Lengthy class and how to keep students attentive.
Dear Dr. Meers,
I teach a five hour class, five days a week (12:00 to 17:00). The students get a ten minute break every 50 min and one 30 minute break. I think it takes too long for the students to get back in focus after their breaks. I notice some of them fading off later in the day. One thing I have learned is to not shut off all the lights during a PowerPoint; this is when they really fall off.
I need to grab their attention more effectively! I feel that I am enthusiastic. More student interaction will probably help. Two weeks ago, I announced the day before a quiz that the quiz will be a credit / no credit situation, involving standing in front of the class for three minutes or less to describe a disease process. Half of the class was a no show. On Monday I am going to ask if not wanting to get in front of the class is the reason for their absence.
Do you have any other suggestions?
Thank you,
Keith
Brenda,
I teach a 6 hour class from 4 until 10 pm. I use physical movement such as small groups, mini-presentations, etc. to get the students out of their seats and moving around the classroom. It helps them to "reset" their brains and gets the blood flowing. This is in addition to regularly scheduled breaks.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I know several companies have had good success using small breaks incorporating physical exercise or movement. Is there any research in this applied to a lengthy class?
Amos,
Student like to be active learners and that is what you are doing with your approach. The more involved you can get them the greater engagement there will be on their part.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Hi Dr. Meers, The last term was the first time that I taught this class, It was hard to maintain the student attension at all time. I felt that I had to always be lecturing or talking. But already this term is different the student are motovated and engaged in the learning. By takeing this course it's taught me to utilize different teaching methods like in class reading assignment, individual and group studying periods, and discussion letting the students talk to me about the subject matter. This has benefited in their learning experience.
Keith,
Beginning with the first class, I have students choose a news article related to the course in some way that interests them. The assignment is to read, make notes, then, using the notes, brief the class on the article. If a student is late, this becomes a break activity, and they do their report later in the class. By the end of ten news reports, their final presentations are noticeably more confident and more comfortable.
This activity also helps with engagement and interaction, and especially with preparing these adults with current developments and leaders in their fields.
Denise,
Great to hear. I wish you much teaching success during a tough time span.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I have a course also that I teach 6pm-10pm as well. I am trying to get new ideas on how to teach the course. The students are given lectures and examples with a lab. Your reply helped to view a different layout that I can apply to my procedures for the course.
William,
Good way to segment the class. This is like answering the age old questions of "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer: "One bite at a time." This is how you are pacing your students through the evening. Good job!
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Susan,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I can relate to the class you are teaching. I am like the others, though I can't believe that it fills on a Friday night. You do have some dedicated students that is for sure. I have the same type of students as do you. Those that see the value of being successful in these courses because they move them closer to their career goals and the others that miss a lot and don't become engaged and complain because they can't catch a break. You don't catch breaks you make breaks through your efforts.
Good strategies for getting the blood flowing and your students moving around throughout the evening.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Yes! Great way of looking at a lengthy class!
Thank you,
Keith
Hello Keith
I teach a class on Oral Pathology. I had each student select a pathological condition from a list. They had one day to plan the presentation. In class they did a role-playing session where the presentor selected one of their classmates to be the patient. Both students came to the front of the room and the student made a presentation to the simulated patient in the way they would explain the pathological condition to a patient. I believe they were more comfortable because they were doing a one-on-one presentation not talking to the entire class even though the entire class was listening.
I also teach long classes and this is what I have found helps me... Instead of thinking that you teach a five hour class, try thinking of it as teaching five fifty minute classes. Change up the learning process between each break. Maybe a film for the first 50 minutes, lecture/power point the next fifty minutes, group activity the next fifty minutes,and some sort of evaluation/check for learning in the last fifty minutes.
Hi Dr. Meers,
I appreciate the feedback!
Thank you,
Keith
I teach a College Algebra Friday night class from 6 pm to 10 pm at a career college. No one believes that class makes each term. The regulars are always there and the usuals are usually absent. We break every 50 minutes. The students are allow to smoke outside and visit the student lounge. I highly encourage each student to get up and move around. To make the four hours doable I break the evening up into parts and then repeat for each learning objective. I lecture/demonstrate first, followed by examples for the students to do. Second is guided practice in the book or a handout. Third, we grade the guided practice and cover student misconceptions. Fourth, pair and share in-class assignment. Fifth, I give a practice quiz/evaluation. I want the students to self-assess the learning.
Keith,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I really appreciate what you are saying about students fading off. As you know you have to work really hard to keep everyone engaged throughout the course session.
As for the "no-shows" I am sure having to be in front of the class is the reason. Something you might want to try is to put the students into groups of 3-4 and have them present on a disease process. The working together helps them get to know each other plus the presentation process doesn't seem so stressful. I have the group come to front of the sit behind a table and make their presentations. This format greatly reduces stress because they are not alone in front of the class, they are seated behind a table which gives them a little cover, and they know they are surrounded by other classmates so the spotlight isn't just on them. I get very good results with this strategy and even my most shy students don't seem to mind making presentations this way.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
