Edited by: Salvador Chacón-Moscoso, Seville University, Spain
Reviewed by: Iwan Wopereis, Open University of the Netherlands, Netherlands; Roman Freunberger, Institut des Bundes für Qualitätssicherung im österreichischen Schulwesen, Austria
This article was submitted to Quantitative Psychology and Measurement, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
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Articles published in scientific journals, concerning the present and future of the lecture format in university education in the twenty-first century are framed within organizational settings that drive teaching methodologies in line with educational policies. The following two research questions have arisen from articles in which debate the continuity of this teaching modality and propose improvements of a different nature: (1) Is there an interest in renovating the lecture format among the international research community whose remit is university teaching methods? and (2) What improvements to the lecture format do the reviewed articles suggest, within the framework of the communicative matrix of interactive learning?
We have carried out a systematic review guided by the PRISMA approach, emphasizing the interest in methodological conceptual commitment, paying attention to documents published in journals with an impact factor. The search strategy was applied homogeneously in three databases: ERIC, PsycInfo, and Web of Science, following the systematic process of inclusion/exclusion.
Forty-five articles were selected with a range of 0–78 quotations, from different fields of knowledge and five continents; 12 articles are from journals with a JCR impact factor. The journal articles cover communicative (21), cognitive (13) and active-practical perspectives (11); the predominant governing aim of the analyzed improvements is connected with the attendees’ academic performance results (24); the reviewed studies belong mainly to the quantitative paradigm (42). The considerations derived from the results (45) cover formative, technical and/or critical aspects.
Whilst positively valuing all these efforts promoted by the European Higher Education Area, we have also verified the lack of contributions in line with our concerns that embrace the need to develop an in-depth conceptualization, supported by a methodology that is sensitive to the complexity of the oral communication format between an expert actor and non-specialized actors who wish to connect and collaborate with the expert in the production of knowledge.
Within the context of the new vision of higher education (
The lecture is effectively one of the most used teaching methods in universities (
In the last two decades there has been a proliferation of publications that deal with the lecture-type expository format (
Approval (or disapproval) of this teaching method ranges from emphasizing or questioning its effectiveness in small and large groups (
With the incorporation of active pedagogies in university teaching, different studies have shown a concern for the role played by the lecture in the students’ learning process (
This tendency has led to the publication of studies committed to the transformation of the lecture into what could be called the
The synthetic review narrative that precedes the current situation of the lecture in higher education has led us to pose the central exploratory questions of this synthetic systematic review, reducing the PICO strategy to three elements: population (P), intervention (I), and result (O). Firstly, we seek answers to the following questions: (Research Question 1) Is there an interest in renovating the lecture format among the international research community whose remit is university teaching methods? And secondly (Research Question 2), what improvements to the lecture format do the reviewed articles suggest, within the framework of the communicative matrix of interactive learning (
This work follows the updated protocol of
The search was carried out across three databases: PsycInfo, Web of Science, and ERIC, and the search strategy for identifying material was homogeneously applied: title containing the term
The eligibility criteria applied were: articles of an empirical nature applied to university level education, with a conventional summary and methodological structure (introduction, method, results, and discussion). The aim was to give priority to studies that deal with specific experiences of changes in the lecture, with a defined organization. Reviews of any kind (narrative, bibliographical or meta-analysis) were discarded on the assumption that the established period of analysis was insufficient to allow for the production of additional elaborative material.
The selection process involved firstly a review of the titles and articles, and secondly a detailed review of the complete texts of the remaining articles taking into consideration the eligibility criteria (see
Flow diagram (PRISMA 2020) with selection process.
Selected articles in chronological order.
Year | Journal | Title |
2012 | Journal of Pragmatics | The interdependence of repetition and relevance in university lectures |
2012 | The Behavior Analyst Today | The relative effects of traditional lectures and guided notes lectures on university student test scores |
2012 | The Behavior Analyst Today | The Relation between GPA and Exam Performance during Interteaching and Lecture |
2012 | Interactive Learning Environments | Explaining students’ appraisal of lectures and student-activating teaching: Perceived context and student characteristics |
2012 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education | Learning transferable skills in large lecture halls: Implementing a POGIL approach in biochemistry |
2013 | International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Finding the Right Fit: Assessing the Impact of Traditional v. Large Lecture/Small Lab Course Formats on a General Education Course |
2013 | Advances in Language and Literary Studies | Developing a Specialized Vocabulary Word List in a Composition Culinary Course through Lecture Notes |
2013 | International Journal of Higher Education | Features of Application of Classroom Response System at the Lectures in Russia and Israel |
2013 | Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language) | A Study on Perception of Lecturer-Student Interaction in English Medium Science Lectures |
2013 | Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education | A Comparison of Internet-Based Learning and Traditional Classroom Lecture to Learn CPR for Continuing Medical Education |
2013 | British Journal of Educational Technology | An augmented lecture feedback system to support learner and teacher communication |
2014 | Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Teacher Immediacy and Student Learning: An Examination of Lecture/Laboratory and Self-Contained Course Sections |
2014 | Teaching of Psychology | If you record it, some won’t come: Using lecture capture in introductory psychology |
2015 | Online Learning | Using Instructor-Generated Video Lectures in Online Mathematics Courses Improves Student Learning |
2015 | Informatics in Education | Using Short Video Lectures to Enhance Mathematics Learning–Experiences on Differential and Integral Calculus Course for Engineering Students |
2015 | Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences-JEMDS | Comparison of the traditional chalk and board lecture system versus power point presentation as a teaching technique for teaching gross anatomy to the first professional medical students |
2015 | Journal of Interactive Media in Education | Digital Voting Systems and Communication in Classroom Lectures–An Empirical Study Based around Physics Teaching at Bachelor Level at Two Danish Universities |
2015 | Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Sustainability: Teaching an Interdisciplinary Threshold Concept through Traditional Lecture and Active Learning |
2015 | Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences-JEMDS | Comparison of Problem Based Learning with Traditional Lectures among First Year Medical Students in Philosophy |
2015 | The Mathematics Educator | Research on Group Learning and Cognitive Science: A Study of Motivation, Knowledge, and Self-Regulation in a Large Lecture College Algebra Class |
2016 | International Journal of Higher Education | Integration of Histology Lectures and Practical Teaching in China |
2016 | Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine | The comparison of the efficiency of traditional lectures to video-supported lectures within the training of the Emergency Medicine residents |
2016 | Journal of College Teaching & Learning | Preparing Students for Class: A Clinical Trial Testing the Efficacy between Multimedia Pre-Lectures and Textbooks in an Economics Course |
2016 | Journal of Curriculum and Teaching | The Use of Pre-Recorded Lectures on Student Performance in Physiology |
2017 | International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education | Students’ Critical Thinking Improvement through “PDEODE” and “STAD” Combination in the Nutrition and Health Lecture |
2017 | Bali Medical Journal | Effectiveness of teaching: Jigsaw technique vs. lecture for medical students’ Physics course |
2017 | Advances in Engineering Education | Large Lecture Transformation: Improving Student Engagement and Performance through In-Class Practice in an Electrical Circuits Course |
2017 | GIST-Education and Learning Research Journal | Questions in English as a Medium of Instruction versus Non-English as a Medium of Instruction Lectures |
2017 | Journal of Education and Practice | The Effect of Instructional Methods (Lecture-Discussion versus Group Discussion) and Teaching Talent on Teacher Trainees Student Learning Outcomes |
2018 | Journal of Learning in Higher Education | Building a Case for Active Learning: The Use of Lecture vs. Other Classroom Activities at LMBC |
2018 | Computers & Education | Impact of slide-based lectures on undergraduate students’ learning: Mixed effects of accessibility to slides, differences in note-taking, and memory term |
2018 | Journal of Chiropractic Education | Comparison of student performance and perceptions of a traditional lecture course versus an inverted classroom format for clinical microbiology |
2018 | International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Role-Play in Literature Lectures: The Students’ Assessment of Their Learning |
2018 | International Journal of Higher Education | Use of a Scaffolded Case Study Assignment to Enhance Students’ Scientific Literacy Skills in Undergraduate Nutritional Science Education: Comparison between Traditional Lecture and Distance Education Course Formats |
2019 | Journal of Learning Analytics | Diversity of Online Behaviours Associated with Physical Attendance in Lectures |
2019 | Anatomical Sciences Education | Interactive Lecture in the Dissection Hall: Transforming passive lecture into a dynamic learning experience |
2019 | English Language Teaching | Micro-Lecture Teaching for Improving the Learning Effect of Non-English Majors at North China Electric Power University |
2019 | European Journal of Contemporary Education | Three Scientific Facts about Ukrainian and Polish Law-Students: Verification of Statistical Hypotheses about their Preferences of Learning at Lectures |
2019 | International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning | Diversity in Video Lectures: Aid or Hindrance? |
2020 | Research in Learning Technology | The Effect of Adding Same-Language Subtitles to Recorded Lectures for Non-Native, English Speakers in E-Learning Environments |
2020 | International Journal of Higher Education | A UTAUT Evaluation of WhatsApp as a Tool for Lecture Delivery during the COVID-19 Lockdown at a Zimbabwean University |
2020 | Sage Open Nursing | Comparison of the Conceptual Map and Traditional Lecture Methods on Students’ Learning Based on the VARK Learning Style Model: A Randomized Controlled Trial |
2020 | Advances in Medical Education and Practice | Comparison Between Problem-Based Learning and Lecture-Based Learning: Effect on Nursing Students’ Immediate Knowledge Retention |
2020 | Bulletin of the University of Karaganda-Chemistry | Presenting lecture materials in English using CLIL technologies |
2020 | Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society | Does the sequence of flipped and lecture-based classes affect the academic achievement and satisfaction of medical students? |
The constructed analytical framework consists of two dataframes:
(I) Firstly, the scientific visibility and institutional backing of the selected research was coded (see
Criteria for the analysis of institutional backing and the visibility achieved with the publication of an empirical study aimed at improving the functioning of the university lecture.
A distinction can be made between countries and continents, –and, ultimately, between universities and institutions that recognize the relevance of, or have financed, research in this field. This generates an ordered record of institutional recognition of the origin of said research. This data is completed by two relevance indicators of the knowledge produced and disseminated: we are referring to the number of quotations taken from the article, and the scientific evaluation received by the journal responsible for the publication from some of the most respected platforms concerning the assessment and analysis of performance and scientific research quality. The number of quotations is an indicator of the professional repercussion that the article has had, both in the area of university education and in the pedagogic and didactic research of teaching methods—this was obtained via Google Scholar and identified until the end of 2021; the positioning of the journal includes the impact factor (JCR-WoS) and the quartile (Q) to which it belongs according to the year the selected article was published.
(II) The second dataframe refers to the
We identified three perspectives of a technical nature applied to the improvement of the lecture format: the communicative perspective (COM), the cognitive perspective (COG), and the participative-practical perspective (ACT).
The consolidated guiding aim that routed the selected research was conceived in terms of aptitude-treatment interaction (
The methodological option that structures the research object on epistemological, ontological, and procedural levels can be specified with the widely argued and accepted proposal of quantitative (QUAN) and qualitative (QUAL) paradigms, and mixed-method (MM).
Finally, the applied results or conclusive recommendations can be understood as being aimed at assessing the education fostered by the lecture (FOR), technology for learning and knowledge (TEC), and the need to compare the use of the lecture with other teaching methods (CRI). These criteria can be presented combined in the same article (MIX).
Dimensions of the analytical framework with components, symbols, categories, and examples for the analysis of the obtained data.
Dimensions of the analytical framework |
|||||||
I. Scientific visibility and institutional backing |
II. Multidimensional classification of the structural components of the analyzed research |
||||||
Component | Symbol | Category | Component | Symbol | Category | Example: Author, year/Fragment of article | |
No of quotations (Google Academic) | Perspective | COM | Communication | Examine (.) the interdependence between relevance and repetition in current lecturing by firstly reviewing the main communicative strategies. | |||
Impact factor JCR (sanctioning index of the relative relevance of the scientific journal depending on the quotations received) | COG | Cognition | Is the change in students SL skills related to their learning approach (i.e., deep versus surface learning approaches)? | ||||
Country (university) of reference relevance sanction | ACT | Active | Keywords: active learning, cooperative/collaborative education | ||||
Field of knowledge/Studies | MED | Medicine and Health Sciences | Aim | REN | Performance | Students’ learning is assessed | |
SOC | Social Sciences: Education, Psychology | DIS | Dispositional | Reveal students’ attitude to CRS abilities | |||
CEX | Exact Sciences | INS | Instructional | Study about teachers | |||
BIO | Biological Sciences | COB | Combination | Students’ satisfaction and performance are assessed | |||
HUM | Humanities | Methodology | QUAN | Quantitative | Controlled clinical experiment | ||
EAD | Economic and Business Administration Sciences | QUAL | Qualitative | Qualitative research on the use of role-play | |||
DIV | Diverse or unidentified | MM | Mixed-Method | Mixed-method perspective | |||
Continent | AME | America | Result | FOR | Formative | Title: Developing a Specialized Vocabulary Word List in a Composition Culinary Course through Lecture Notes | |
EUR | Europe | TEC | Technological | Title: Digital Voting Systems and Communication in Classroom Lectures | |||
ASI | Asia | CRI | Critical | Title: Comparison of student performance and perceptions of a traditional lecture course versus an inverted classroom format for clinical microbiology | |||
AFR | Africa | MIX | Mixed | Title: If You Record It, Some Won’t Come: Using Lecture Capture in Introductory Psychology | |||
ACE | Oceania |
Analytical framework of the sample of reviewed empirical articles.
No. of article | Frame of the scientific visibility and institutional backing |
Multidimensional classification of structural components |
||||||
No. of quotations | Impact factor | Country | Field of knowledge | Perspective | Guiding aim | Type of study | Results | |
1 | 78 | 0.70/Q4 | USA | CEX | ACT | DIS | QUAN | FOR |
2 | 77 | – | USA | CEX | COG | REN | QUAN | TEC |
3 | 73 | 1.394/Q1 | Spain | SOC | COM | DIS | QUAN | TEC |
4 | 53 | – | USA | SOC | COG | INS REN | QUAN | FOR |
5 | 52 | – | Finland | CEX | COM | REN | MM | TEC |
6 | 48 | 0.667/Q3 | USA | SOC | COM | DIS REN | QUAN | TEC CRI |
7 | 34 | – | USA | SOC | COM | REN | QUAN | FOR |
8 | 26 | – | USA | SOC | COM | REN | QUAN | FOR |
9 | 23 | 1.302/Q1 | Belgium | SOC | ACT | DIS | QUAN | FOR |
10 | 20 | – | Sri Lanka | DIV | COM | INS DIS | MM | FOR |
11 | 20 | – | Iran | CEX | COM | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
12 | 19 | – | Turkey | MED | COG | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
13 | 19 | – | India | MED | ACT | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
14 | 18 | 5.627/Q1 | South Korea | SOC | COG | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
15 | 16 | – | Indonesia | BIO | ACT | REN | QUAN | FOR |
16 | 15 | – | Denmark | CEX | COM | REN | QUAN | TEC |
17 | 15 | – | USA | SOC | ACT | DIS | QUAN | FOR |
18 | 12 | – | USA | EAD | COG | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
19 | 11 | – | USA | MED | COM | DIS REN | QUAN | CRI |
20 | 11 | – | Russia/Israel | DIV | COM | DIS | QUAN | TEC |
21 | 10 | – | China | MED | COM | REN | QUAN | FOR |
22 | 10 | – | Australia | DIV | COM | DIS | QUAN | FOR TEC |
23 | 9 | – | Iran | CEX | COM | REN | QUAN | CRI |
24 | 9 | Q2 | South Africa | HUM | COG | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
25 | 9 | – | Zimbabwe | DIV | COM | DIS | QUAN | TEC |
26 | 8 | 3.759/Q1 | India | MED | COG | DIS REN | QUAN | FOR |
27 | 8 | – | Malaysia | HUM | COM | INS | QUAN | FOR |
28 | 7 | 2.297/Q1 | South Korea | HUM | COG | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
29 | 7 | – | USA | CEX | ACT | DIS REN | QUAN | CRI |
30 | 6 | – | USA | SOC | COG | REN | QUAN | FOR |
31 | 5 | – | Poland/ |
SOC | COM | DIS REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
32 | 4 | Q3 | Iran | MED | COG | REN | QUAN | CRI |
33 | 4 | – | USA | CEX | COG | REN | QUAN | FOR |
34 | 4 | – | USA | EAD | ACT | INS | QUAN | FOR |
35 | 3 | 0.7/Q2 | Spain | EAD | COM | INS | QUAN | FOR |
36 | 3 | – | China | HUM | COM | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
37 | 3 | – | Spain | EAD | COM | INS | QUAN | FOR |
38 | 2 | – | USA | MED | ACT | REN | QUAN | FOR TEC |
39 | 2 | – | Indonesia | SOC | COM | REN | QUAN | CRI |
40 | 2 | – | Canada | MED | COG | DIS REN | QUAN | FOR |
41 | 1 | Q2 | Ethiopia | MED | COG | DIS REN | QUAN | FOR |
42 | 1 | – | Kazakhstan | CEX | COM | REN | QUAN | FOR |
43 | 1 | – | India | MED | ACT | REN | QUAN | CRI |
44 | 1 | – | Ireland | HUM | ACT | REN | QUAL | FOR |
45 | 0 | Q3 | Iran | MED | ACT | DIS REN | QUAN | CRI |
The number of quotations ranges from 0, a study by
Relationship between number of quotations and number of articles.
Of the 45 articles selected, 12 (27%) belong to journals with an impact factor: 5 of Q1, 3 of Q2, 3 of Q3, and 1 of Q4 (see
Placement of articles in journals with impact factor (JCR-WoS) and quartile (Q).
The geographical distribution (see
Geographical provenance ordered by number of articles.
In the group of selected articles, the studies deal with different areas of knowledge (see
Fields of knowledge of the analyzed studies.
Field of knowledge | Number of articles |
MED | 11 |
SOC | 11 |
CEX | 9 |
HUM | 5 |
EAD | 4 |
DIV | 4 |
BIO | 1 |
The articles cover three perspectives: COM (21), COG (13), and ACT (11). The plasticity of the didactic methods shown above facilitates a complex approach to the research object. The limits are imposed by the research object as defined by the researcher, although the frequency of the studies assigned to one category or another is not the most important thing. What we wish to highlight is that the three orientations are present in the analyzed sample.
The guiding-aim of the selected studies correspond to: INS (4), DIS (7) and REN (24) and in 10 articles two of these aims are combined: INS + REN (1), INS + DIS (1), and DIS + REN (8). One sign of lecture maintenance is precisely that responses are designed to the problems of performance, and to those arising from teacher conduct as being responsible for the teaching action involved in all the facilitating modes of interactive learning.
The methodologies used in the generation and analysis of data focus on the QUAN perspective (42), while the other two options are only present in three articles (QUAL, 1 and MM, 2). It is important to underline that the journals with a higher impact factor located in the quartiles Q1 and Q2 do not propose any methodological restrictions, whilst some of them even advocate openly for the inclusion of research that responds to the quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method approaches. These journals are:
The applied results and/or recommendations from the studies influence the following aspects: FOR (20), CRI (7), TEC (6), and in 12 articles two of these are combined: FOR + TEC (11) and TEC + CRI (1). What stands out is the teaching value of the lecture and the incorporation of telematic computerized resources. It also provides a reflection about the role of technical aspects in pedagogic and didactic improvements.
The intersection of the conceptual perspective dimension with the methodological affiliation provides us with a new picture of the data when the nine resulting regroupings are considered (see
Conceptual-methodological commitment (perspectives and methodologies).
Perspective conceptual/ |
COM | COG | ACT | Total |
QUAN | 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 31, 35, 36, 37, 39, 42 | 2, 4, 12, 14, 18, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 33, 40, 41 | 1, 9, 13, 15, 17, 29, 34, 38, 43, 45 | |
QUAL | 44 | |||
MM | 5, 10 | |||
Total |
An analytical view of the methodological commitment in each regrouping is presented as a whole in
Analytical view of the methodological commitment in each regrouping.
Methodological commitment | No of articles | No of quotations | Impact factor |
Field of knowledge |
Continent |
Aim |
Result |
||||||||||||||||||||
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | S |
S |
C |
M |
H |
E |
B |
D |
A |
A |
E |
A |
O |
R |
D |
I |
C |
F |
T |
C |
M |
|||
QUAN-COM | 19 (42.2%) | 301 (39.7%) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
QUAN-COG | 13 (29%) | 220 (29%) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
QUAN-ACT | 10 (22%) | 165 (21.7%) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
QUAL-ACT | 1 (2.3%) | 1 (0.1%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
MM-COM | 2 (4.5%) | 72 (9.5%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
There are 19 QUAN-COM articles (42.2%) and they include 301 quotations (39.7%). Three articles have an impact factor (Q1, Q2 and Q3), and are from diverse fields of knowledge: SOC (6), CEX (4), DIV (3), EAD (2), MED (2); are from different continents: AME (4), ASI (8), EUR (5), AFR (1), and OCE (1). The aims are of type REN (9), DIS (4), INS (3) and DIS-REN (3), and the results of type FOR (7), TEC (4), CRI (3), TEC-CRI (1) and FOR-TEC (4).
There are 13 QUAN-COG articles (29%) and they include 220 quotations (29%). Six articles have an impact factor (Q1, Q2, and Q3), and are from diverse fields: MED (5), SOC (3), CEX (2), HUM (2), and EAD (1); and are from different continents: AME (6), ASI (5), and AFR (2). The aims are of type REN (9), DIS-REN (3), and INS-REN (1), and the results are of type FOR (6), FOR-TEC (5), TEC (1), and CRI (1).
There are 10 QUAN-ACT articles (22%) and they include 165 quotations (21.7%). Four have an impact factor (Q1, Q3, and Q4), are from diverse fields of knowledge: MED (4), CEX (2), SOC (2), and EAD (1), and are from three continents: AME (5), ASI (4) and EUR (1). The aims are of type REN (4), DIS (4), DIS-REN (2), and INS (1), and the results are of type FOR (5), CRI (3), and FOR-TEC (2).
To summarize, the presence of the quantitative conceptual-methodological commitment in all the other structural aspects considered, and its prevalence in the most accredited scientific media, leads us to the conclusion that the web of quotations could provide interesting results for the subjects they cover.
One QUAL-ACT article was identified, with one quotation and no impact factor. It is from Ireland, and the field of knowledge is HUM. The aim is of type REN and the result is FOR.
In light of this datum and taking into account the comment about the methodological aperture of the journals with a JCR impact factor, it is worth underlining the numerous possibilities offered by qualitative methodology (
There are 2 MM-COM articles; they include 72 quotations (9.6%) and have no impact factor. The fields of knowledge are CEX and BIO, and they are from Europe and Asia. The aims are REN in one article and INS-DIS in the other, and the results are TEC and FOR.
Given that we believe the mixed-method conceptual-methodological commitment is suitable for the study of the innovative renovations of the lecture format (
A descriptive analysis of the results obtained via the coding of the criteria dimensions in order to capture the differences produced by the systematically selected sample, produces two conclusions that provide answers to the two research questions posed in the introduction: the first conclusion responds to the question about the current scientific situation of the renovated lecture format subjected to empirical study. The second conclusive response places value on the identified processes and results, whilst at the same time demonstrating the need to articulate a proposal that incorporates an open and dialogued vision of the teaching system, whose continued renovation should be founded on empirical research in as far as this is possible and necessary.
Understanding the evolution of the relationships between the various components of the teaching system is vital if universities are to offer effective and efficient teaching. Given that we have found no other systematic reviews of the proposed key terms, it is not possible either to verify whether the description carried out and the conclusions we propose are in line with other reviews, nor to indicate in which aspects our findings differ from those provided by other systematic reviews of the lecture format.
Before entering into the argumentation thread that sustains the inferential and proactive path of this section, it is worth pointing out that our empirical conceptual-methodological approach connected with educational assessment (
Research Question 1. Is there an interest in renovating the lecture format among the international research community whose remit is university teaching methods?
Conclusion 1. The geographical channeling of institutional backing and the evaluation of the visibility and scientific reliability of the web of quotations is proof positive for tackling the internationalized challenge of the renovation of the lecture format. Unfortunately, the methodological commitment remains incomplete in not providing qualitative and mixed-method studies, and the databases consulted are not sensitive to the research carried out in South American countries.
This conclusion is based on the following evidence found in our research:
In the group of selected articles, the lecture is present in a wide diversity of journals. Some of them show a JCR impact factor, elaborated on the
The expository lecture, with a greater or lesser scientific visibility, is a subject that raises interest among researchers in different countries on all continents. The geographical prevalence of the selected articles belongs to the scientific production of researchers in Asia (mainly Iran, India, South Korea, China and Indonesia) and the USA. Our database search did not produce selected articles from South America. On the other hand, Asia and North America cover the methodological commitments QUAN-COM (12), QUAN-COG (11), and QUAN-ACT (9); Europe shows an interest in the methodological commitment QUAN-COM (5) and Africa in QUAN-COG (2) and QUAN-COM (1). Once again, the options that structure the research object with a methodological commitment QUAL or MM were silenced.
The appearance of quotations in the scientific production of articles is an indicator of the appreciation and value given to the subject, and of its subsequent incorporation into new articles that promote the applied proposals in real situations within the field of the acquisition of curricular, declarative and procedural knowledge, and of that pertaining to the area of values, attitudes, and emotions. Quotations generate networks of interest through the mobilization of said advances, creating tendencies within studies. This suggests that networks of influence are being formed. The expository lecture is defined by a directly visible web potential that has set in motion 759 connections in the total of the 45 articles in our sample. Only one recently published article did not register any quotations. The web is structured into lesser groupings depending on the methodological commitments found from the QUAN commitment and these are thus distributed from greater to lesser number of quotations: QUAN-COM (301), QUAN-COG (220), and QUAN-ACT (165).
Research Question 2. What improvements to the lecture format do the reviewed articles suggest, within the framework of the communicative matrix of interactive learning?
Conclusion 2. It is very difficult to know the characteristics of the lectures that have been subject to intervention and their relationship with other teaching and learning methods. However, the internationalized agenda of the subjects covered is sufficiently pertinent to give rise to partial improvements in the exploitation of technological opportunities (ICT) applied to the transmission of knowledge, the use of strategies and the inclusion of participative tasks and techniques. Unfortunately, the analyzed sample does not reflect the concept of a communicative matrix within the organizational and institutional context of the intervened lectures; whilst all the articles are in line with the ideal of promoting
The reflection of the obtained data on the improvements achieved by the interventions carried out in lectures covers the following subjects:
On the one hand, the article by
On the other hand, the article by
The reviewed articles propose changes (COM, COG, ACT) but do not give contextual keys to understanding how to go about it and to conceptualize what is proposed as an intellectual and experiential result above and beyond a mere recuperation of information.
To summarize, from standpoint regarding the conceptualization of the innovation of the lecture format and the conceptual-methodological commitment adopted in the empirical research of this subject (
Every systematic review has inherent limitations to its own profile—such as the proposal of selection criteria for primary documents—that inevitably have an influence on the results, both on those obtained, and on the vacuums detected. An example of this is the
The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of a Spanish Government subproject
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.