Rosemary,
Great! Asking students to clarify or restate information is a good way to check for understanding.
Barry Westling
When I see a student with a quizzical look on their face, I may stop and ask if they are understanding what I am trying to explain. Lots of time I also follow that with asking the entire class if I am making myself clear. That can open up a lot of questions and get a good discuusion going. I try to make note of the new or additional explanation for the next semester.
I can get students who worked all noght and are falling asleep in my early morning class. I usually talk to them at class break.
I sometimes ask them if I am explaining the material in a way they understand if they have a quizzical look on their face and then ask the class in general. Sometimes this will elicit questions that tells me that I need to clarify or re-explain the concept and we can get into a good discusion.
In other cases, I speak to a student privately at breaks. Sometimes I have students come to an early AM class who have worked all night.
Samuel,
Yes! Relating new information to that which is already known is a great way to piggy-back new information. And when students see there's something in the lesson that's pertinent to their career or that will benefit them, they will be attentive and more focused on their studies.
Barry Westling
I like to try and get into their heads by using something of interest to them. When learning can be applied to something or someone who makes it fun it will guide them back in the right direction. I also assign students different tasks in the shop or class that will divert their attention into focusing on the right topic. I will assign small goals so they feel they got something done instead of them becoming overwhelemed all at once.
Diane,
That's great to first try to understand why students may be off task. Other reasons besides what you've listed are illness, not prepared, prior knowledge is weak, are confused about what the assignment is, or distracted by other non-school matters (financial, childcare, work, relationships, transportation, etc). Many times there's little we can do about these behind the scenes stuff, other than listen, if the student wants to talk about it. Nonetheless, while they're in school, getting them engaged and keeping them focused is our target goal.
Barry Westling
When I see that students are off-task, I need to take a closer look to find out if the learning module is too difficult or maybe even too easy. One other problem that might be occurring is that the students may not see the relevance of the material being presented. As soon as I find out the underlying cause of the off-task behavior, I can make adjustments as necessary. I remember having to make adjustments in a psychology course I was teaching to students in an allied health program. Once I determined that they were off-task because they were not seeing the relevance of the material in their field, I made changes to the way I presented the information to show them direct relevance to their field.
Kisha,
This is good. If students know you're going to call on them (random is best), they'll be more likely to be attentive and focused to avoid being embarrassased by their classmates if thy're asked a question and are caught off gaurd.
Barry Westling
by asking questions is a good way to get students involve in class. this allows them to start to think about the material presented to them.
Robert,
Great. When students know or think you might call on them, they will be more attentive and likey ready if you do call on them. I do this by calling on students at random (their names on popcicle sticks), and I'll draw a name from the stick collection.
Barry Westling
One way I can pull off - task students back into class is to call on them for an opinion. By showing that I respect their opinion they seem to be encouraged to take a role in the class. I've had wallflowers become leaders!
Eddy,
I'm not always sure why students get disengaged, but I know they do, and smaller, simple techniques may be adequate, or I may need to be more aggressive, such as switching to another activity to get the students attention.
Barry Westling
By Eddy Mojena
What has helped me is being prepared by having same material used in different ways of learning like handouts, power points, group discussions.
Tim,
I agree that students get distrated for many reasons. We can try to appreciate why but ultimately we need the attention and focus for us to do our job well. Small things like circulating around the room, asking pointed questions at specfic students, or pair-share discussion are quick and easy measures to take. Breaking up the lesson into smaller segments with a variety of media or delivery methods helps keep interest too. More aggressive measures may mean whole change-ups in the current plan, such as swithing from a lecture to a discussion, or a lab activity. Getting the student up and moving around is a good strategy, however we can incorporate that into the plan. Full engagement requires work and effort by both instructor and student, is not easy to accomplish all the time, but yield dividends in better retention of need material and better student performance.
Barry Westling
When a student becomes or seems to be disinterested, there can be many reasons, ranging from personal problems at work or home, to the way the material was presented. A good way to change gears is to use different methods to present the material or make the point. Passing around actual components can be a valuable training aid. Sometimes, an illustration or diagram, drawn on a white board may be a good way to evoke interest. You can also have the students provide anonymous feedback to learn what is lacking in the material or presentation.
Robert,
Getting students involved in their own instruction is very helpful, and makes classes more interesting, engaging,and memorable for students. Lesson material is retained better when students are actively engaged.
Barry Westling
I try to involve the students in the instruction of the class. I will have them role play as the other students watch, learn and offer constructive evaluation of their task performance.
Kyle,
Students get off task for a lot of different reasons. Something I do is when I sense some are fading away, I'll interject a story or situation from the past that's related to the field of study. Students nearly always perk up, listen, and then I'm ready to resume where I left off.
Barry Westling
I think the instructor has to be intuitive enough to notice this is happening. A good teacher will have already developed a few ways to present the material. If this is happening it's just a matter or changing the delivery method, ie. case study, role play. If this is an ongoing problem though I like the suggestion in the module for have students give feedback to the instructor in an anonymous fashion so changes can be made and learning can happen.
Leslie,
Keeping the class interesting is something most instructors can do, such as some of the startegies you list. I think if students feel there's something beneficial to them, they will respond with their attention and focus.
Barry Westling
