Hi Marlena,
I like to compliment student work continuously throughout the lesson. Sometimes this is just affirmation and acknowledgement of responding correctly. Disruptive, distintered, or distracting student behavior does not require complimentary sentiments, rather intervention to get them refocued and engaged. It doesn't have to be negative. It does have to get their attention to get them back on track. When student feel their teacher cares about the students learning, they'll be responsive to direction from their teacher.
Barry Westling
Ask if they are bored and why. Be funny about it. Let them know that the boring part will soon be over but is necessary for the course content.
The first task is to find out why the students are off task. Is it because they are to advanced and to be challenged more or they are not a s quick to pick up the concept. As mentioned in my previous post, the "see one, do one and teach one" method can be very helpful. Another example would be case studies. Give the class real life case studies and ask them with the information brought out in the class how would they answer the question or fix the problem. Another way of re-engaging the students would be having the instructor be open-minded to other explanation. Sometimes instructors become so stead fast on the text book answer that they become closed minded and forget that their students may be able to answer the question in more simple terms, KISS theory. Back when I was in Nursing school and taking my A&P final I was completely confused and did not know how to answer one of the questions the way the instructor wanted it. Since she had given her TAs the text book answer that is what was expected. The only way I was able to explain it was by using real life examples as a combat medic. Of course I got the question wrong because I did not give the text book answer. After my test was returned I went to see the instructor and asked her to read my answer. Upon reading it she realized I had given the correct answer but not in the terms she wanted. After further discussion she gave me credit for the answer and improved my grade. Sometimes I think teachers should step into the lives of the students for they may have a better insight in their students.
Responding to any off task student in a positive manner verses a negative always helps. Some ways of doing that are to compliment their strong points, compliment the class as a whole for their accomplishments this far into the class or break in with a story related to the topic. If you are a good story teller this really works.
Hi Larry,
Yeah, I've experienced something similar, when discussion groups get of track and are just visiting and wasting time. To combat that, a time limit and expectatations for some sort of "finished product" that is either turnmed in or present to the class can help. When there is a grade associated with an activity, this tends to keep discussion on target. I think lectures are just a sppecial kind of discussion. So frequent interaction with the class (questions, comments, stories or past experiences from students) help keep the dialog moving pertinent, and active by all.
Barry Westling
Hi Edward,
In career-oriented classes, I think the value of being attentive, focused, participative, engaged is more critical as expectations for job readiness are often at stake. In academic settings where meeting learning objectives (verified by testing) is the primary goal, a teacher may want to exercise more lattitude. One way to guage this is if not paying attention is a distraction to the teacher or other students, they need to either pay attenjtion or leave. Back to the career-oriented class, leaving may not be an option, and the student reguired to "be there".
Barry Westling
Students will on occasion, get off task during classroom lectures, especially. But it sometimes occurs in group activities as well. During group activities, I usually remind them of the task involved, any remaining time for completion of the task and appoint the designated speaker for the group. When I lecture and there are off topics tasks going on, I stop, listen and ask if there is anything someone would like to share – on the topic we are discussing.
I don’t usually change methodology when students go off task; I see it as a disturbance, especially if it is off topic. Bringing them back to task has been my major concern.
This is a difficult area for me. Part of me wants to say "People make choices and if the wish to engage in something 'off-topic'[studying for a test in another class or something like that]then that is their choice. As long as they do that activity 'quietly' I'm glad that they have at least come to class. They have a free choice to come to class or not, so I let them be responsible for that choice. They are adults!
That said, I am bothered by the fact that they have chosen to not fully participate in lecture/discussion and will try to reel them in in some way--ask them a particular question [easily answered] and then ask a follow-up question or two, hoping that will reingage them.
I usually move about the classroom anyway, so I can help reingage students by my physical presence.
I also recognize that I have provided 'learning objectives' [a la Bloom] for every topic we cover and that there is no 1 way for students to learn the material. They just have to learn the material! There will be a test!!
Where the difficulty comes is deciding what intervention to use if any. I probably err more towards letting them make their own decisions and then hold them accountable for the decision.
Hi Donald,
This is good. There is no reason why a class of student cannot be working on different activities during the same time period. Also. group discussion incourages participation and invites engegement within the group. Sharing information to the class allows some independence and I think students like to sort of "show off" what they know". Actually, this is an exercise in building critical thinking, and that's always a good thing.
Barry Westling
Delivery of material needs to be varied so that different types of learners can benefit from their learning style. If students are getting off-task, I have found success in separating the class and choosing the most off-task learner to lead their group back on-task by starting them off in a different delivery style. For example, if I have students that I know will benefit more from a hands-on style, I have them do the activity and then present it to the rest of the class, while the other part of the class continues on track. Then a group discussion follows to compare notes. Students get to show fellow students how they understand the material.
Hi Chara,
Good for you - these strategies are proven succesful for getting students reengaged.
Barry Westling
Hi Amina,
Great. Asking questions is one of the easiest ways to reengage students who've loct focus. Asking questions randomly is even better, as no one is quite sure who might be called on next. And you're right, instant reinforcement of correct information encourages more of the same by students.
Barry Westling
Hi Timothy:
All great ideas. Common to these is participation by the student, which I think anytime we can incolve students the outcomes will be better and retention of information more sustained.
Barry Westling
Some of the ways I redirect my students to the topic at hand is by stopping the lecture and starting a discussion about the topic, engaging the students individually with questions, or putting the students into groups to work on a project that relates directly to the current topic.
Hi Claudia,
I allow students to sit where they want but reserve the right to move a student at my discretion (sometimes a student will ask to be moved because another student distracts their concentration). circulating about is the easier way to at least keep students cognizant we expect them to pay attention while we are presenting or facilitating some activity.
Barry Westling
I usually get their attention,by asking a very easy question related to the topic I am teaching,a question I know the student will have an anwer,I give a postive feedback rt there and than and the student feels very much eager to get more attention of this kind, paying more attention to what is being taught during that time,it works most of the time.
1. Get them involved in leading an in-class worksheet, writing, or other project.
2. Form student teams to work on in-class learning projects.
3. Go through practice problems, scenarios, or cases and engage everyone (Over several class periods, if necessary) to participate in solving, dicussing, or proposing action responses for such tasks.
Gauge the learning effectiveness of the techniques employed and adjust teaching strategies accordingly.
I move about the room most of the time I am teaching and if I see that some students are off-task or not working as they are supposed to be, I will switch what we are doing if possible to re-engage them. However, I have had a couple of unruly classes, and I have used seating charts for them. They hated it, but it worked and they got a great deal more work done.
Hi Lauren,
Circulating shows you're interested, and also allows you to make comments or students to ask questions. This is a good setting for active learning.
Barry Westling
Hi Glenn,
Variety rules. The more activities we can create and implemment as the need presents, the more interesting and enjoyable the learning experience is going to be.
Barry Westling
