As a student, should I offer alternative ways of understanding a point in lectures?

Question

Often, I’ll be in lectures and the lecturer will explain the point to me, and I make a comparison with something else that helps me understand the point, and it clicks. For example, in Syntax, the lecturer was talking about the difference between a noun and a determiner phrase; how the former describes a set of things, and the latter points to a specific thing. This reminds me of computing, so I think: ‘Oh, right. Nouns are classes, and DPs instantiate those classes.’

Is this type of rephrasing ever a useful thing to vocalise in lectures, for other students or the lecturer? I do sometimes vocalise these thoughts, usually in a smaller class setting though, not lectures. I usually try to keep quiet because I feel like either people won’t understand what I mean, or the teacher doesn’t consider it relevant or useful. So, my questions are: Is this kind of contribution in lectures valuable? Or do lecturers prefer that you ask questions instead of making statements?

Answer 1

If you are in a small lecture that encourages participation, then it is definitely appropriate to participate, and understanding things in more than one way is often a great thing. I would recommend phrasing your thoughts as a question rather than a statement, however, e.g.:

Would I be right in understanding this like [comparison]?

After all, you're only just learning the material and don't yet know if your comparison is actually right! If you can concerned that you might be talking too much then a) a very good lecturer may be able to let you know gently in the midst of class and b) you can ask the lecturer their opinion after class.

Answer 2

Yes, certainly it can be useful.

However, it's more useful if your analogy is well thought through, and can be stated concisely in a way that you think can be understood by the other students. If it's sort of rambling, or misses important aspects, or requires background that most other students may not have, it may cause more confusion than it clears up. So in some cases you may prefer to make a note for yourself, think it through later, and discuss it with the lecturer privately (e.g. during office hours). The lecture may then mention it in a future lecture, or invite you to do so.

Answer 3

To be honest, the specific example you give is unlikely to be helpful, since you're in something like a linguistics class and your analogy requires an understanding of a completely different field, object-oriented computer programming. Most of the other students probably won't have that background and the lecturer might not, too. And suppose the lecturer doesn't have that understanding. They'll likely be tempted to ask you to explain your analogy so they can evaluate whether you've understood or not. So now you have to spend a couple of minutes explaining OOP to the lecturer and all of that is time that would better have been spent on the actual subject at hand. The lecturer might also feel that you're trying to embarrass them by asking questions about something they don't understand.

In general, I'd be wary of interjecting with analogies since, unless the analogy is perfectly accurate (which most aren't), it's likely to lead to a discussion of the accuracy of the analogy, rather than further clarification of the real point.

Beyond that, I'd give the tautological advice that interjecting with alternative ways to understand is useful if it's useful. If the other students find it increases their understanding, go for it; if they seem not to appreciate it, don't do it. If the lecturer already explained it once and most people already understood it, there's no great value in you explaining it to everyone again. In particular, if your interjections become interruptions which break the lecturer's flow, you're hindering rather than helping.

Answer 4

Because these types of comments may or may not be welcome depending on the nature, topic and size of a course and the pedagogical approach of the instructor, you should ask your instructor if these kinds of interjections would be welcome. You can easily do this with a quick question after class or in an email. To make things concrete, it might be a good idea to come prepared with at least one concrete example of the kinds of clarification or reframing you might offer as a comment. As an instructor, I can see myself going way or another based on the class and the setting. That said, I would be always be happy to be asked ahead of time if this sort of thing would be welcome!