Lecture rapture: The place and case for lectures in the new normal
Following the pivot to online teaching as a result of COVID-19, discussion has turned to how the “new normal” in higher education will look, in light of rapid changes and technological upskilling that have taken place across the sector. Amongst this discussion, there have been calls to abandon large face-to-face lectures. Here, we argue that traditional lectures and lecture recordings have a place in the new normal, and that arguments to abandon traditional lectures are as unhelpful as the view that they should be the default mode of teaching. When lectures are deliberately chosen as the most appropriate method of teaching and when the same pedagogical care and attention is given as to other modes of delivery, they provide an effective, pragmatic solution, particularly for large class sizes. Our response to the pivot should not be to abandon lectures but rather to critically reflect on their purpose and how we can maximise their potential.