Telephones became mobile phones. Letters became text messages. Cassette players became Spotify. So many things in our world were modified and modernized. However, one thing has remained consistent: the way you or your children were taught in school. Previous generations had chalkboards and textbooks. The modern-day student body utilizes smartboards and digital texts. Lecture-based learning can be traced back to the 13th century in the ancient Greek and Roman empires (“Lesson”). This teaching method simply is not working on students anymore and it is time for a change. It is time to abrogate lecture-based learning. Lecture-based learning is completely teacher-centered where the student has no room to ask questions or even speak. The student is expected to understand all the material spoken at them but if they do not, there is no option for re-explaining. On the other hand, active learning is student-centered where the teacher is allowed to give individual help and feedback to only the students who need it, and should be implemented in all classrooms nationwide. For that reason, students are more likely to benefit from an active learning class versus a lecture-based class.

To begin, students are not gaining anything through lecture-based classes because they are not focusing. A hypothesis was made to conclude which type of class is more beneficial to students. It was predicted that students would be more focused in active-based classes compared to lecture-based classes. Thereafter, investigators at Brooklawn Middle School set out to observe classrooms and their relation to student behavior. With the data collected, our hypothesis was proven true. To begin, it was noted that students in lecture-based classes were heard saying, “When does this period end?” and “I want to go home” (Observations). On the other hand, students in active learning classes were heard saying “I will go up to the board” and “I am going to do so good on tomorrow’s test” (Observations). This insinuates that students in lecture-based classes are tedium and do not enjoy being present in class. However, students in active-based classes participate in class discussions and genuinely enjoy the class. According to the article, "Interest Matters: The Importance of Promoting Interest in Education", “When students are interested in an academic topic, they are more likely to go to class, pay attention, become engaged, take more courses, as well as process information effectively and ultimately perform well” (Harackiewicz). Therefore, if students enjoy the class, they are likely to benefit from it as well. Thus, active-based classes are more beneficial to students than lecture-based classes.

In addition, active learning classes are far more effective compared to lecture-based classes because students will be more successful in these classes. According to the article, "Active Learning vs Traditional Lecture. Which Impacts Students More?", a study was conducted in 2014 by Scott Freeman. He discovered that “turning students into active participants reduced failure rates by one standard deviation” (Kronk). Moreover, “if you have a course with 100 students signed up, about 34 fail if they get lectured to but only 22 fail if they do active learning, according to our analysis,” (Kronk). This study reveals that active learning classes have more students passing because twelve more students passing can make an astronomical difference when taking the number of students in the world into factor. Furthermore, according to the article “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics”, “active learning leads to increases in examination performance that would raise average grades by a half a letter, and that failure rates under traditional lecturing increase by 55% over the rates observed under active learning” (Freeman). The same article also found that “...average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sections, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning” (Freeman). This study proves that not only are active learning classes increasing passing rates but also that lecture-based learning lowers passing rates. Hence, active learning is more effective at teaching students than lecture-based learning.

On top of that, lecture-based learning is far less practical than active learning because it is antediluvian. According to the textbook excerpt, “Lesson Five Reading II” by CommonWealth of Learning, Lecture-based learning can be traced back to the Roman and Greek Empires and it is quickly reaching its 1000th birthday (“Small”).  The truth is walking into a classroom today looks something like this: The student at the front is jotting notes vigorously. She is planning to memorize it all and then forget it after the test. The guy on his Chromebook might be taking notes or might be online shopping. The student in the back has her legs stretched out across 2 chairs while displaying a why-did-I-even-take-this-class type look on their face while staring at the ceiling (Sarrica). And the professor? The professor is lecturing. They stand at the front, reading off an overwhelming slideshow in a monotone voice. The truth is many teachers continue teaching using lecture strategies despite students yawning, falling asleep, and showing minimal participation. Why? Teachers often base their teaching philosophies as if they are speaking to the younger versions of themselves and their peers. Lecture-based learning used to be effective in past generations “...who were often more conscientious, more interested in learning, and more patient than the student staring at his phone in the back of their classrooms” (Schuman). This quote shows that older generations did not need that extra engagement to stay focused in class but the current generation does. As a result, teaching needs to be altered to cater to the new generation of students. Perhaps, lecture-based classes should be abandoned in favor of student-centered lessons.

In conclusion, active-based lessons should be implemented everywhere to replace lecture-based lessons because students are more engaged, are more likely to pass, and cater to current students' needs. It is time for educators to take action. Which classroom do you dream of; a lecture-based classroom with struggling students or an active learning classroom with striving students? Maybe one day lecture-based classes will become active-based classes. Unfocused students will become focused students. Struggling students will become students with adroit students. The world will become a better place.