I teach medical coding so usually I lecture about 10-15 minutes about the anatomy & terminology and the actual procedures we are about to code. I walk them through a couple of cases then set them on their own to code the rest of the cases. I stroll around the class while the students are working. Sometimes I question certain students about their answers giving them tips on how to re-think how they are coding. I find constant praise & encouragement works wonders with students when we go over the material that they have done.
Asking questions keeps students engaged. I also call on students by their names which tells them that I cared enough to learn their names.
Garrett,
This is a good strategy. Students like a change of pace and variety in their learning. You are offering that with your method. This keeps them more engaged in longer session classes.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I engage my students from the first day. I have them read case studies and give their approaches to answering the questions of the case studies. I then involve the remainder of the class to their feedback on the case study. This brings much more to the classroom for discussion.
Since you learned all their names in the first class, I find calling on them by name is a great motivator to keeping them engaged and getting them to talk.
I have had some decent success implementing what I hacome to call commercial breaks. About every 15 to twenty minutes I try to show the students something different either a current relevant article, a video, or quick presentation, a dicussiong quesion or scenerio etc. That shows the revelance of what we are learning as well as trys to reinforce the points we have been dicussing.
Zedia,
This is an effective teaching technique. The more involved the student are the more opportunities they have to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Nestor,
Edutainment is a part of being an effective communicator and instructor. Thanks for sharing this perspective with us. I know it will be of help to other instructors looking for ways to engage their students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I feel that class participation from the students really have kept the students engaged in their learning process.
I usually start by assessing the learning types for the students in the class.
Usually, short blocks of lecture, with videos and demostrations to break up the lecture time. After each block of lecture some group work on some learning discussions.
I have tremendous participation and feedback from students because I'm an actor, comedian, entertainer, story teller, instructor all wrapped into one. Te result is a relaxed place to learn without watering down the level of difficulty or dumbing down the course content.
Lakithia,
I use both in my classes. My students like to play the games when we are reviewing for upcoming tests and the case studies lets them apply their newly acquired knowledge. Makes for enjoyable learning.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
TO keep students engaged I utilize powerpoint handouts provided to the students with key points of the lecture. This allows the students to be listening to the lecture rather than trying to take notes. It also helps provide them with important information to aid in studying for evaluations.
I agree it is important to make the students part of the material sort of speak. Again this can be challenging in the online environment. The best way to do this is to ask questions using the Socratic method in the discussion forum.
In the online environment I like to allow the students to play games that will keep them engaged in the material. I also like to provide interesting case scenarios (that are currently in the news) to keep their interest.
In my Math class, I encourage students to present worked solutions to problems on the board. This benefits the presenter in that he/she must verbalize their methods. It benefits the other students in that they are sometimes exposed to different stategies. I find that the ensuing dialogue between the students proves to be valuable to the learning process.
First, it is important to be aware of your students. If you glance around the classroom and your students are obviously bored, don't be afraid to change things up.
When I notice my students are bored, or not engaged I do what I can to get them involved in my teaching. If they are bored, I will tell them an amusing anecdote, or ask them a question that's thought provoking.
Generally I notice most students respond to this, and if I still don't notice the students engagement, I will ask that specific student a question (if the class is small enough) to engage them.
Anna-Maria,
Good strategy. I wish I had had you as an instructor when I was taking Physics. I still break out in a cold sweat when I think of my high school and college physics classes. If I had just been given an opportunity to make application of what I was being taught it would have made a world of difference. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
A strategy that I use to keep my students engaged in learning is to make them participate during lecture.For example,I ask:how many liter of blood our body have? and everyone try to guess an answer.
An other way is to recap every 15mn and I make the students involved too.
It is important to relate real life situations to the student to better keep their interest
