Bates Chapter 1

The first thing that struck me about chapter one, is I can't figure out what date this was written.  I've never used a book-that's-really-a-website before and it has no title page!  The reason I'm wondering is because he writes a lot about how college classes are getting bigger, faculty workload is getting bigger, more adjuncts are being used, etc which is causing college classes to move toward the all-lecture format.  I'm having cognitive dissonance about this because I went to college 25 years ago and ALL college classes were lecture format.  That's what college was.  That's what a professor did, was lecture.  It was their job.  Now, I went to a smaller university that was known for its focus on undergrad teaching, so I did have small classes where I got to know my classmates and my professors, but still, it was their JOB to lecture.   There were two formats for college classes- lecture and seminar.  If that wasn't a good fit for you, that meant you weren't cut out for college.   

I have a weird job where I have actually continued to go to college every year since I graduated myself.  I'm a sign language interpreter, and I've interpreted college classes at almost every university in the DC area.  I've actually seen classes move away from the all-lecture format recently.  I've seen a lot more group discussions, group projects, different types of assignments, adaptive learning formats with stations and computer programs used in class, and all kinds of creative teaching methods that did not exist when I was in undergrad.  So that's why I can't figure out when this chapter was written that he's worried that classes are moving TOWARD the all-lecture format.  Maybe he has a completely different experience than I do, but I've seen a lot less lecture in the past few years.   Even powerpoint has had an effect on college lectures-  instructors can add visuals, graphics, videos, and all kinds of things to their multi-media lectures.  That's a completely different job than my professors had, where they stood in front of us and talked, and wrote on a chalkboard.  :)