Lecture-style Teaching in Decline, Technology on Rise Says CDW-G

These days in education, tradition is being thrown out the window for more modern and technological classroom techniques. A new CDW (News - Alert)-G survey report called “Learn Now, Lecture Later” has found exactly that, with 47 percent of teachers saying they are moving beyond the old-fashioned lecture-only model.

The report found that the traditional lecture model, with one teacher standing at the front of the room and dictating to students, is being passed up for more technological and student-inclusive approaches.

There has been a steep rise in the employment of newer technology in classrooms, with 71 percent of students and 77 percent of teachers replying that they use laptops or netbooks, smartphones, student response systems, digital content, blogs, and learning management systems in school.

More hands-on learning approaches, including group projects and virtual learning, are reportedly helping high school and college classrooms change in accordance with the Internet age. CDW-G surveyed more than 1,000 students of high school and college alike, as well as teachers and IT professionals, and the findings were the same across the board.

Increasingly, and to a level unheard of just two years ago, technology is being used in class to aid and promote these alternative learning and teaching methods.

The report also indicated a rise in one-on-one tutoring and independent study, with teachers noting that more personal attention is helpful for some students rather than widespread lecturing, which can gloss over the students who need the most help.

“Students told us they want more interaction with teachers during class, as well as the opportunity to incorporate more technology into their classes,” said vice president of higher education at CDW-G, Andy Lausch.

The study found that technology and these alternative teaching styles go hand in hand, as one influences the other. One student commented that, “Technology makes you ready for real-world experience and makes school work seem more like a job.”

Among the IT professionals surveyed, 76 percent reported a significant increase in teachers requesting help with technology, and they have seen a shift across their profession in regard to this increase. Now more teachers are calling for technology integration and related professional development, and in order to support this change the IT professionals are suggesting that learning institutions improve or add servers and storage, along with wireless infrastructure and cloud computing.

Two years ago this may have seemed like foreign language to teachers and students, but this has shifted dramatically. Now higher education teachers and even high school teachers are looking to use laptops, netbooks and tablets with their students to aid learning—but they have to learn to master the technology first.

And that is proving to be difficult. CDW-G’s report showed 88 percent of educators have seen challenges in making this technology shift. Common problems include budget constraints and lack of communication between IT professionals and education professionals.

Julie Smith, vice president of K-12 education at CDW-G, has noted that, “We need to ensure that educators and IT are talking to one another.”  

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