Learing styles
If adult attention spans are 15-18min, how often should one give breaks during a 2.5 hour long class? and how long should break be?
KEVIN,
Students like variety and change of pace in instructional delivery. So the more of both we can offer the more engaged our students are going to be. That had to be a tough class knowing there was not going to be a change of pace for the entire hour.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I'm not sure of the textbook answer, but I was recently in a class that went for an hour and 45 minutes. The instructor would go an hour before a 5 minute break, and it seemed a bit long.
Shawntel,
Any change of activity or pace is for learners a break. This means you can use small group activities, Q&A sessions, role playing, and case studies to break the flow of information via the lecture. These methods will help to keep the students engaged and give them opportunities to apply the new information that has been shared.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In the type of environment we teach in the breaks are not feasible they have 2 15min breaks n a 5 hour class. being that they are with me so long how can i break things up into these mini sessions which i think would be great to keep them engaged?
Patricia,
Good pacing. I like the way you have your class laid out. You are providing variety and change of pace which are two elements that learners like to have in the instructional delivery process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like the idea of a 'mini'-lecture; I have thought of it as setting the stage, or providing the framework/context for that day's activity.
I usually have a 20-30 minute review/lecture time, then a small group activity, then recap of activity, another segment of lecture, and viewing a film or some such, whole class discussion of that, and then recap.
Lisa,
You might want to consider using mini-lectures. With mini-lectures you go for 15-20 minutes a topic and then stop and do an activity. The activity can be a discussion, small group, demonstration, Q&A, etc.. Then do another mini-lecture and a another activity. This format will enable you to get through a lot of content and keep your students engaged. As for breaks where they can leave the room I give a break every hour to hour and fifteen minutes. I don't set them specially because if I do the students will start to shut down if we are in the middle of a discussion and it is break time. I move them around some before the hour some after depending on what I am feeling from the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
