Using active instructional methods in lectures: A matter of skills and preferences

A large-scale survey has recently been conducted at Delft University of Technology into the instructional methods currently used by lecturers. The results indicate that lecturers do not often use active instructional methods. Since they do not feel the need to do so, it seems that these lecturers still hold traditional views on lecturing. The results also indicate that then is no relationship between actual lecturing behaviour and various background characteristics. Even class size seems unrelated to the matter of activating students in lectures. Although lecturers experience restraints with respect to their lecturing behaviour, these restraints do not seem, in the majority of cases, to be related to their actual lecturing practices. It is concluded that using specific active instructional methods during lectures will depend more on the skills and preferences of the lecturer than on the context of the lecture.