John,
All good ideas. Common in these is the requirement for the student becomes focused on the instructor.
Barry Westling
Some of the ways that you can get off-task students reengaged in class are; asking them for their input in the class topic, redirecting the class in a different manner.
David,
A couple of ideas: Pair weaker with stronger students and then engage the class in a discussion; Assign 5 or 6 small groups to work together on a poster board or flip chart, intended for discussion with other class members. Students get distracted because they are not prepared, ill, bored, don't understand, or preoccupied. If an instructor can determine what the distraction may be, they will have a better idea on how to correct it.
Barry Westling
Keeping radar on the group and having material to engauge every learning style is a must. This is most challanging for groups of 28 and more in our on hands training here at RSI PHX AZ. I ask craft members once they have master a level, too go the next level, help someone out, using there cummuication skills. Sometimes a student needs more help and slows the process down. While they our up preforming wiring boards this happens. What other angels would you suguest?
Cenek,
Good. Students lose attention for all kinds of reasons. Getting back on track and focused can be done subtlety, or doing whole change-ups in the planned lesson.
Barry Westling
I either give them a short quiz or take them to the shop.
Abayomi,
Thanks for the interesting summary of this critical topic.
Barry Westling
Captivating and re-captivating students in learning is the aspect of teaching that forms what is understood about human motivation. Optimal achievement and learning need motivational eagerness. The inadequacy of such availability can create and or maintain problems. If a student does not have sufficient motivational predisposition, procedures must be executed to promote it (incorporating measures to overcome avoidance motivation). Aptness should not be seen in the traditional sense of anticipating until the student is interested. Moderately, it should be noted in the modern sense of setting conditions that are seen by students as caring, supportive institution and as giving inspiring activities that are appreciated and daring, and doable.
Motivating student should be a fundamental continuing process concern. Strategies must be created to extract, intensify, and sustain motivation so that a student stays enlisted. Instructors must try to increase motivation – particularly intrinsic motivation – but additionally take precaution to avoid or at least reduce situations that shrink motivation or generate negatory motivation. For instance, consideration must be exercised not to over-rely on extrinsics to attract and remunerate because to do so may diminish intrinsic motivation. At some occasions, school is perceived as unchallenging, boring, overdemanding, awful, overcontrolling, nonsupportive, or even antagonistic. When this transpires, a student may incur adversarial beliefs and avoidance correlated to a given circumstance, and over time, associated to school and all it symbolizes.
ROBBIN,
Frequently asking students to recap the past moments is a great way to keep every one on their toes, as they don't know who will be called on next. I have a deck of cards that I reuse over and over again) with current students names. They see me shuffling and pulling names at random. Sometimes, it just appears I'm shuffling -- and actually I've "stacked the deck" so that the talkative, inattentive, disinterested, or distracted students names come up more frequently than "statistically likely" (sneaky, but effective).
Barry Westling
My students in the Practical Nursing programs can become of tasks from working long hours before class, stressful situations that have happened in their own life, work or school situation, or because they are inattentive. I have had students busily texting each other or playing video games during class.
It is disheartening to have these things happen in your class. I may have spent hours preparing for a lecture and only a few students are actually listening.
I will quietly ask the students who are "distracted learners" to stop texting or playing games and then ask the students to recap the lesson up to a point. This allows the distracted learner to try to catch up and the for the ones who were listening it gives me an opportunity to correct any misinformation.
When students begin to have their own conversations during my lessons, I will stop talking and stand very quietly. Usually, another student will say "Hey be quiet she is lecturing".
i have also, had students take a break. Some material is more difficult to understand and they need to receive it in small sections rather than long lectures.
Finally, if I can not keep the students' attention I will change how I am lecturing. I always have backup "games" or other learning tools to redirect their attention.
Gwen,
These are good ideas. It makes wonder if what we do to reengage students is effective, why don't we do those same activities from the get go?
Barry Westling
Tracy,
Great activities. When students are involved in their learning, they will be engaged.
Barry Westling
At times another way to bring students back into the group, is to have them participate. I will have them come up and label, write extra notes, or draw on the white board to bring them back into the discussion again.
I like to use critical thinking questions, or redirect class and put them in groups to work on a case study. This helps them to get focused again.
Elizabeth,
Excellent way to keep students attention and focus when they seem to be getting distracted or disinterested.
Barry Westling
Jona,
Good approach. We are in control of our classroom unless we allow our students to take over. That's not a good environment for learning.
Barry Westling
I get my students up and moving in the classroom. It might be doing a class project or comps. Then I go back to lecturing.
I find the courtesy issue especially prevalent in mixed age classrooms. My more maure students are often annoyed by talking among younger students. I try to gently remind everyone that we have common goals and a responsibility to the class as a whole. When it gets really out of hand, I pull offenders aside later to address the situation privately.
B.,
Yeah, the sense of touch can be a memorable experience, different from what the other senses provide.
Barry Westling
Like Christa, I often bring some curio or specimen to hand out to the class. It usually sparks healthy discussion because, often, the students have never seen the real thing. Many have only read or seen pictures. But to actually handle a physical object opens new perceptions
