Hi William,
Students are very interested whenever you share your practical experience with them.
Patricia
The only way to capture them is to help them to understand what you are talking about and relate it to them!
Hi Jason,
Anytime you can make the lecture apply to the real world, this is a sure way to capture students attention.
Patricia
Letting the student know that you went throu similar training or shared experiences gives them confidence to complete the course assignments.
Moving around the room , standing near the inattentive student. Asking questions and randominly calling on them to answer.
I find that movement through the student seating area, helps keep everyone attentive. I try to make eye contact with as many students as I can, as often as I can during the course of a lecture.
I agree with you on this mthod because this is an excellent time for students to reflect and refresh their memory on past lectures. It also reminds them to go home and review the information that was sited in the class.
I move around the room constantly while I'm lecturing and if I see someone's interest waning I engage them with a question on the topic, not to embarass, but to get them thinking about the material.
Asking questions peridically during the lecture is a good way to keep students interested. I also will stop and discuss certain situations I've encountered while in the field that pertains to my lecture. I always try to keep my stories light and fun so the students enjoy the course and can look forward to getting their own experiences in a medical office.
i try to capture their attention by keeping them involved, giving them relevant responsibilities, and showing how it effects their employability
My students tend to use their phone (texting) under the table. What I do is ask them, "Are you texting me, because my phone is vibrating." Normally I get, "No, I don't have your cell phone number." I repond with, "my point exactly, if you are not texting me, then you shouldn't be texting." Normally they give off a laugh and put the phone away.
Hi Thomas,
This is an old trick that really works. Whenever the student is not paying attention get them involved in the discussion by asking a question or gaining their input.
Patricia
I also like to move around the room as much as possible to keep an eye on things, I have found that if a student is not paying attention I try to engage him/her as soon as possible into the activity by calling on them to give there opinion or answer - This way they are not alienated by being pointed out in class, Given the appearance that I called on them for an entirely different reason other than just getting there attention.
I try to mix up the instructional presentation. I ask questions of the students that look like they aren’t paying attention. With my PowerPoint presentations, I was TurningPoint, which is a program that works with Powerpoint which lets the students answer questions with a clicker.
I move around the class room so I can see what the students are doing, and it keeps me and the students on their toes.
When I loss the students attention, I change the activity to group discussion, working on a project, tell stories that relates the topic to my past experience or ask students how they can use what we are talking about in their lives.
Students love to hear real-life experiences. I also ask them if they have experiences to share. That question will prompt the students to ask questions or relate their experience so the entire class can discuss the experiences.
I have also found that moving around the classroom is an effective way to keep both myself and the students alert. Sometimes I even unexpectedly sit down among the students.
Some ways I like to capture attention is to break the students into groups, making sure that each student has a role in the group, and then having the group present their topics.
I begin the class telling about myself and how I came to be an instructor. When the students learn that I was a displaced worker, went to the college I teach at now, then became an instructor, they realize: "Hey, she does understand. It is possible to graduate and begin a new career." It also gives me a rapport with the students to know I have a similar background with most of them.
Hi Donte,
When you let students know that they may possibly be called on randomly, they tend to really become more alert. Students really do not like being caught off guard.
Patricia
