The ensuing discussions are surprisingly animated. The proportion of students who chose the correct answer always increases after the discussion, suggesting that the students are successfully explaining their reasoning, and in the process teaching are each other. No lecturer, however engaging and lucid, can achieve this level of involvement and participation simply by speaking. I have successfully applied this method to large classes of about 250 students. The results are very encouraging.
Attendance is high.
What is more, attention and student involvement are high. But best of all, testing shows this teaching style engenders a better understanding of the fundamental concepts and discourages a number of bad study habits such as rote memorization and an exclusive focus on problem solving. I now believe the days of straight lecturing in introductory science courses are numbered we can no longer afford to ignore the inefficiency of the traditional lecture method, regardless of how lucid or inspiring our lectures are. The time has come to offer our students in introductory science classes more than a mere regurgitation of printed material. Newton s first law 2.