I studied physics, business informatics and security management. I sat in a few very good lectures and in many average ones - and now and then in a catastrophic one. The low point was reached once when, in a lecture on “Networks”, the professor threw his public PDF onto the wall and read from it. I still remember that very well - unfortunately I remember absolutely no content from that lecture at all.
Why is a lecture called a lecture? Because it is about reading aloud, quite clearly. In times without computers, copiers etc. it of course also made sense for duplicating teaching content. Today I would like to question that sense. As a rule, lectures are supplemented by tutorials or practicals. That is certainly going in the right direction, but still only very few lecturers manage to hold the participants’ attention span over 90 minutes.
When I think back to which lecture contents I can remember from the lectures I was treated to as a student back then, what remains above all are those in which I worked out the material myself. Purely passive consumption of learning content, by contrast, was more or less a waste of time.
For these reasons I do not give lectures, but courses (Lehrveranstaltungen). Hair-splitting? Yes, maybe. But I teach content rather than reading it out. In my courses, participants have to work out the material themselves. I guide them, provide support and ensure success - starting assistance and continuous coaching included. How this approach is actually implemented differs by topic, but the concept stays the same. What matters is, of course, to challenge the participants without overwhelming them, and to include as much hands-on practice as possible.
This basic concept runs through my lecture course “PCI DSS” at Technische Hochschule Brandenburg, through my short intermezzo at the IHK as a lecturer in the “certification course for information security officers (Informationssicherheitsbeauftragter)”, and through my course “IT security management & compliance” at Hochschule Darmstadt. In a certain way, the concept - working out content yourself under guidance combined with maximum hands-on practice - is also reflected in the online trainings of binsec academy GmbH.
Why I state this so clearly about my university courses: so that the student participants know exactly what they are getting themselves into. Out of the student comfort zone: sleeping* is not an option! Anyone who just wants to passively consume content should go to a different class instead..
*As a student, that used to happen to me too.