By Gordon Rugg
A lot of things at university look very similar to things in school, but are actually very different. Lectures look like lessons to a lot of new students at university, but they’re very different beneath the surface.
One major difference is this:
- In a lesson, the teacher is someone who knows the textbooks.
- In a lecture, the lecturer is often the person who wrote the textbooks.
It’s a rule of thumb – some teachers write textbooks, and many lecturers don’t write textbooks, for various reasons – but it brings out a key underlying point. Lecturers do a lot of things in addition to delivering lectures, and a lot of lecturers are world class experts in their fields.
Student reactions to this vary.
- Some students view this as an opportunity.
- Some students view this as intimidating.
- Most students either don’t know this, or haven’t thought about the implications.
Image from Twitter
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