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Interactive Lectures - Worked Examples

What are lectures? Teachers present [often] large amounts of content as directed learning to students, typically through presentations or demonstrations.

What are interactive lectures? Interactive lectures present content but allow students to engage directly with the material in a learning activity at least once during the session.

What are worked examples? Worked examples by teachers show students how to approach questions or problems, structuring the students’ expected responses.

Teacher planning of lecture strategies can turn typically teacher directed, and student passive learning activities into learning processes which support inquiry, by moving to an interactive framing of lecture knowledge transfer and using worked examples to scaffold students’ independent inquiry.

In this section, principles of Lectures, Interactive Lectures and Worked Examples are introduced. Self-guided resources are:

  • Learning approach: how learning takes place in Lectures, Interactive Lectures and Worked Examples, and the role of teacher and student in the classroom process.
  • Explore further: Additional resource links and videos to explore to support Lectures, Interactive Lectures and Worked Examples

Quick Links for Lectures, Interactive Lectures and Worked Examples

Learning approach: In lectures, subject content and key ideas are presented in sequential learning units, which aim to provide the knowledge and skills that students need to demonstrate mastery of and apply in their independent learning. Learning is passive: students note take, listen, and ask questions. Lectures can form part of flipped learning, where students access content ahead of the session.

In interactive lectures, the delivery of subject knowledge and skills is interspersed with learning activities where students directly interact with the material. This can range from simple factual recall to more complex problem solving (Edutopia, 2014).

In worked examples, problems or example questions are posed, and the answers structured for students. The focus is on the process, meaning student embed the learning steps needed to later apply independently to other similar problems. Worked examples can range from teacher demonstration of an example through to students actively taking part in each problem step for example through whiteboards or peer discussion (EEF,2022).

Interactive Lectures and Worked Examples edit

Explore Further: Resources to Support Interactive Lectures and Worked Examples

How to build a dynamic lecture

Edutopia (2014)

Blog: Making the most of worked examples

EEF (2022)

Lectures can deliver large amounts of content in structured, sequential learning approach which can rapidly provide students with the core knowledge for a subject area. Knowledge can be scaffolded, definitions provided, and subject specific language can be explicitly taught.

Worked examples can show student show to structure responses to questions, use subject and technical language appropriately, and provide appropriate depths of responses.

Interactive lectures allow students to actively connect with the subject material as it is taught, gives relevance to content, and can provide links to real world applications.

Cautions: Lectures, worked examples and interactive lectures are teacher directed activities which deliver large amounts of content, and work through questions or problems in whole class situations. Care must be taken that content delivered is understood by students, especially for learners with additional needs, or who may need learning scaffolding. Interactive activities and worked examples need to include all learners, to avoid passive students who fail to engage with the material individually. (Edutopia, 2014; EEF, 2022)