Even as a strong proponent of active learning, I realize that there are times when a lecture is the best way to communicate certain materials.  In fact, I give several engaging lectures each semester; including one on the history of the potato

Unfortunately, there are times when lectures are less than intriguing; such as the one I give on “Managing Information.” I justify the boredom students will experience because the information I present is extremely important and I don’t know an exciting way to present it.

As a professor who likes to push himself to continue to improve, each semester I revisited my assumption that my boring lecture is the best way to present “Managing Information.”  And each semester I had to conclude that 1.5 hours of boredom was the price students had to pay.  Fortunately, this semester I had a revelation.  I did not need to bore students. I only had to unleash what they already knew. 

I tossed my lecture, showed up to class with a cart of books, and taught a lesson that not only centered on active learning but one in which students learned far more than when I lectured the same material.

Although I will continue to give lectures when they are appropriate, it is important for me to not settle on boring my students for the sake of learning.  Maybe boring is the best I can accomplish at a given moment.  However, if I am willing to push myself to be more creative, boring can eventually be replaced with better, more engaged lessons.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Postscript: Details of “Managing Information” Lesson

I showed up to class with 30 books.  Each student took one book and created a bibliography card using proper MLA format.  On the back of the card, they wrote an annotation in which they captured the essence of the book.   

The next phase of the exercise was to have students write one note card for:

• Quotation
• Paraphrase
• Summary
• Original Thought

I explained each type of card before the students prepared it.  As students prepared their note cards, I answered questions about MLA format, where to find publisher information, and so forth. I also incorporate some other organization ideas such as how the skills they were practicing applied to non-books as well as how they could record this information in databases, journals, and other management tools.  Because it is not realistic for students to have an original thought for a book they had just been handed and whose topic they likely had little background, I just had them write “original thought” on the final note card. 

When they finished the cards, I asked students to put all the cards from their table in a stack.  Then I asked that they shuffle the cards.  I picked a card from one of the stacks, read it, and asked from which book it was taken.  The students at the table, of course, knew the answer.  Then I asked, “What if only one person had compiled the cards—plus more—over the course of several weeks or longer?  How could they remember from which book the note was taken?”  The students got the point that they need to manage their research notes effectively.  But how?

To answer the question, I asked students to discuss, in small groups, ways to link the note cards to the bibliography card.  Next, we considered their answers in a full class discussion.

Students came up with the examples I would have covered in my lecture.  As they offered their suggestions, I discussed pros and cons of each.  For example, listing the author on both cards is a good idea, but what if two authors had the same name or an author wrote more than one book?  After I asked such rhetorical questions, I provided answers.

Not only was the presentation more interesting, but I actually covered more information in a more meaningful way for the students.  Student engagement made them more interested in the content.  An added benefit was that because they were filling out cards, students were able to practice the skills I was covering. 

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