Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi David,
Right you are. I teach from 4 until 7 and then 7 until 10. This schedule forces me to make sure that I offer variety and a change of pace while teaching. Otherwise it is going to be a very loooooooong evening for both the students and myself.
Gary

David Lopez CHEP

I also teach in three hour blocks... I would definitely agree that variety and change of pace , when possible, are major components in keeping students interested and engaged.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Rich,
Good point. Students are interested in ROI (Return On Investment) when it comes to course content and activities, thus they need to be integrated into the instructional delivery. This way the students can see application and relevancy in what you are doing.
Gary

rich miller

One thing I'd caution on is creating busy work just to fill up time. I really try hard to find projects or activities that will actually be beneficial to the students down the road. For instance, the text book taught a concept much differently than I had used it in the field, so I spent time discussing the textbook way and then demonstrating how I had used it in my "real" job. I felt that the class was much more interested in hearing about how things really work...maybe I was a little more excited to teach it as well....

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Siobhan,
Sounds like a great plan that you are following to keep your students engaged. The key is variety and you are providing that in your delivery. Keep up the good work.
Gary

Siobhan Kawmi

Here are my two-bits to your question:
I teach an approximately 5 hour lecture class. I use many different sources for them to direct their "viewing" while I am lecturing. Attention to the overhead "Powerpoint" presentation, attention to their book, attention to their handouts, attention to their note-taking.... All of these attention areas lead to multi-tasking.... which keeps them busy. It doesn't hurt that I try to be as animated as possible and interweave my own personal "in the field" stories as well.... that is, the good and the bad field stories.
Good luck,
S. Kawmi

Elizabeth Coppins

That was really helpful. I also teach a 3 hour lecture class where the amount of information we need to cover looms regularly. I find that even short activities broken up can help students focus and refer back to that makes what you are discussing more meaningful. For your class, perhaps have the students take 1-2 minutes at the beginning of class list what they ate that day. Have a poll, who feels they ate well? Who sees choices they now regret? Who as indigestion now? Or something like that linked with a point tied to your goals for the day. Food in=health. Then later refer back to that list, or challenge the students to do it for 3-4 days to become more mindful of their own decisions and feelings.

Kimberly Knight CHEP

Thanks Gary - this is very helpful!
Kimberly

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Kimberly,
I would first look at my objectives for the day. What do I want to cover. Then decide how you how you want to deliver that information. So if you see that a lecture over the content is the best then plan for that. Divide the lecture up onto sessions of about 15 minutes in length. Start the class with an activity that introduces the day's topic and gets the student excited about the class. Then do a mini-lecture followed by an activity which can be a small group discussion then a lecture session and then a game or class discussion or any other activity you chose. The point is that you are changing the flow of the class ever so often to give the students a break in the learning flow.
All my classes are three hour block classes just like yours. I start at 4:00pm and go until 7:00pm and then start a new class at 7:00 which goes until 10:00pm. I follow the above strategies for keeping the students engaged and focuses. Change of pace and variety are the keys to making this happen.
If you have any questions about anything I have mentioned let me know and I will be glad to follow up with you in terms of additional information.
Gary