new instructing with a evening class
being very new and teaching evenings I find it gets difficult to keep the students attention after they are working all day and have to attend the class at night for 4 hours
Jane,
The more senses the better when it comes to keeping students engaged. You are doing so with your approach. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have to agree with your observation. As a skincare instructor,I try to keep my students on their feet and very involved with their hands on as well as discussions. This keeps them awake and motivated.
I agree... I've had the same challenges. Students come in tired from a full day of work. I've found that pacing and appropriate break times have been really effective in helping students stay focused in class. Also, any opportunities for hands on activities to help keeps them active had proved helpful.
Joseph,
I teach night's as well. My class runs from 4 until 10 pm so I can appreciate your comments in relation to keeping them engaged. Their are tired and often hungry and then after the dinner break they are tired and full. So it is a challenge to keep them awake and excited about the learning process. You are right about the need for some laughs as well as lots of activities to keep their blood flowing their eyes open.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Night classes are a big challenge! So much material is packed in to one session and students are spent when they walk in the door. I acknowledge their hardship and other obligations and show a level of energy I don't always feel. I remind them why they are here and that school won't last forever. Of course you need to mix lectures with more engaging activities. Getting them to laugh doesn't hurt either.
Freddie,
Good advice. I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I can relate to how much effort needs to be spent on keeping things moving with evening classes. If we don't our students will zone out and we have lost the class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The biggest challenge with a might class is keeping the students engaged. More group activities and just student involvement help dramatically. Any type of hands on work that you can bring in is also good. Too much lecture time can easily lead to their focus wandering.
Thomas,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I can relate to your challenge of keeping evening students engaged. I use the same strategies to keep the class moving forward and the students engaged. If I don't they will go to sleep on me.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have been an instructor for awhile and I find that with the night students they have a lot on their plates besides school. Most have families and full-time jobs. I have learned to shorten lectures and use some skills that get them up and motivated. With short lectures and specific skills that they know there going to use shortly keeps them on track and alert.
William,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I can understand your situation. It takes a lot of planning, change of pace and variety to keep students engaged for that length of time. I try to deliver content in the form of mini-lectures for 15-20 minutes, have discussion, small group, role playing, case studies, etc.. Then back to more content and another activity. This model works well for me so you might want to plan something like this for your evening students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
