Too much enthusiasm
My biggest problem with the class that I have right now is too much enthusiasm. Believe me I love it but I still need to manage time better. The class is large and this group wants to understand more about the topic than I have time for. Relevant questions abound and I really have a hard time cutting these off. I truly enjoy the discussions but need to cover certain material. Any suggestions?
Karyn,
Spontaneous discussion is nearly always a good sign that at least some students are listening, and that's a good thing. If it's in the flow I'll encourage and facilitate the discussion to keep order. I do the same thing to bring back off track discussion to my lesson.
Barry Westling
I never discourage enthusiasm or curiosity. If the students have a question that requires class discussion, or inspires someone to do a research project and then report to the class at the next meeting that's great! I've actually had students produce reports that I plan on incorporating into future classes. I agree that if a discussion is allowed to run too long it can derail the class for the day, so I keep an eye on the clock and if discussion runs over fifteen minutes I make the suggestion that they either research the question for homework and discuss their findings at the next class or, if someone is so moved, assign an individual to produce a presentation.
cory,
Right! I believe if topics can be steered in a direction that students can see personal, individual value or interest in, they're more apt to pay attention, participate, and probably learn from that activity.
Barry Westling
this is a tool I have used several times! develop a whole research assignment or topic based on something the students are interested in, invested in, or curious to learn.
Usually VERY little guidance and they are off and running!
Gail,
This sounds great!. When we can make learning fun or a bit more enjoyable (something other than 'the talking head") students will be more willing to participate, remain engaged, and in the end, retain important class information. It's also a good time management activity.
Barry Westling
I agree with this and approach and have utilized it often. What I will do is have students write questions on index cards and I will answer several of them, then will break the students into groups and have them answer the rest of the questions as a group and bring the answers back to the next class to report.
Lynn ,
If there is time for individual discussion, this is a good place for students to participate is self discovery and resolution of unanswered questions. Also, a single students question can be turned into a whole class homework assignment by finding the answer on their own, and reporting the information the next class or instructional period.
Barry Westling
Roger,
So as to not discourage natural curosity in interest by the student, one technique is to respond some thing like "here's the short answer (10-15 seconds), see after class where I can show where to find more inforamtion. It's not off putting, answers the immediate question, but allows the continuous uninterrupted instructional flow by the instructor.
Barry Westling
I will sometimes write these questions on the board and answer them later or challenge the students to find the answers to them on their own. don't get me wrong, this is a great problem to have but it can really de-rail a course.
