With longer class periods the students attention does wander. I try to break up the topic into smaller sections with some group activities to keep everyone on task.
I teach in an online environment so this can be exceptionally challenging. I teach weekly "Live" Lectures that allow me to present Powerpoints and answer questions. One thing I will do during my Live Chat is share my computer screen with the students and go through the assignments and Virtual Campus with them. I also post polls for the students to complete throughout each lecture.
Thanks,
Robert Stephens
I think the idea of walking next to where the students sit while lecturing and bringing the dicussion NEAR them will also focus attention on them.This should help the student know that I care about them and their focus
Tell a story about the subject. A good story. You should have a million of them ready. Keep an eye on the student(s) to make sure they are interested. It should help loosen up the and recharge the class.
One thing that I do is walk around the classroom and asks questions as I go along just to see if you were paying attention. If that does not work then a address the situation, most of the time if does not get hat far.
I just thought I would share that one rule I have in my classroom (which I establish on day 1 and reinforce ALWAYS without exception) if their phone rings in class, they have to stand up and sing a song for the class. Ironically we have a student that has sung such a fun song that got everyone smiling and clapping, we all want her phone to go off. She is one of my top students and her phone going off was a pure accident. I almost never have the phone thing be an issue.
When some of my students seem to be inattentive I get the student involved in a discussion about the topic.I get the rest of the class involved and this seems to work well.
I agree just lecturing for a long period of time will loose their attention. I also stop and have them stretch, speak to each other as a group and do ice breakers also.
I beleive in being creative and using different teaching methods. I tend to walk around the class room and when they answer questions they have to stand up and speak. I will have them act out the answer if they can as a group or individually.
Hi Teresa,
Absolutely! Studennts like to be kept active, and they enjoy variation.
Patricia Scales
Hi Cristy,
Easy fix, have a no cell phone policy on in the classroom. We have implemented this at my institution, and it works beautifully.
Patricia Scales
Hi Jamie,
Pull students into the lecture. I like to hear from my students just as they like to hear from me.
Patricia Scales
I feel there are many ways to catch the attention of an inattentive student. One method is that I tend to walk around the room constantly and attempt to make eye contact as I am lecturing. During the lecture I often ask questions where I will call on that student, pause, then ask the question. Another way is to change the style of my lesson. If I see one or two students distracted I will have the entire class stand up and do some activity related to the topic (I am in healthcare education).
Knowing how frequently our mind can go off into space I will constantly change learning styles to capture (again) those students attention.
Finally during the class I try to go some engaging activity (anticipitory set). This seems to keep my students on task.
Main point- keep moving and changing
If I notice that some of students in the class seem to be "drifting" or losing interest, I will ask them a question like "Have you had a big exam in another class recently? or Is everybody kind of tired today?" I acknowledge their comments and nod while they are talking. Somehow, it gets them to recognize that they are in my class and that they need to focus for the rest of the period.
I agree but I find with today's students they are texting every 5 minutes. If I walk the room everytime they do it, I will have walked a marathon!
I walk around the room throughout class and I give a lecture that is engaging.
I make a lot of eye contact tell related stories and ask questions all the time.
I have one on one's on lunch break.
I also use crafts and fun projects as much as I can.
I like to use summary papers to be handed in at the end of class on what we went over.
During PowerPoint presentations I usually have to have a fairly darkend room because the images (which are extremly important) get washed out. As I give the PowerPoint, I will change my tone and volume, occasionally getting loud to gain attention!! I will walk around parts of the room, ask questions at random, and ask for an explanation of images we have just viewed. I interrupt all my PowerPoints with an unrelated comment or image every 5-6 slides because the course material can get very intense and it's difficult to follow for long periods. The majority of my former students have commented on how invigorating my presentations are.
This is a true statement that I can agree with, long drawn out lectures and powerpoints are boring and when its short and informative they will remember. Some of us can get long winded.
The attention of a student is important because you can loose them to anything fast. I beleive in being creative in between lecture have them stand and speak to the person next to them, I constantly move around and in between ask questions so that i am not the only one talking.
