students getting bored
I notice most often 15 minutes tends to be the max that my students can keep focused on a lecture . . having a proper plan for that and activity ready is a great way to go.
William,
Good way to capture their attention and get them to refocus themselves.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have notice often 10 minutes into my lecture my students. Students are using the restroom, or looking at the wall or. At this point I give a short quiz.
w,
I agree about the value of humor as a teaching tool. Humor helps to draw students in and get them engaged in the learning process as well as helping them get comfortable with the class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As I'm preparing my lectures I will write down funny relevant stories to help break up the stream of information. I think that humor is a powerful tool in keeping the students focused, after all who doesn't like to laugh. I find that when I drive a point home with humor that the information I was trying to emphasis is more easily recalled from the students memory.
Antonette,
Welcome to the profession of teaching. I wish you much success and many rewards from being an educator. As for your first day, enjoy some time getting to know your students and doing an ice breaker with them. As they get settled in you will get over your case of nerves and then you can share your syllabus and walk through the course expectations. By being organized and prepared you will build your self confidence and before your know it your first course will be completed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This Monday will be my first day of teaching. I learned a lot of ideas on how to manage students and this is my fear that what if I see that students are not focused or not listening, does it mean that they are getting bored and I am not an
effective instructor?
I like your idea, Karen, especially because it's easy to just rely on lecturing from the PPT and keep moving through them without considering that students attention span is short.
I have tried stopping and telling some interesting story that I've experienced in regards to the subject I'm teaching, when I see the students getting restless, which seems to spark class discussion. But definitely will try to remember that 15-18 min. rule!
Using different methods of instruction seems to keep students attention by changing up the style and not just performing a monotonous lecture.
Cory,
Your last sentence says it all. Getting to know them helps you create a connection with them which in turn helps with the development of rapport.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think it is very important that we find activities that will keep each student engaged in whats going on in the class. Find out what most of them can relate to. Just get to know them!
Karen,
I think you will be very pleased with the pace of your class with the built in discussions and Q&A sessions. I really like the idea of putting the questions into the PP. This way the students will be looking for them and will know that they are going to get the chance to interact and discuss when they show up.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I teach anatomy and physiology with four hour lectures covering alot of material in each class. I have been taking breaks every hour but I can see that I need to break it up even more to keep everyone listening. I will now make an effort to stop every 15 minutes and use the idea of asking prepared questions to get a brief discussion going and hopefully keep everyone focused. To keep track of time better, I am thinking that I will put the questions right into my PPT so it reminds me to stop.
I really do feel if you show a ton of passion about the subject the students will focus and retain what your going on and on about.
I beleive when students get bored it is a good time to do a mini lecture to keep them interested on the lesson.
Steve,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm. so I can appreciate what you are talking about. I have to work very hard to keep my students engaged throughout the evening since they have worked all day and are tired.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
We have class for 5 hours a day in my program so we tend to run into this issues as well. What most of us do is try to makie it entaertaining and intersperse real world experiences inthe field to what we are lecturing on so as to keep the students interested.
sometimes the plan is what could be getting them bored, I enjoy group work, activities and debates during lectures to increment the content memorization and test knowledege while making the class more active.
Doris,
I like your style. This is a fun and quick activity that really engages students in the review process. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Hello Dr. Meers,
I have used the games you suggested and they seem to get the students going. I taught medical terminology once before and what I did was bring a small bean bag or massage ball to class. I would say a term, toss the ball in the air and who ever caught it had to say the meaning, if that person did not know the meaning then very quickly he/she would toss the ball to someone else. I do the same in other classes where students have to memorize material.
