Getting that student in a group of 4-6 people and working together will help them become engaged. If you as the instructor move around in the class this will encourage that student to at least attempt to be part of the class. Talk to them privately and ask if they have suggestions to make the class more interesting for them.
Vary the instruction with group activity, media or in class technology, lecture and presentations.
I don't stay at the front of the classroom at all times. I move around the room and when I notice a student's attention wandering,many times, just standing near the student will bring their focus back on the topic being discussed. I also make sure when I'm giving a lecture that I have short Q & A or discussion times after every twenty minutes or so.
Do something off beat in your instuction. Music, a reflective story, demo with with students having hand on activities.
Q & A of a student who appears to not be following along or engaged in conversation with another.
One of things I do to inattentive students is get affirmation of the topic as I make my presentations. So, I say “right John?†lets summarize, in this case ……what is your opinion John? And I keep shifting from John to Mary, and so on.
I have also tried this and find it very helpful.
My classes are 5 hours long. To keep my students attention, I bring a lot of visuals into my classroom. I feel that if a student can "touch, see, hear or smell" what I am talking about then they are more engaged. For instance.I have a "small" zoo at my house so if I am lecturing about skin or tissue I can bring in my alligator and maybe another animal or even some of my hides and have the students close their eyes and tell me what they feel. Really make them use all of their sences.
There are definitely ways to get the attention of inattentive students. I would go in the area where those students are sitting and engage them. Another way is to have group work where they can participate with their peers rather than just listening to you lecture.
I find that changing states helps with keeping students interested. Just having them stand and move around the room for 2 minutes helps. Our classroom is just next door to our lab and we often stop the lecture to go to the lab and look at the parts or components we are discussing. Asking the students randomly to read some of the lesson that must be read keeps them in tune also.
Hi Shelly,
After students catch on to you collecting quizzes, but not grading them, how effective do you think this tactic is?
Patricia Scales
I use many things in the classroom to reach out to the inattentive students. Sometimes I will pull out a quick game of stand up, sit down. I also have games that students play in small groups that deal with the content that is being delivered that day. I also sometimes give a short quiz that I collect and review, but I do not assign a grade for it.
One way an instructor can capture the attention of students is to know students' interests and/or hobbies. By drawing upon what students are already engaged with, instructors can connect new information to retained information which increases the liklihood students will remember as well as attend.
I like the group approach and the minute papers. These approachs puts the responsiblity on the student to participate and listen. Even if they do not preform at the highest level it encouraages them to perform. Addtionally they see other students behavior styles which are successful in the classroom. Hopefully the student will observe successful behavior and possibly apply.
Before class or after class begin a conversation with them and try and assess if there is any external issues happening with them. They may not want to share however you are sending a message that you care about them and why they are taking your class.
Make hem the focus of a discussion.
One of the ways I capture the attention of inattentive students is by sitting down with the student and getting to know them. Often, students who are not intersted in the lecture have a lot going on, so more effort is need to capture their attention. By getting to kow the student, I try to incorporate reall world examples of the subject matter that might interest them. For example, if a student is struggling with financial issues, I would attempt to discuss how the econmy is taking is tool on many people and use examples within the frmelwrok of the subject matter.
Asking questions to that student to let them know that I am paying attention to them. Put them in groups so they can discuss the topic. Have open question time and really get them involved.
There are several ways to capture the attention of an inattentive student to include the following: calling on the student by name, having the class to separate into small groups, having the student be the class observer, speaking with the student one on one to understand why this is happening. I believe that as an instructor when you get to know your students you will be better equipped to assist them with becoming more involved in class participation & activities.
Some ways of capturing the attention of an inattentive student include:
Breaking the class into groups and assigning roles
Giving a quiz (even a quiz that is ungraded) at the end of a few classes as a "test your knowledge" quiz
Using socratic message and calling on students in class to participate
Shift the approach to the class structure to account for different learning styles in an effort to further engage disengaged students.
