Show how the material will be used on the field. Ask the students if they have any experiance with that particular material in their lives
I like to use numerous changes in my lecture or delivery. Between lecture, powerpoints, white board use and useing media clips a constant change up keeps the current Gen Y student engaged in the class and on task. If the student is off task in a project I will sit down with them and discuss the project with the student individually.
One of the ways I get off-task students back into the class is by giving real life applications of the materials. I give examples of potential issues that could arise if the students do not communicate properly and try to also add humor into the examples so the students are more respond.
When students get off task I switch tasks. I usually switch either to group work or to a hands on lab. This way their participation is required and it becomes more difficult for them to get lost in the crowd.
I often break up my lecture with team building activities. This way it gets the students involved and out of their seats. It helps them to understand the material better and keeps their interest.
Hi Cheryl:
Good ideas. Reengaging can be simple techniques that redirect the student back on topic, to major shifts that redirect the activity being performed.
Reengagement is about attention. Reasons for loss of attention are varied, but if it can be determined what is distracting, reversing or eliminating that distraction may produce an answer.
Regards, Barry
Switching to a case study discussion, or handing out a worksheet to have students complete while working in pairs or a very small group seems to work well. Helps to shift their focus, while keeping the topic at the forefront.
Hi Kristin:
Sometimes reengaging can be simple, like just begin asking questions and having the class discuss the students responses. Or simple, like "stand up, stretch, okay, sit down and let's get back to it".
Other times takes more effort, even including change ups -this where we swith gears altogether. So if lecture with PPT and whiteboard is not keeping the attention and focus, change up to something else, such as a class activity such as work sheets or written work, or if applicable, a lab or skill activity.
In the middle might be sharing a story, anectdote, or work related situation that occured in the past. Students like stories, and usually you can recapture their interest.
Regards, Barry
Re-engaging off task students can be challenging if they are resistant, but changing gears, changing activities and getting their input can bring those students back into the conversation without them realizing that you have done so.
Students that are disengaged are usually looking for something to stimulate them. By changing the dynamics in the classroom activities, they will engage and try the activity in hopes it will stimulate them. Sometimes the best stimulation is just getting them working with other students.
Kristin
Hi Kathleen:
Super! Great mode of reinforcing trust and respect along with allowing individuality and creative ideas to florish. Nice.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kathleen:
Great. Redirection works!
Regards, Barry
Hi Kathleen:
Group study is a great way to stimulate thought, participation, and invovement. There's a natural inclusion of all in small groups, a point you made in your statement as well. Group members want to include all.
Also, as you point out, students need to stay on topic. The thing with small group study is they can disintegrate into a social interaction, off topic. So assuring progress and purpose is imporatant as a facilitator.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kathleen:
I think good instructors are facilitators of learning, not the provider of it. Getting students involved and engaged in their own learning will most meaningful and memorable. Our job is to assist them achieve their learning goals.
Lots of different ways to approach this. Simple reengagement may be to simply ask questions and involve the class in discussing the answers. Sometime a strtch, a break, or a change from one media to another will do the trick. Students have to stay focused and pay attention. So, keeping things interesting by using a lot of variety in the media, mixing it up, or blending media are simple ways to keep class interesting and more enjoyable.
Regards, Barry
I try to meet with students once during the module to ask them what is working for them and what could be better. I take thie suggestions seriously and if I can buy into it, I implement it. If I have doubts about the suggestion, I share my doubt and why with the student. I think this encourages individual ownership of the course content.
Students line up on these review days they really want to be heard. I make it all about them and not about me.
great idea. I will incorporate
Well defined group activities which students have to solve problems or determine the keys points allows students to develop critical thinking skills, recognize additional information they need.
I have been surprised at the increased participation of some students in the informal group when they zone out in a large formal classroom setting. Also, there are students who learn by observing. the small group gives that opportunity.
The instructor must circulate through the groups to ensure the students are on task understanding the desired outcome and to ask questions to evaluate student understanding and missing information for the group
It concerns me when instructors or students read out of the book as a class activity. I believe that instruction should delineate concepts and the book support these concepts. As instructors we must teach more than the book.
In most fields text books may carry different explanations of the same descriptions. /students may become stuck upon what the book says
Hi April:
We might first ask why students are disengaged in the first place?
But let us assume that it is occuring as is most likely from time to time. Simple techniques can be effective, and sometimes more aggressive moves are needed. Simple would be like saying, " Bob, did you know that...blah, blah, blah? That command everyone listenting to hear the teacher and what Bob is going to say.
Medium efforts might be to share a story or work related situation that has occured and students will re-focus - students like stories.
More aggressive is like changing from lecture with PPT and whiteboard to small group discussion with class exercises. I call these change ups.
Keeping variety in classes also helps keep attention of students. Change ups every 20 minutes would be ideal, but we can't always do it that frequently. BUt they'd stay focused!
Regards, Barry
If they are talking with other students, I usually join in the conversation for about 10 seconds, and then ask to continue finish talking with them later. Then I give them a task to do to move the class into a new activity.
It was the end of a long, hard week for everybody, and many students were gradually sliding under their desks, even ones who are usually engaged. What to do?
I decided to abandon the lecture and invite questions from them about my experiences as a practitioner in the field. It was a great way to reengage the students and they asked many interesting and insightful questions.
