The glassy eye syndrome.
Hello Everyone,
The one sure way to tell if it is time to switch to another teaching style for the night is what I call the glassy eye syndrome technique.
This syndrome has been around for years, and when you are paying attention to your class, you can easily spot this infliction by simply looking into the students' eyes. If all you see is a blank stare and someone staring at the clock about every 20 seconds, that is the best time to change things up a bit.
One method that works really well is having group activities, as it helps students to gather their attention back to the subject and not our monotone voices.
Alecia,
Movement can do so much in helping students to reset their brains and be ready for the next phase of the course that day.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Sometimes, I even ask everyone to stand up and stretch to get everyone re-focused.
Linda,
You are most welcome and I know you are going to enjoy even more teaching success as a result of your new strategy efforts. This is how enhanced learning occurs and greater student engagement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have witnessed the glassy eye syndrome, unfortunately, but did not know it had a name! It is reassuring to realize that others have had this same phenomenon. When this happens to me again, I will finish up the 'death by power point' quickly and switch gears. Always having a backup plan is another wonderful idea, especially a hands on project that gets them on their feet. Thank you for introducing this topic, I don't feel quite so inadequate.
Ali,
I teach in the evenings from 4 until 10 so I can appreciate the challenges that early morning instructors face as well. Takes a lot of planning and a wide variety of activities to keep them engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I completely agree with this. I teach primiary day, but my early morning class they do the same thing.
Rob,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I can relate to your upcoming class. They come tired so I have to offer a lot of activities along with the content to keep them engaged for the duration of the class. I will tell you be 10 pm I am worn out but well worth it because of the learning that has occurred.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I'm teaching a night class pretty soon, which has a lot of students who come straight to class from their day jobs, so this will be very helpful. Thanks!
Sue,
I love to observe other instructors even after teaching for many years. Each time I do an observation I get an idea or strategy that I can use in my own classes, plus like you said it is fun to experience the enthusiasm of other instructors and how students feed off of it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I was able to observe an instructor in the dental assisting program this afternoon. She shared some of her teaching tools which included toys, a fan, sound-effects, etc. Mostly I was caught up in her obvious enthusiasm for her students and learning modules.
Shelly,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I get the same type of students only they are at the end of their day. They will if I let them sleep and zone out because they have worked all day and are worn out. Takes a lot of planning as you mention to make sure all of the activities are in place to keep them engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree - I teach an early morning class and have a lot of tired students. I try to keep them engaged in activities and conversation to avaid the glassy eyes.
