I enjoyed reading your comments on capturing attention.
Asking students how they will apply the knowledge learned to their career fields or to their personal lives is truly the value of education.
I will find a way to get them involved in the instruction of the material. Give them a reason to get focused
occasionally I throw in a straight faced off the cuff outrageous statement to see if anyone is listening. The more insane the comment the greater the reaction I get.
Movement,diction, volume, and pitch. Continually, "patrolling," the classroom, varying the volume and clarity of my voice, and using students as examples in anecdotes, are some of the ways I incorporate as many students as possible into the days lesson. Students become leary as I walk about the room looking for example subjects that I infuse into the lecture.It also helps with attentiveness, as the students never know which of them I will call on next.
Start the class off with icebrokers
I agree that using personal stories is a very helpful way to apply important class material and to make a personal connection with the students.
I also like to apply real world situations that they will encounter. As a massage therapy instructor it is helpful to let students work out the "puzzle" of a potential client. I like to put them in groups, present a client scenario, let them work out the puzzle of what created the pain or misalignment and then work out the puzzle of what can be done to help.
I have found true stories of events and situations that I experienced in my professional career always held students attention and they remembered and applied the knowledge to thier circumstances.
I like to mix up class lecture with group or in class activities that requires everyones participation.
Well, I found out that guest speakers are very important when it comes to this area. However, you don't want to fall into the trap where you just choose any guest speaker. I mean if the person makes you fall asleep, imagine what’s going to be the outcome in your class.
Question: Capturing a student attention
There are numerous ways to capture a student’s attention.
One of the easiest is by asking a provocative question that is guaranteed to make the student think (the more polarizing the better).
This approach facilitates discussion that will hopefully allow for the expansion of tolerance, and the confirmation of Emerson's premise that "reasonable men may disagree".
Another approach is to do a demonstration, which can break up the monotony of the lecture-listen cycle gone amok.
Another is to ask them how they can apply a given principle or activity in their life, or the lives of their patients.
Jonathan French, D.C.
I get up and walk around the room after presenting the lesson. I ask them if they have any questions and then I cirulate around the room and make sure that everyone is on task.
Some ways that I use to capture the attention of inattentive students are: 1.) Announce to the students that there will be a pop quiz immediately following the discussion or lecture. 2.) Another way is to engage the students in the discussion by randomly calling on them (especially those whom I notice that are not paying attention) during the discussion/lecture and let them know that they will receive points for class participation. Finally, I try to make the discussion/lecture as interesting as possible by incorporating some activities during that time.
by placing the students in groups to complete task or by walking next to student to get their attendtion
I have done similar things to get the attention of a student. I will also walk past them which tends to wake them up to the discussion topic at hand.
Melissa
When I see that students are inattentive I assign work that will get them involved. Since cosmetology is a hands on program I try my best to lecture as less as possible and keep the students physically busy.
I have the first few minutes of every class planned to deliver excitment.
What did we do yesterday, how will that make today fun and special.
It must come from the energy of the instructor.
I use silence also. I tell my students at the beginning of the semester that I do not talk over them. If they are talking, I can wait until they are finished and if their conversation is that important they can either share it with the rest of the class or step outside and continue. But they are also responsible for any work that they miss and I do not repeat myself so the choice is theirs. that usually gets them to stop. most of the time the rest of the class will tell them to be quiet. it only takes once for them to get the message.
Halina Geier
You can discuss with them if their is something holding them back from listening to the lecture or perform the one minute quiz to awakened them
Dealing with Challenging Students Forum Discussion 09122010
RE: Capturing a student’s attention
I agree with the relevancy idea, and have found that stopping the discussion to see how different students and professionals within the field of healthcare can, or might apply, the information that they are learning in class is a useful strategy.
For the students talking in the back of the room, this can serve as a non-threatening way to facilitate cooperation and involvement without directly targeting their disrespectful and counterproductive behavior.
Dr. Jonathan French
09/12/2010
Hi Alice,
Visual aids add clarity. I have found that students enjoy visual aids and real life stories. Real life stories make for an excellent disussion piece in the classroom.
Patricia
