Long class times
My design school has 5 hour class times. I use the first 30 minutes to introduce a subject and have discussion about it. Then the rest of class time is for students to work on projects. I find it works best so students can get projects done during class time.
Brian,
Segmenting long course material into digestible chunks is a sound idea. Even some classes that are only an hour in length can be segmented to enhance the students interest and make class a bit more memorable and enjoyable.
Barry Westling
I also have an 8 hour class. I have broken that class up though in order to break up the monotony. We have a test first off covering the previous week lecture, followed by an hour or two of lecture. They take a lunch then break off into lab groups. Half are in the lab while the other half has study time. Then they switch
Dave,
I think your change to daily mixture of lecture, discussion, and lab is a far better way for students to learn. Breaking up your 6-hours into digestible components seems would benefit better retention, and keep the class more engaged.
Barry Westling
Our courses are 6 hours long. We used to concentrate lectures and labs so that the first part of the week was lecture the last part was lab (hands on). We’ve altered that set up recently and now each day has been divided up to include lecture, lab and discussion. Not necessarily in that order. I’ve noticed that it’s not only better for the students, it’s also better for the instructors.
Silviu,
I agree, as long as the activities that are planned during the class sessions are productive, interesting, related to the topic, and positively contribute to the course objectives and overall purpose of the course. Great classess, the students will feel like "where did the time go?" This can also be the feeling experienced by the instructor. My classes are 4-hours each session, and I often feel like "this class was wonderful" as the result of planning and varying the activities.
Barry Westling
I find that in teaching adult students long classes are a lot more productive as opposed to assigning homework. The students are much more focused in class and they can share ideas with their classmates which is not an option when they are at home consumed with real life problems.
Gretchen,
Great! Chunking can also include even smaller "chunks" of activity. It's been said that change-ups every 20 minutes keeps maximum focus. That may be too frequent for you or other classes. but the idea is sound: break up required information into digestible bites.
Barry Westling
I find that the "chunking" idea helps a great deal. I have 4 hour classes and time can really drag. I give two small breaks during the class and we try to get out about 20 min. early (they totally appreciate that). I usually lecture at first and do a brief question/answer exercise on the previous day's material. Then we switch it up and do a lab, come back for more lecture, then do workbook/research activity. Some days the 4 hours fly by and I think the students appreciate the change-up of activities.
Louise,
Great! Another techn ique is to plan for a dicussion orf recap poeriod at the end of a long class session. Discussions can help reinforce ideas, clarify, or amplify needed information, and are good for end of class times as the period can be varied to fit the time available.
Barry Westling
I have my lectures planned, but I also have various research assignments that are due at different points in the course. If I find that students have grasped the subject quickly, when my lecture is complete I will transition to asking about the status of the project, and discuss any issues. If I have signficant time, more than 20 minutes, I will direct my students to use the remainder of class to work on assignments or projects. However, I usually plan for "research time" on days when I know I will have a shorter lesson.
Tiffany,
Breaking up the class, "chunking" assignments into digestible bits, adding variety such as discussion, lab, board work, pair-share, and interactive lecture are some ways to deal with longer class times. If allowed frequent short breaks (5-minutes) every 50 minutes can help break up the tediousness. It's good when you brelate the the reason they're there is for the work setting they'll soon be a part of.
Barry Westling
Our class schedule is usually 8 hours on most day. It can be very frustrating for students doing the same things over and over again, but I try to encourage my students to stay positive and think about the future.
Katherine,
Gtreat strategy. Discussion can encourage students to begin thinking about portions they hadn't considered. Q&A is also a way to check for understanding in the here and now - real time. Deficiences can be addressed immediately.
Barry Westling
I will begin a long class witha QA session,then we will do a sort project on the topic a QA aession then I will review the subject to make sure the students have an understanding on the topic for the day
Jennifer,
Great! Segmenting longer sessions into more digestible bites, using a variety of media and or instreuctional activities can actually make the learning atmosphere fun and enjoyable, even if the sessions are not that long. It just helps keep the interest of the students.
Barry Westling
Chunking is so helpful in keeping my students engaged. They never get the chance to get "bored" I also love to break them into groups to answer case study questions. Every textbook has them or you can make them up yourself.
How true, but the point I was trying to make is setting up that plan B. Because you may have to wait on another instructor who runs late on their lecture you need to be prepared with everything and get in as soon as possible to start your own power point and discussion time.
Katie,
Every school sets up their schedules to meeet the demands of their specific students, and faculty have to understand what the requirements are and the responsibilities they are accountable fore at the outset.
Barry Westling
I was lementing that I taught two 2 hour classes per week. And then I read you do 5 hour sessions. that's alot of time. In skills lab we do 4 hour sessions, then break for lunch and then do another 4 hour session with the second half of the class. I find I'm tired of repeating myself and feel I am short changing the second class at times. They also have the disadvange of coming in after lunch at 1pm, making it a double whammy!
