I enjoy making eye contact with my students because I can get a sense of their comprehension of the material and/or whether they're getting bored/sleepy. When my students look like they could use a boost in energy, I try to get them involved in the lecture by asking questions, telling a funny/interesting story, or changing up my style (ie: case studies, group discussions, etc.). Therefore, I find that I am always on my toes, because my lectures can change because of the mood of the class for that day. Perhaps, that's a reason why I enjoy teaching so much - the constant challenge of keeping my audience engaged.
I lecture for 20 minutes, then we go into the lab for demonstration. They seem to grasp the material if I incorporate both.
Yes Yes Yes :) Courtney you are definately my kind of intructor....I am in my instruction and it just seems to flow very nicely. The student leaves with a sence of belonging not just learning; it really builds great relationships when a studnet realizes that even the instructor is only human. Keep up the good work :)
I have found that paying close attention to the body language of students can really give a clue as to what is being retained and what is not; for the student that may seem laxed, I call on that student and ask for a personal experience regarding the topic being discussed. This seems to draw the student from a complacent mode into being engaged.
The attention spam of a adult student is only 15-18 mins. You can have mini lectures lasting 15 mins. and then move to a question and answer session and some examples and/or case studies. this will keep their attention and address any concerns or questions before moving on to next mini lecture.
Vanessa,
I teach three and six hour long courses so I can really appreciate your approach to longer classes. Students need as you are providing variety and change of pace in their learning opportunities. The more you provide the more engaged they are going to be.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
My lecture class is two hours long. I have found that intermixing hands on activites,changing my voice and current events has help to keep my students engaged.
I love to laugh by the end of my two hour lecture class we have at lease one or more reason to laugh.
I learn from my students and they are learning from me.
Courtney,
Teaching is a form of edutainment. You combine entertainment and education to create learning opportunities. A strong dose of humor throughout the course and you have the formula for a successful class where a lot of learning occurs.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have no problem making a fool out of myself if it helps them stay interested in the topic. I will often get their input on a topic and keep throwing out questions to keep them thinking. I sometimes give my experience on the related topic, even if I don;t come out on top during the example.
Karen,
You have a good start on your professional development as an educator. Keep doing what you are currently doing. As you get comfortable with the teaching process you can start to add activities, case studies, Q&A sessions and other best teaching practices that will help enhance the learning of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I'm new to this so I have been trying to present the information, give little stories from my experiences, I ask them questions, and at the end of the lecture I do some review questions. Are there any other suggestions?
Faith,
There is a saying in education that is "To Teach is to Learn Twice, once as a student and once as a teacher." This applies here. Your students are both students and teachers in terms of have responsibilities as learning leaders. Great strategy to use to engage all students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Simply by making every aspect of the course engaging. Even lectures, for instance. Today, we embarked in a lecture on medical coding where each student in the class had a duty to do during the lecture. A powerpoint accompanied the lecture and some students were tasked with being "researchers". Any time we came across a word that someone in the class did not know the meaning of, we would open the floor (by someone yelling out "reference or challenge") for someone else to answer it if they did know what it meant. And if no one knew then some students were on the computers to look it up and others had physical dictionaries. At the same time creating a challenge among paper vs electronic reference materials. (To which another student kept score on which method yielded the best results. While yet another student had the task of video taping the whole thing.) At the end of the "lecture" which was essentially was turned into a group challenge. All students had the opportunity to confer with each other to make sure everyone had the correct notes. Because I had pre-planned that if they really got into this activity, it is reasonable to assume one might miss a correct spelling or reference number here or there.
Donna,
This is a good model to follow and it benefits everyone as a result.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like this idea of pairs of students teaching something to each other. Like you said, when you teach something to another person it helps your retention alot!
Sonya,
Students love hearing stories from the field. These stories help to reinforce the value of the content being taught as well as help them see what they will be experiencing when they are out in the workplace. This greatly increases their engagement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Some of the strategies I us to keep my students engaged is tell them dental stories of my experience and let them get involved with lectures.
Some strategies for keeping students engaged throughout the class is variety. The instructor needs to have lecture, group-work, individual assessment, class discussions, etc.
Using a variety of instructional techniques, mini lectures, case studies, demonstration to help keep students engaged an focus on the instructional content being provided
Harrison,
Good ideas for starting the engagement process for students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
