily and Naples , and the Kingdoms of England , France , Spain , Portugal , and Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries for the study of the arts and the higher disciplines of theology , law , and medicine . These universities evolved from much older Christian cathedral schools and monastic schools , and it is difficult to define the exact date when they became true universities, though
1155-742: The audience with unnecessary and possibly distracting or confusing graphics. A modified lecture format, generally presented in 5 to 15 minute short segments, is now commonly presented as video, for example in massive open online courses (MOOCs) or in programs such as the Khan Academy . Bligh, in What's the Use of Lectures? , argues that lectures "represent a conception of education in which teachers who know give knowledge to students who do not and are therefore supposed to have nothing worth contributing." Based on his review of numerous studies, he concludes that lecturing
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#17328559387011210-489: The bureaucratic needs of monarchs—and were, according to Rashdall, their artificial creations. The University of Paris was formally recognized when Pope Gregory IX issued the bull Parens scientiarum (1231). This was a revolutionary step: studium generale (university) and universitas (corporation of students or teachers) existed even before, but after the issuing of the bull, they attained autonomy . "[T]he papal bull of 1233, which stipulated that anyone admitted as
1265-399: The city if they were enrolled at a university. University studies took six years for a Master of Arts degree (a Bachelor of Arts degree was awarded after completing the third or fourth year). Studies for this were organized by the faculty of arts , where the seven liberal arts were taught: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music theory, grammar, logic, and rhetoric. All instruction
1320-417: The encouragement of active learning with phenomena such as social loafing and evaluation apprehension causing audience members to be reluctant to participate. A possible solution to the encouragement of audience involvement in lectures is the use of an audience response system which allows audience members to participate anonymously. Shoufan (2020) argues that with a proper usage of learning technology,
1375-459: The help of lectures. Many university courses relying on lectures supplement them with smaller discussion sections, tutorials , or laboratory experiment sessions as a means of further actively involving students. Often these supplemental sections are led by graduate students , tutors , teaching assistants , or teaching fellows rather than senior faculty . Those other forms of academic teaching include discussion ( recitation if conducted by
1430-456: The higher faculties, law , medicine , or theology , the last one being the most prestigious. Originally, only few universities had a faculty of theology, because the popes wanted to control the theological studies. Until the mid-14th century, theology could be studied only at universities in Paris, Oxford, Cambridge and Rome. First the establishment of the University of Prague (1347) ended their monopoly and afterwards also other universities got
1485-472: The late 14th century, the term began to appear by itself to exclusively mean a self-regulating community of teachers and scholars recognized and sanctioned by civil or ecclesiastical authority. From the Early Modern period onward, this Western -style organizational form gradually spread from the medieval Latin west across the globe, eventually replacing all other higher-learning institutions and becoming
1540-426: The law. Students were also known to engage in drunkenness. Sometimes citizens were forbidden to interact with students because they made accusations against the university. This led to uneasy tensions with secular authorities—the demarcation between town and gown . Masters and students would sometimes "strike" by leaving a city and not returning for years. This happened at the University of Paris strike of 1229 after
1595-495: The lecture can be omitted and completely replaced by learning activities. The effectiveness of traditional lecture is and has been debated. Some advantages of lecturing include: quick exposure to new material, greater teacher control in the classroom, an engaging format, which may complement and clarify course material, and facilitating large-class communication. Lecturing also permits the dissemination of unpublished or not readily available material. Another advantage would be for
1650-528: The lecturer to attract students. A vivid personality with a kind and respectful attitude in the classroom may help to recruit prospective Master and PhD students for a lecturer's own academic research. There has been much debate as to whether or not lecturing actually improves student learning in the classroom. Commonly cited disadvantages of lecture include: placing students in a passive (rather than an active) role, encouraging one-way communication, requiring significant out-of-class time for students to engage with
1705-401: The license to teach ( licentia docendi ), and obliging them to give license to properly qualified teachers". Rashdall considered that the integrity of a university was only preserved in such an internally regulated corporation, which protected the scholars from external intervention. This independently evolving organization was absent in the universities of southern Italy and Spain, which served
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1760-469: The lists of studia generalia for higher education in Europe held by the Vatican are a useful guide. The word universitas originally applied only to the scholastic guilds —that is, the corporation of students and masters—within the studium , and it was always modified, as universitas magistrorum , universitas scholarium , or universitas magistrorum et scholarium . Eventually, probably in
1815-601: The madrasahs in Islamic Spain and the Emirate of Sicily . George Makdisi, Toby Huff and Norman Daniel, however, have questioned this, citing the lack of evidence for an actual transmission from the Islamic world to Christian Europe and highlighting the differences in the structure, methodologies, procedures, curricula and legal status of the "Islamic college" ( madrasa ) versus the European university. Hastings Rashdall set out
1870-457: The main subject was law. It was also characteristic of teachers and scholars to move around. Universities often competed to secure the best and most popular teachers, leading to the marketisation of teaching. Universities published their list of scholars to entice students to study at their institution. Students of Peter Abelard followed him to Melun, Corbeil, and Paris, showing that popular teachers brought students with them. Students attended
1925-471: The material, and requiring the speaker to possess effective speaking skills. The criticisms of lectures are often summarized by a quote generally misattributed to Mark Twain : College is a place where a professor’s lecture notes go straight to the students’ lecture notes, without passing through the brains of either. While lecturing is generally accepted as an effective form of instruction, there have been some prominent educators who have succeeded without
1980-620: The medieval university at different ages—from 14 if they were attending Oxford or Paris to study the arts, to their 30s if they were studying law in Bologna. During this period of study, students often lived far from home and unsupervised, and as such developed a reputation, both among contemporary commentators and modern historians, for drunken debauchery. Students are frequently criticized in the Middle Ages for neglecting their studies for drinking, gambling and sleeping with prostitutes. In Bologna, some of their laws permitted students to be citizens of
2035-528: The mid-19th century. It referred to the custom of inviting noted speakers to deliver private lectures, which were typically hosted in the parlors of wealthy and socially influential families. Medieval university A medieval university was a corporation organized during the Middle Ages for the purposes of higher education . The first Western European institutions generally considered to be universities were established in present-day Italy, including
2090-1086: The modern understanding of the medieval origins of the universities, noting that the earliest universities emerged spontaneously as "a scholastic Guild, whether of Masters or Students... without any express authorization of King, Pope, Prince or Prelate." Among the earliest universities of this type were the University of Bologna (1088), University of Paris (c. 1150), University of Oxford (1167), University of Modena (1175), University of Palencia (1208), University of Cambridge (1209), University of Salamanca (1218), University of Montpellier (1220), University of Padua (1222), University of Naples (1224), University of Toulouse (1229), University of Orleans (1235), University of Siena (1240), University of Valladolid (1241) University of Northampton (1261), University of Coimbra (1288), University of Macerata (1290), University of Pisa (1343), Charles University in Prague (1348), Jagiellonian University (1364), University of Vienna (1365), Heidelberg University (1386) and
2145-558: The pre-eminent model for higher education everywhere. The university is generally regarded as a formal institution that has its origin in the Medieval Christian setting. For hundreds of years prior to the establishment of universities, European higher education took place in Christian cathedral schools and monastic schools ( scholae monasticae ), where monks and nuns taught classes. Evidence of these immediate forerunners of
2200-470: The right to establish theological faculties. A popular textbook for theological study was called the Sentences ( Quattuor libri sententiarum ) of Peter Lombard ; theology students as well as masters were required to lecture or to write extensive commentaries on this text as part of their curriculum. Studies in the higher faculties could take up to twelve years for a master's degree or doctorate (initially
2255-409: The study of rhetoric. Studied books on logic included Porphyry 's introduction to Aristotelian logic , Gilbert de la Porrée 's De sex principiis and Summulae Logicales by Petrus Hispanus (later Pope John XXI ). The standard work of astronomy was Tractatus de sphaera . Once a Master of Arts degree had been conferred, the student could leave the university or pursue further studies in one of
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2310-711: The teachers. The first type was in Bologna , where students hired and paid for the teachers. The second type was in Paris , where teachers were paid by the church. Oxford and Cambridge were predominantly supported by the crown and the state, which helped them survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 and the subsequent removal of all principal Catholic institutions in England. These structural differences created other characteristics. At
2365-444: The three Aristotelian philosophies: physics , metaphysics and moral philosophy . Much of medieval thought in philosophy and theology can be found in scholastic textual commentary because scholasticism was such a popular method of teaching. Aelius Donatus ' Ars grammatica was the standard textbook for grammar; also studied were the works of Priscian and Graecismus by Eberhard of Béthune . Cicero's works were used for
2420-451: The twentieth century, the lecture notes taken by students, or prepared by a scholar for a lecture, have sometimes achieved wide circulation (see, for example, the genesis of Ferdinand de Saussure 's Cours de linguistique générale ). Many lecturers were, and still are, accustomed to simply reading their own notes from the lectern for exactly that purpose. Nevertheless, modern lectures generally incorporate additional activities, e.g. writing on
2475-508: The two were synonymous), though again a bachelor's and a licentiate 's degree could be awarded along the way. Courses were offered according to books, not by subject or theme. For example, a course might be on a book by Aristotle , or a book from the Bible . Courses were not elective: the course offerings were set, and everyone had to take the same courses. There were, however, occasional choices as to which teacher to use. Students often entered
2530-673: The university at fourteen to fifteen years of age, though many were older. Classes usually started at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. As students had the legal status of clerics, Canon Law prohibited women from being admitted into universities. Students were afforded the legal protection of the clergy, as well. In this way, no one was allowed to physically harm them; they could only be tried for crimes in an ecclesiastical court , and were thus immune from any corporal punishment . This gave students free rein in urban environments to break secular laws with impunity, which led to many abuses: theft, rape, and murder. Students did not face serious consequences from
2585-645: The university at many places dates back to the 6th century AD. With the increasing growth and urbanization of European society during the 12th and 13th centuries, a demand grew for professional clergy . Following the Gregorian Reform 's emphasis on canon law and the study of the sacraments , bishops formed cathedral schools to train the clergy in canon law, and also in the more secular aspects of religious administration, including logic and disputation for use in preaching and theological discussion, and accounting to control finances more effectively. Pope Gregory VII
2640-400: The use of electronic amplification. Studies into the use of the lecture theatre teaching space have found that students sit in specific locations due to a range of factors; these include being noticed, addressing anxiety or an ability to focus. Personal and social factors are also thought to determine students' lecture theatre seating choice and the resulting effects on attainment. Studies into
2695-472: The use of handouts, and ways of obtaining feedback. Early editions of the book contained a reply paid evaluation card. This research showed that the section on alternative teaching methods within lectures was the most highly praised. The conception of the lecture as needing to be a didactic event has been challenged by Meltzer and Manivannan (2002) and Sandry (2005) who maintain that lectures can involve active learning. However, Elliot (2005) sees difficulties in
2750-415: The very least, lectures have survived in academia as a quick, cheap, and efficient way of introducing large numbers of students to a particular field of study. Lectures have a significant role outside the classroom, as well. Academic and scientific awards routinely include a lecture as part of the honor, and academic conferences often center on " keynote addresses ", i.e., lectures. The public lecture has
2805-425: The way students use the space indicate that peer group formation exerts a strong impact on attainment and engagement, with groups of similar ability sitting together. This article relating to education is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lecture A lecture (from Latin : lectura ' reading ' ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about
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#17328559387012860-411: The widespread reintroduction of Aristotle from Byzantine and Arab scholars . In fact, the European university put Aristotelian and other natural science texts at the center of its curriculum, with the result that the "medieval university laid far greater emphasis on science than does its modern counterpart and descendent." Although it has been assumed that the universities went into decline during
2915-410: Was critical in promoting and regulating the concept of modern university, as his 1079 Papal Decree ordered the regulated establishment of cathedral schools that transformed themselves into the first European universities. Learning became essential to advancing in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and teachers also gained prestige. Demand quickly outstripped the capacity of cathedral schools, each of which
2970-401: Was essentially run by one schoolmaster . In addition, tensions rose between the students of cathedral schools and burghers in smaller towns. As a result, cathedral schools migrated to large cities, like Bologna , Rome and Paris . S. F. Alatas has noted some parallels between madrasahs and early European colleges and has inferred that the first universities in Europe were influenced by
3025-407: Was given in Latin and students were expected to converse in that language. The trivium comprised the three subjects that were taught first: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The quadrivium consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. The quadrivium was taught after the preparatory work of the trivium and would lead to the degree of Master of Arts. The curriculum came also to include
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