Sharon,
All good strategies to employ with students. The more variety and change of pace that can be offered the better. This will keep them engaged and focused on what is being taught.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As mentioned in this module, limiting expository type lecture to 15-18 minutes, incorporate activities as well as different types of media to meet/engage different learning styles, but in all of these things, the more we are able to draw something specific and personal from the student, the more it the use of humor seems to be very effective in helping students react more spontaneously, creatively, and then are more willing to become engaged in the forum (perhaps because they are more relaxed.)
Jennifer,
I agree with you about the need for mini-lectures and variety in your delivery especially for longer duration courses. I teach from 4 until 10 pm so my students are tired from working all day and need a lot of stimulation to stay engaged. At times it seems like a circus but I still have their attention at the end of the evening.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach for 4 hours so I do more mini lectures and incorporate practicals throughout the night. Ive noticed that it works better and the students enjoy it more and want to be in class.
Keiyanez,
My students love to play games because they are fun and they get to demonstrate what they have learned. I use Jeopardy a lot for quizzing my students prior to exams.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Cynthia,
The more senses you can use in the learning process the better. Tactile learning reinforces the cognitive aspects of learning so the content retention rate is higher. A win win for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Dave,
Good way to work with small enrollment classes. Your students are gaining the knowledge but also being contributors.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Laura,
This is a good way to get "buy in" from students. They become invested in the course when they see their input and opinions are valued. This also increases the development of rapport with the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Creating an activity or game that can be played with a partner is a great way to actively engage students. Drill and practice is boring, but a board game using those same problems or questions is exciting! Even working with a partner to complete a worksheet is more engaging (and uses less paper!) than the same activity completed independently. When you ask students to work with a partner, encourage them to discuss and justify their answers before recording them on paper
I do a lot of hands on approaches. I try to lecture early when the students are usually fresher and do tactile learning towards the end when most students atart to tire.
At my institution, class are small. I use "pair and share." Once the students have shared their information, I will usually then give a 7- to 10-minute lecture to reinforce key learning points.
Some strategies that I use to keep students engaged throughout the class are to include them and their thoughts and opinions in the learning process. I use interactive strategies that allows them to ask questions and at the same allows me to check to make sure the students are understanding the material.
Bethany,
Stories are the connection students need to see between the course content and where they will be upon graduation. Keep sharing those stories because they increase the value of the course to the students and help them move closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Biftu,
Keep up the variety you are offering your students. You are on the right track with all of these efforts. I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I not only have the six hours to fill but my students are worn out from having worked all day. Sometimes the class looks like a circus but I am able to keep their interest and get the content across. Needless to say at the end of the evening I am worn out but elated when I see that they "got it" for that class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am a new clinical instructor and I find that using clinical stories help keep them engaged. They get excited when they hear about things they might see or have to handle when in the hospital or clinical setting.
Michael,
My longest class runs for six hours. As you mentioned, students seem to be overwhelmed after few hours of lecture. At the same time, it is not easy to keep them engaged after several hours of lecture. What I tried was inviting a guest speaker, some hands on, and videos related to the subject matter. I am still searching for ways to keep students better engaged.
Alfonso,
Your field is a gold mine of stories that can be shared with students. These stories capture their attention and reinforce the value of the content being shared. So keep sharing and your students will be engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Suzanne,
This is what engaged learning is about. They are see both the relevancy and application of what they are being taught with this method. That increases the value of the course for them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
To go along with humor as a strategy, personal experiences that are comedy or gross keep the students attentive in the classroom. In the medical/dental field, you come across some telling experiences that work for the topics you are teaching the students and also gives them some real-life stories from the job field.
I have found in most of my classes that my students stay engaged if they are all actively participating in a demonstration. For example: If I am teaching how to retouch a photo for a specific result, my students will follow along with their own photos to learn the process as well to make their own design decisions and develop their technical skills.
