"The physics department has replaced the traditional large introductory lecture with smaller classes that emphasize hands-on, interactive, collaborative learning. Last fall, after years of experimentation and debate and resistance from students, who initially petitioned against it, the department made the change permanent. Already, attendance is up and the failure rate has dropped by more than 50%."
What this tells me is that those that lectured probably weren't good teachers. Collaborative learning is a good tool to sprinkle around, but if it forms the basis of what used to be the lecture, I don't see this as being good either. In most (but not all) of my classes, I add in collaborative learning times in appropriate places. Purely collaborative learning in complex concepts just won't do it for the average student.
If you see a lecture at a University that is education-centered, versus research-centered, you will see a completely different lecture atmosphere. In any case, one aspect of lectures that I noticed is that good teachers are the ones that are extremely openly enthusiastic about the subject they teach. Enthusiasm is contagious. Teachers not so good tend to be dry, boring, showing no enthusiasm, which seems to me to be equally contagious.
