Some teachers are just lecturing (speaking) in class and students only take notes; some other teachers spend their class time on discussions and projects, and students share their ideas with their classmates.

Some teachers are just lecturing (speaking) in class and students only take notes; some other teachers spend their class time on discussions and projects, and students share their ideas with their classmates.

There are various educational systems in this world and teachers got their own way of teaching.<span class=”Apple-converted-space”>  </span>Just like traditional Chinese classroom, some teachers are just lecturing in class and students just need to listen and take notes. While somebody thinks this teaching model is more effective, I believe more benefits will be brought to students if discussions and projects are held in class.

One thing we have to acknowledge is the “speaking and noting” model is more effective for students to learn new knowledge in short run. The model makes it possible for teachers to teach students more knowledge points in given time, which also gives students more after-class time to review and comprehend those points taught. Without the need to figuring out a theorem or the best solution, a lot of time is saved for students to familiarize the points and solutions teachers given.<span class=”Apple-converted-space”> </span>

However, although classes where discussions and projects are held cannot impart knowledge to students as fast as the previous kind of classes do, students can remember those points and theorems made more clearly and easier. Since they are students themselves who go through the entire process of investigating a theorem or deducing a formula, they will definitely remember them much more naturally than simply listen to their teachers explaining them.

Another positive aspect of holding discussions and projects in classes is this will promote collaboration and communication between students. Through working on the same project and exchange their opinions on the problem they are discussing, they will obtain more opportunities to discuss and get along with each other. If activities like this are often held in classes, I believe students will become more willing to and better at cooperating with people. These skills of team working and dealing with interpersonal issues will definitely help those students in their social and career lives.

To sum up, although the “lecturing and noting” methods maybe especially useful for certain group of student who have strong comprehensive ability, having discussions and projects in classes is going to be more beneficial for most students in long run.