How to keep students interested and motivated
Too often I've sat through boring lecture presentations. I believe that the teacher must find creative ways to present their information. Be really different and almost shocking without going overboard. If you're a history teacher, you may want to dress up in the time period you are discussing. Make up songs to bring your points across. I knew one kindergarten teacher that would have the class prepare a musical play for the entire term and preform it for the parents. They were enacting out the Civil War.
Use props and be creative and most importantly, show your passion for what you do.
Tammie,
You comment made me smile. Students no matter what their age like to look at pictures and by throwing in a gross one now and then you are keeping them awake and focused on what you are teaching.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach Vascular Ultrasound and find that throwing in a groce picture or two, here and there, will help to keep the eyes open and spark up a new discussion about the picture. I think it really helps when they can visualize the disease we happen to be discussing.
I usually have an hands on activity ready for my students and that makes them excited.
Keeping students interested in the topic is not always an easy matter to handle. At times the content can be complex enough that simplfying the information is a game the instructor must play in making it clear, to the point and interesting. An instructor's imagination is always useful in deveolping or useing different methods to involve the student yet teach at the same time. "Variety is the spice of life" and teaching helps make that statement a reality.
I have been recently creating groups in the class and let them have discussions on the work presented by answering about 5 questions (which may appear in a subsequent quiz) approximately 15 minutes before the session ends. I would move between each group to observe and assist with the reasoning part for the answers. The students get greater comfort in understanding from various perspectives of others and learn equally that they may not be alone in acquiring the requisite knowledge slower than expected.
David,
Having been a cognitive retention researcher for the past 25 years I and my associates have found that there is a dramatic drop off in attention after the 18 minute mark so for effective retention of interest this time frame needs to be focused upon. Change of pace and variety are two ways to keep students engaged.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
the assessment suggests that adult attention span is 15 to 18 minutes. According to recent studies, adult attention span averages 20 to 25 minutes.
Laura,
This is an ongoing challenge for instructors. We need to strive to find ways to help our students make application of the content that is being shared. As a result retention of content will greatly increase. The see the value of what they are learning.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Hello
I try to be creative with my course. I like to do projects and hands on activities with them. The students actually learn more when I do activities with them. As per my students
Jessica,
I am sure the pictures captures their attention. I know they would mine. As you know students really like these kinds of visuals to support what they are learning.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I have found that students like hearing about the mistskes of others as reasons to learn the material so they don't find themselves as the subject of someone elses stories.
I have challenges teaching something that is lecture driven or memorization driven as there are not many variabilities to do critical thinking or demonstrations.
I teach A&P so I try to show the students gross pictures of the diseases to keep them interested.
