Some students prefer classes with open discussions between the professor and students and almost no lectures. Other students prefer classes with lectures and almost no discussions. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your ans

In almost all classes, lectures play a major role in a lesson, as the lectures help a student to gain a better knowledge on a topic. Some students prefer open discussions in the class with little or no lectures, where as some prefer classes with lectures and almost no time for discussions. In my view, though both of the methods have their own advantages, still I prefer classes which devote much of the time on lectures rather than spending on open discussions for two reasons.

The main reason that persuades me to agree with focus on lectures is that though open discussions promote relaxed and comfortable environment in class, however these discussions tend to deviate away from the syllabus that is meant to be covered. This results in the syllabus not being covered on time. For instance, suppose in a class where the Human Digestive System is being discussed. The time frame for completion is one hour. If open discussion on the topic is done, there is a chance that due to detailed discussion on one digestive organ, the topic is not completed within the stipulated time resulting in time lag in completion of syllabus which could affect the students in long run. This is not the case in classes that focuses on lectures because the professor concentrates fully on the course content and structure, which leads to timely completion of the course while helping the students understand the topic well.

Another reason behind my preference towards lecture focused classes is that the students can take notes easily which they can later refer while preparing for exams. It helps in better understanding of the topic. Open discussion may be fruitful for a short period of time, but in the long run the students might forget some important points of the lesson.

Therefore, I feel while open discussions with no lectures could help the students in better short-term understanding of the topic, it might not prove very useful in long run. Lecture focused classes encourage students to take notes and also help in planned and timely completion of the course contents while not compromising on the students’ understanding of the topic.