Who knows the place and role of lecture method and discussion method in modern education?

The lecture method, also known as the lecture method, is one of the oldest methods in the history of education, and is an important means by which teachers impart knowledge to students. In didactic teaching, the teacher presents the material with the help of verbal speech, clarifies the connection of knowledge, and promotes the understanding of knowledge. The teacher's function is to specify in detail what the students will learn, to provide them with the learning materials, to analyze and explain the materials, and to attempt to make the materials appropriate for each student in terms of pace and content. At the same time, the teacher is responsible for diagnosing learners' difficulties and providing them with appropriate remediation.

The main advantage of the lecture method of teaching is that the teacher is able to teach many people at the same time very economically. This is particularly advantageous when the content to be taught does not already have written material to be utilized, because in a lecture the teacher can present the essential elements of the subject matter to the students in person, directly encouraging their enthusiasm for learning. Lectures also have the advantage of effectively summarizing the content of the subject in a form that is easily understood by the students, and of being able to state the same content in different terms, thus facilitating comprehension; there is an emotional exchange between the teacher and the students in the lectures, and they interact with each other in a mutually reinforcing way; and the teacher can be flexible with the content of the lecture during the lecture, depending on the audience, the equipment, and the material. In addition, most teachers (especially university teachers) feel that the lecture method is easier to master than other teaching methods, and safe and reliable.

The lecture method has also been criticized. For example, studies have shown that, for texts of moderate or moderate-to-moderate primary difficulty, visual presentation is more conducive to retention and comprehension than auditory presentation. The most common accusation against the lecture method is that it leads to mechanical, passive learning, "duck" learning. For example, Bruner also accused that the manner, pace and style of lecture teaching are mainly determined by the teacher as the lecturer, and the students are only passive listeners. The above criticism is obviously one-sided. Because according to the theory of meaningful verbal learning of Ausubel, whether learning is meaningful or mechanical is not determined by the way of teaching or learning, but by whether the psychological process and conditions of meaningful learning are satisfied. Furthermore, receptive learning is not necessarily passive. Thus, many of the "flaws" of the lecture method are not inherent in the method itself, but are often due to improper application or to problems with the material itself. It can be argued that it is indeed an effective method of imparting knowledge, provided that the teacher utilizes it correctly.

Despite its irreplaceable advantages, the lecture method has its own scope of application and limitations. Psychologists, through a great deal of research, have suggested conditions suitable for the application of the lecture method, which are summarized as follows: (1) the basic purpose of teaching is the assimilation of information, i.e., the comprehension of knowledge; (2) there is a lack of readily available learning material; (3) the material needs to be reorganized and presented in a special way for a special object; (4) it is necessary to arouse the student's interest in a particular subject; (5) the student needs to only memorize the material in a short period of time; and (6) to provide an introduction to a particular field or direction of study topic. The lecture method may be used when any of these conditions are met.

Researchers have also suggested situations in which lecturing is not appropriate: (1) where the goal of instruction is not the acquisition of information but other aspects such as the formation of skills; (2) where long-term retention is emphasized; (3) where the learning material is complex, detailed, or abstract; (4) where the participation of the learner is necessary to meet the goals of the instruction; and (5) where high levels of pedagogical objectives (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) are the main objectives. In none of the above conditions is it appropriate to use the lecture method of teaching.

The main pedagogical task of many courses offered in primary and secondary schools is the development of skills in the application of the knowledge acquired. Skill acquisition only requires proper explanation by the teacher when it is learned as declarative knowledge, and once there is an initial understanding, it has to be transferred to the practice stage. If the teacher lectures too much time, there is not enough time for students to practice, students will be difficult to form skills. At present, in China's colleges and universities, the teacher lecturing takes up too much time, according to the requirements of the three types of knowledge learning, such teaching can only achieve at most one goal, that is, to let the students master the declarative knowledge, which is obviously not enough.

Two, the discussion method

In the discussion of teaching conditions, students face-to-face exchanges, can speak freely, ask questions, but also can immediately make a reply; teachers can also participate in the discussion. The teacher's role mainly plays a role in guiding, organizing and providing information and summary.

The discussion method as a classroom teaching method originated from the criticism of the shortcomings of the lecture method. However, because of the slow transmission of information in discussion, its function of transmitting information cannot be compared with the lecture method. However, the discussion method also has its unique advantages:

(1) Cultivate students' critical thinking skills. Discussions around the same issue force students to have to learn to defend their opinions based on the reasoning of facts, concepts and principles, and at the same time learn to consider issues from different perspectives. Most of the popular teaching methods abroad for developing students' critical thinking are conducted through group or class discussions.

(2) Developing the skill of brainstorming. In today's society, many problems cannot be solved by the wisdom of one person. This requires students to be able to listen to others, to evaluate others' opinions, and to form their own opinions through brainstorming. The most appropriate way to learn these skills is through free and unpressurized discussion.

(3) Developing oral presentation skills. Discussion provides an excellent opportunity for students to practice their oral presentation skills. It requires students to articulate their arguments in clear language, and on many occasions they must also improvise. The discussion method contributes to the development of high-level cognitive skills.

In addition, the discussion method can help to change an individual's attitude. This has been demonstrated in many studies.

The discussion method also has its own conditions of application. For highly coherent areas, such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in which the concepts, principles, and methods are highly coherent, at least in terms of basic theories, and in which the main goal of teaching is to impart knowledge and develop skills, the lecture method is more appropriate. For those fields that are highly inconsistent, such as history, politics, literature, and the arts, many of the concepts and principles in them are debated, and different schools of thought have different research methods and evaluation criteria. The goal of teaching in these fields, though also requiring the impartation of knowledge, is not the acceptance of ready-made knowledge or one family's views, but rather a broad background of knowledge and the ability to put forward one's own views on the doctrines of various schools of thought. Therefore, it is more suitable to use the discussion method, through which students can compare the similarities and differences of various views and form their own views.

In addition, under the conditions of discussion, the class and the group are required to have better self-control. If class discipline is poor and there is a lack of good backbone among the students, the class may lose control once the discussion begins. This would defeat the purpose of the discussion. Therefore, in terms of class conditions, the lecture method is better for classes with poor discipline and the discussion method is more suitable for classes with good class discipline and better self-control of the students.

The following points should also be noted when using the discussion method: (1) It is not appropriate to use the discussion method at the stage of transferring new knowledge because the discussion must be based on the fact that the students have an understanding of a certain subject and have acquired a certain amount of knowledge. (2) It is not appropriate to use the discussion method for students in the lower grades of elementary school. On the one hand, it is because they lack the necessary knowledge base and expression skills; on the other hand, the content of their studies is not suitable for discussion. (3) Many basic skills, such as reading and arithmetic skills, require a lot of individual practice and do not need discussion.

The lecture method is an economical and efficient teaching method suitable for imparting knowledge, stimulating students' interest, and facilitating teachers' control of the teaching process. The discussion method, as a supplement to the lecture method, helps to promote the acquisition of high-level cognitive skills, but the characteristics of the subject and the class must be taken into account in its application.