The European pedagogical classic, What's the Use of Lectures? by Donald A. Bligh, makes its American debut in this first US edition. After three decades in circulation and approximately forty thousand volumes in print, this is a case in which "classic" is not misapplied. What's the Use of Lectures? is exactly what it purports to be: a handbook on the lecture method. It is both reference work and textbook. Bligh intended the work to be flexible in this regard; the reader may choose only selected portions, or may read the volume as a whole. In this way, What's the Use of Lectures? is immediately approachable for either novice instructors in their initial exposure to the lecture method or the experienced lecturer seeking a refresher course. Bligh organizes the work into five parts, each dedicated to exploring facets of the lecture as a teaching method: What Objectives can Lectures Achieve?, What Factors Affect the Acquisition of Information?, What Lecture Techniques apply these Factors most Effectively?, Alternatives when Lecturing is Inadequate, and Preparation for the Use of Lectures. Each part is then further subdivided into chapters.

Because What's the Use of Lectures? is geared towards the beginning instructor (though the more experienced teacher is by no means disenfranchised), early on our author defines the lecture, asserting that it is "a period of more or less continuous exposition by the teacher." (5) Bligh devotes a great deal of attention to the purpose of the lecture as a teaching technique. In short, Bligh identifies the lecture as being best suited for "the acquisition of information by the students." (4) Bligh supports this conclusion with numerous independent, educational studies that evaluate student learning. Concomitantly, a significant contribution of the work is Bligh's straightforward discussion of the occasions and objectives for which the lecture is not an appropriate teaching technique. Again based upon the results of numerous studies, Bligh concludes that lectures are not the best means for promoting student thought, changing student attitudes, or teaching particular behavioral skills.

Throughout the work, Bligh maintains an awareness of the larger pedagogical scheme, and so keeps the discussion of the lecture within the context of other teaching methods. In addition to the material outlining the function and proper implementation of the lecture, perhaps the most helpful sections of What's the Use of Lectures? are the chapters devoted to integrating the lecture into a variety of teaching techniques. Bligh advises that the lecture be used with discernment, towards particular goals and outcomes, and should not be overused. The use of buzz groups, horseshoe groups, multi-media, and student presentations are all recommended in tandem or in combination with the lecture.

Missing from What's the Use of Lectures? is discussion of the challenges faced by the lecturer engaged in distance learning, especially on occasions of real-time simulcast to multiple student audiences, and particularly given the heavy reliance on lecturing by instructors in distance learning. Now, theoretically, there should be no change in teaching style or objectives with this new technology; nevertheless, advice in this arena could assuage the practical difficulties faced by both the lecturer and students.

That said, What's the Use of Lectures? is for the most part comprehensive and thorough. The work addresses the needs of both the student and the lecturer. It is an extremely well researched tome, one in which specialists in education, particularly those whose primary interest is ways of knowing and learning, will find engaging conversation as well as reference to a plethora of research. Bligh brings a high level of expertise to the table, but What's the Use of Lectures? is not so loaded with technical jargon that only psychologists and educational specialists feel as ease. What's the Use of Lectures? is a readable, approachable, incisive and practical guide to classroom lecturing.

Kathleen Peters
UNC Asheville