Stimulation or Stenography?

At some time in his career almost every undergraduate comes to the conclusion that lectures are not only a questionable form of entertainment, but that they are not the most efficient or even stimulating way of getting an education. The problem is not, however, that professors think or talk too slowly. Even though one can read material much faster than a lecturer can declaim it, lectures should, in theory, serve as a dramatization, stimulating Thought and provoking questions at a peculiarly appropriate time--when the professor is present.

Questions, however, are rarely asked in today's classes, even when the lecturer solicits them. This might be ascribed to sheer apathy, but exhaustion is probably a more frequent cause. Students might confront their professors with problems raised by the lecture, if they were not bogged down in the stultifying task of transcribing lecture notes. Since lectures often serve as a major source of information in courses, the student feels an obligation to "get everything down." The result is an aching, sweaty palm, quite often a muddled idea of the points in the lecture, and an hour of thoughtless stenography. At the end of an hour of furious scribbling, it is virtually impossible for most students to collect their thoughts enough to ask an intelligent question. Even if a relevant question does occur to them in mid-lecture, it is highly likely that it will slip their minds in the fury of transcription.

If outlines of lectures were mimeographed and distributed before each class, both an increased comprehension of material and an active response might be generated. During lectures students could follow the outline, listening more intently and writing only occasional notes (e.g.'s and i.e.'s) as elaborations of the points already before them.

Mimeographing lecture outlines would, of course, cost money, but it could improve the inefficient lecture system enough to make it justifiable. Theoretically, lectures are given not only to inform the student, but to help the professor sharpen his conceptions of his subject. At least in theory, he is offering his latest thoughts to a critical audience for the purpose of receiving constructive suggestions. Without the material aid of an outline, the professor's presentation cannot achieve maximum effectiveness, nor can the student exercise his critical capacity.