Lectures and Discussions 讲座式和讨论式教学

Lectures and Discussions

There is a heated debate over the role of lectures and discussions in the classroom. Some people believe that lectures can help students learn more quickly. In contrast, others hold that discussions can stimulate students to learn by themselves.

Those who hold the first opinion suggest that students attend more lectures. In their view, by giving lectures teachers help students master the knowledge they’ve accumulated over years of study and research. However, others think that in a discussion, the teacher usually guides the students instead of dominating them. They argue that to get involved in a discussion, students have to develop their ability to analyze problems independently.

In my opinion, I stand on the side of neither idea. First of all, either method has its disadvantages. Furthermore, each student has his or her preference. Thirdly, lectures ate preferable to discussions in the teaching of science subjects, and on the contrary, discussions are preferable to lectures in studying the humanities. Therefore, we should adopt different teaching methods according to different subjects.