Staying on track
At times I find it difficult to keep the class focused. It is very easy to veer off track and start venturing into other subject areas or concepts. In an effort to keep my instruction interesting and show how it applies to other areas I try to draw on experiences students have had or may have in the future, but this can take us off course. Any suggestions?
Hi Lucinda,
Rather than working hard to bring them back on topic time after time let them discuss the topic that they are on for a while. Establish a time frame for such discussions. Tell the class that you will allow them to talk about such and such a topic for 10 minutes. You keep time and let them know that five minutes are up and then give them a heads up when they have 2 minutes left. This method gets them to focus more on what they have to say rather than just wondering all over in their discussions. Stop them at the end of the time, period. Don't let it go one second past the time. After a few of these sessions they will know you are serious about allowing them to discuss but also serious about the time.
This will enable you to keep the class on track, the students discuss and you cover the material you need to without having to fight them to get back on topic.
Gary
This is a problem I have in my classes!! The one class I have get off track so easily, and it is hard to bring them back in. I try my best as an instructor but find it hard to always bring them back in on topic. Sometimes the topic we did venture to is important and pertitant to their career so I do let them stay on that topic for a little while.
I endorse the case study way to focus the class and the comments. The way I use it is in the manner in which I usually seek student responses. I seldom just ask for an answer to a definition or provide a list without a specific context. I will ask a specific student about the application of the issue in a contextual scenario that I know that student is familiar with so they have the opportunity to connect the course content with something they are personally knowledgable about. For instance, I'll ask a student athelete about their last game or the team dynamic or the coach's interactions or I'll ask another student the same question about their interaction with their supervisor at work. Then, within their response or responses by other students, if I feel they are chasing rabbits down another hole, I'll ask them to explain how the response relates to the initial question or concept. Usually after several class sessions, they learn that I will ask that question in our dialogue and they start to self-redirect themselves.
I think tangents are ok sometimes and can add a feeling of spontaneity in the class, which is helpful in keeping everyone engaged. However, it's important that these be brief, and related back to the main material - and of course, you as the instructor need to control the tangents, not the students.
Do what it takes to stick to the subject by reading over the subject, by drawing it out, demostraighting hands on skills or tell them storys of your own experiences, to keep them focused.
Hi Elizabeth,
A technique I use is to give my students case studies. By using case studies I am able to let them share their life experiences as well as come up with possible solutions. If the class starts to drift away from the topic I can bring back quickly by referring to the case study we are discussing. In essence the case study serves as the thread around which you can keep the focus of the course going.
Gary
