Night Class
How to engage students in a night class full of students who are tired after long hours of work?
Very challenging to say the least. Everyone has suggested great ideas all with a central theme of class participation, group exercises and taking breaks to get everyone involved.
Hi Dawn,
Super! You use a great variety to keep your students entertained! I like your energy level. You add a lot of excitement to your classes. Continue to be energetic.
Patricia Scales
My night class is very self-motivated, though we all have our tired days, occasionally. I definitely think the factors that help us stay engaged include humor, breaking up the monotony of the class (which is 5 hours long), and asking the students to apply what they have learned by relating their own experiences. Our discussions can be pretty entertaining and informative at the same time. I also act as the "cheerleader" and my level of enthusiasm certainly plays a factor in how motivated everyone manages to be. We do our best to enjoy our time in the classroom.
It is very important to use positive reinforsment for the night classes and ice breakers as well.
Hi Joseph,
Great point made. I do not care how bad something is, it is always room for worse.
Patricia Scales
Wow thanks.... Great ideas.
Hi Patricia,
While I agree that energy-reserves are required for night classes, I believe that it's important to provoke students towards "Seeing" their accomplishments during the day. I use this rational: Something, - - - anything, that the instructor can get the student engaged with, can invariably be tied-into the subject matter being discussed @ the time. Example: a student drives a truck for 8 hrs. a day & then comes to class tired and sleepy. I am an HVAC/R night instructor. I ask, "How was work today?" Student answers: "Really bad traffic, etc., blah, blah, blah. I reply: Well, think how much worse it could have been, if it weren't for 'Pressure'. Sounds dumb, but here's the rational: Correct tire-pressure is related to how well and safe the truck operated. Incorrect tire-pressure, could have led to a blowout or an accident. He completed his work, arrived at class on-time, and now the class has the opportunity to discuss a very-important subject directly related to HVAC/R. Not really too difficult to understand how I managed to steer the discussion to where I wanted it to go.
Hi DENISE,
Energy is a must to keep night classes exciting and engagin. Try hands-on activities when possible as well.
Patricia Scales
The last hour of a four-hour class is brutal for the students. I can see them slowly drifting into another world of dreams, Facebook, and you tube. I attempt to counter this drift with humorous stories and antidotes related to the subject matter; I tend to become more animated and move around the classroom more; I pose scenarios with problems to see if and how the problems can be successfully resolved. At the end of class, I let them go, and then I too can drift into my world of....
I believe in order to engage night students you must be full of energy and enthusiasm. Switch to something different and new every 30 minutes. Engage the students in learning a new subject.
Yes, the key is to be first energized yourself. We're contagious whether smiling or yawning. I have to start my evening classes off with "Tell me what interesting thing happened to you since last class", and inevitably there's always one wildly engaging story that spawns lively discussion from all the students, so lively that it has to be squashed, but it does give the effect of a second wind at least for the 1st hour.
I try to have an ice breaker joke on hand for the start of the class and in between topic changes. I try also to work in 15 minute incrememnts so that there is a 5 minute break for the students to perform a group discussion or an activity. I find that these together help to fend off the worst of the drowsiness. Yes they may still be tired, but I can manage to keep them focused through a majority of the class.
it does all the time, thats a strategy that i learned from my professors, you get the students to laugh every now & then because things in medicine can sometimes be boring as i am teaching anatomy & physiology.You don't want students to fall asleep either.
I think for me it is very important to make my students laugh at a joke or a remark but still understand all my concepts, you can see the positive response in their faces.
Hi Mohammed,
Taking short breaks and breaking the ice are great ways to reenergize your students. Laughter helps with night students.
Patricia Scales
Hi Kundukisa,
You need to have an abundance of energy so that the energy rubs off to the students. Also use a lot of engaging activites to keep students alert, such as group projects, hands-on activities, guest speakers, role playing, etc.
Patricia Scales
i have had a particular experience with night classes, it is true they get tired easily as i have to disengage them from the topic in short intervals to tell them a joke or a short story of a particular event, even still they are more focused , most of them are older in age, very responsible about learning& care about the time in class which is a good motivation in itself. I do intend to use the different learning modalities so i can engage them all in class.
