An Effective Team: Active Learning Also Needs the Sage on a Stage

As a faculty member at a medical school, I have had experience with a variety of different teaching methods. Lecturing, sometimes ridiculed as “sage on a stage,” has been to some extent replaced by active learning approaches, including in medical science education. However, some academics have defended the lecture format, and if one accepts the importance of diversity of thought and opinion in academia then this should also include diversity of teaching methods and of learning experiences. Thus, academic freedom should include content delivery and not only of the content itself. Briefly examining arguments made in one prominent defense of the lecture approach, and based on my own practical experience, I believe that the “sage on a stage” should be included as a component of the educational toolkit, as an important contributor, along with active learning approaches, to an effective educational team. I also note that students have a responsibility in making the best use of any educational approach, including lecture.