Engaging and maintaining students’ interest during lectures

Abstract

The lecture can be an effective way of communicating information and still remains nowadays one of the dominant teaching methods. However, there are several gaps on promoting active learning that can cause a non-motivating and boring lecture. The most effective methods of promoting and enhancing student’s interest during lectures were reviewed in this report through peer-assessment of several lectures given by teachers known to be excellent lecturers. In this report, we also try to investigate which methods are more used to increase the learning quality of a lecture. The engagement and interest of the students is best achieved through discussions stimulated by several approaches including open questions and group activities. The communication skills which are used by the teacher during the lecture can have a great impact on learning outcome. The peer reviewing also highlighted that the motivation, participation and interaction of the students can take place only in a comfortable environment, which could be achieved by enthusiasm and communication skills of the lecturers. We expect that the methods which are based on active learning stand out as excellent teaching practices. In accordance with the literature review and the peer reviewing, well-prepared and structured lectures are prerequisite for keeping students interest.