Shawn Treants

I find the best way to prevent them from leaving during lectures is to lay out some ground rules early on. I let students know on the first day of class my expectations. One of which is that during lectures and for the first half of class -- which is typically lecture and discussion time, that they are expected to be in their seats and part of what is being discussed.

I also let them know that once they are in the lab portion of class that they are free to take short breaks when they need to..

It helps students because they know the ground rules, and they also have the lab portion to look forward to when they know they won't be 'trapped' in class.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Kathy,
This all depends what you are doing with the class sessions. For example if you are lecturing you can go 15-20 minutes of content delivery and then change the pace with discussion, small groups, student presentations, etc. This type of session can last an hour because the students are given variety in the learning opportunities. Then you can give them a break.
Gary

kathy boland

How long are the class sessions between breaks?

Robert Goodwin III CHEP

By "taking breaks" I mean leaving the class room. Be it to use the restroom, stretch, etc.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Robert,
Not sure what you mean by "takes a break" during lecture or demos. Does he walk out of the class or does he just tune out to what is going on? With a little more information I will be able to give you some suggestions on handling such behavior.
Gary

Bruce Nelson

The first thing I would do is ask the student if everything is alright. "I noticed that you had to leave class several times. Is everything OK?"

If it appears that the student is just restless I would mention that it can be distracting to other students to have people coming and going all the time.

Remind the student of scheduled breaks and stick to them.