Plan your lecture
When planning a lecture for the day it is imperative to read through the slides and either add or remove information. The most important factor of planning is to be prepared to deliver and engage with your class.
Mark,
Our teaching schedules are very similar. I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I can appreciate the challenge you face as I face it every time I step into the classroom. I do mini-lectures (15-20 minutes) then an activity which involves movement. This movement may be going into work groups, having a panel discussion, role playing, case studies, etc.. Once we complete the activity we go back to a mini-lecture and repeat the process. On some nights I have them stand up and we do some type of ice breaker activity that gets the blood flowing and their brains reset. For example I use a Family Feud format to review course content and that really gets the students ramped up as they like competitive exercises.
I will say at the end of the evening I am worn out because it takes as you know a lot of energy to keep them fired up when what they really want to do is wind down.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Teaching evening courses up until 11pm, some students show signs of fatigue after taking multiple courses throughout the day, especially if they are back-to-back classes.
Have there been any best practices known to be used to help students keep their minds active during the evening periods?
Personally, I have us stretch a bit if the class seems to be a bit tired. It may sound rather elementary, but I am sure there is some correlation between cardiovascular activity and brain function.
By no means do I expect my class to participate in yoga activities during my course, but we maintain engaging conversation and dialogue and I consistently ask for feedback and participation.
Is this something you can plan for given the evening setting?
Kirk,
Instructors need to "read" students throughout class sessions. This way adjustments can be made as needed. You will quickly know when things are not going well and with backup activities to switch to you can keep the class moving forward while keeping the students engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The course discussed having back-up plans for activities in class just in case the planned activity does not go so well. I suppose one would know when things are not going so well by reading the body language of the students.
Russell,
This is a good point because by being flexible you can expand a discussion that has merit to include content that wasn't planned but is very valuable to students. Change is a constant in teaching.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
You must also be willing to deviate from the lecture plan if it is appropriate for the discussions that develop in class.
