Interactive lecturing

Summary Background:  Lectures can vary from being entirely teacher‐centred through to those that value learner–teacher and learner–learner interaction. Advocates of the exclusively didactic (teacher‐centred) lecture aim to maximise the amount of lecture time available to their delivery of content, and regard other activities as ‘lost’ lecture time. Educational research has, however, identified the potential benefit of interactivity that promotes mentally active learning and improved learning outcomes. This article reviews the notion of ‘active learning’, outlines how active learning is promoted by interactivity and concludes with strategies for including interactivity within lectures. Method:  Narrative review and discussion. Results:  The article begins with a summary of the purposes of lecturing, and the distinctions between mentally active and passive learning. The associations between interactivity, cognitively active learning and improved learning outcomes are considered, and strategies for promoting interactivity and active learning are explored. Three student–student interaction strategies are discussed, and an exemplar of each of these strategies in action is provided. The exemplar addresses the ‘lost time’ concern of some advocates of the exclusively didactic lecture. Discussion:  Interactivity can be readily introduced to lectures without a significant reduction in the amount of time available for didactic lecturing. This paper challenges the view that the inclusion of interactivity equates to a loss of learning time, by showing that students’ achievement of learning outcomes is enhanced by planned and structured engagement with others. The paper concludes with an example of how interactivity can be incorporated within the traditional lecture format.