instructing evening classes
Ive noticed many students are tired.it is important to motivate with hands on labs and frequent breaks.
It is also important to give tired students frequent but brief reviews. Many evening students have been working all day and will have difficulty retaining information.
Hi Azita,
I wish you much success next week. Be flexible, keep a sense of humor and offer a change of pace throughout the class and you will do fine.
Gary
I am a new teacher and I have a 13 hours clinical. I know it is a long day, I hope, that I can keep the students motivated. We had the orientation last week and next week is the first 13 hours. I'll see how they do. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Evening students seem to be more engaged postitivily in the learning atmosphere. They want more. They tend to have worked all day and are tired.
It is hard to keep even these motivated depending on the type of course being taught. Lecture classes are so much easier to keep the interaction up.
I think it is harder to keep students focused in computer courses, such as keyboarding classes.
I have a 5 hour prep keyboarding class starting next in March for night students. These courses have alway been hard for me to keep interesting due to the program we use. This time they will have a new program which we both have to figure out together.
Hi Tracey,
This is the model I use with my night students as well. I offer variety and change of pace throughout the evening. If I don't I know I am going to lose them around 8:30 and the class goes until 10 so that is a long time to talk to myself while they are sleeping.
Gary
I totally agree with you. My evening class has a real problem with yawning! When I see this happening, we stand up and stretch, get some water, break for a few minutes..I have also tried splitting up the lecture into sections and incorporating lab in between each section so we can all get up and move around so to speak.
I also teach at night with culinary students. Fortunately, we are always moving so that makes it a bit easier, although after working all day etc., sometimes the students just aren't mentally as sharp on a consistent basis. It just takes alot of patience on my part to keep them going through their ups and downs.
Hi Niles,
Great ideas for us instructors that teach evenings. We have to change the pace and offer variety or we are going to lose them for sure.
Gary
I am tired too, but I have to remember, if I keep it interested, I'll be more awake and interested in learning. I use different techiniques- group work, computer lab assignments and even do savenger hunts. Do moving activities, such as switching chairs. It helps.
Hi Omri,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm and I have found the same thing with my students. They have worked all day but want to expand their career options by coming to school at night. They know what they want and are dedicated to the effort to achieve their career goals. This makes them a fun bunch to teach.
Gary
Aloha,I have experienced generally that evening students are a little more dedicated and serious about their work.I try to have the second part of class more interactive to keep them from being tired after a long days work for most of them.
Hi Mark,
I teach evening classes where I have students that have worked all day and are tired. My classes run from 4 until 10 pm so not only are they tired but we have 6 hours together. I need to have a wide variety of activities and projects to keep them engaged and focused. I enjoy my evening students very much because they are dedicated to learning but need a lot of support during the process.
Gary
