Tuning into lengthy lectures has become a norm that is a part of the average student’s daily routine.

With the lack of interest from students and modern technology evolving, the lecturing method at traditional colleges and universities may be on its way out.

For centuries, lecturing has been a main foundation in the teaching process for educators at institutions of higher education.

Jillona Flowers, a senior from Chicago studying forensic science and psychology said, she still enjoys the learning experience and even thrives in the lecture setting.

In the new age of education, researchers have found that humans are not built to learn in a passive manner. Recently in the book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, author John Medina concluded that human beings are wired to learn, but it is a process that can not occur without the learner being fully interactive.

Clare Lewandowski, an instructor for abnormal psychology, said her students learn actively and it helps when she presents the material with videos and walks around the room for the duration of class.

“My hope is that even if they are just sitting there and not paying attention maybe something I say will help them recall the information and actually apply it,” she said. “I don’t want them to regurgitate what they learn on a test.”

According to an article from the Huffington Post, society and the economy have been ever changing, and educators should make it their duty to change their teaching styles.

“In the industrial age, the application of the knowledge to what you were doing day-to-day was much higher compared to what you’re learning in the informational age,” Lewandowski said.

The Huffington Post article specified that the advancements of the Internet and other modern technology resulted in the Informational age in which academic qualification has a lesser value compared to having the skills and ability to properly execute tasks. In this modern age of learning, skills have overshadowed knowledge.

Jason Faught, a senior from Midlothian studying management, said hands-on learning and interactive assignments like group projects are an important part of his learning process.

“I don’t think that lecture setting will ever be obsolete but it’s also the lecturers’ duty to become interactive with students and not rely too much on PowerPoints,” he said.

There are some lecturers who are open to the evolution of teaching. Lewandowski said she is always trying to think about what she would like to change in herself as a lecturer.

The Learning Pyramid, based on the research done by the National Training Laboratories, suggests that students learn in a variety of different ways, but the average student retains more information by teaching others. It said lecturing is inferior to other teaching methods.

“I think that everyone is different and some methods of learning work better for others,” Flowers said. “Personally, I am an active learner and I like to ask a lot of questions during class and just really engage myself during lectures,” Flowers said.