floating around classroom
I agree with the comment about floating around the classroom. I use a clicker to forward my power point so I do not feel strapped to the front of the room. I also think it keeps the students on their toes and off the internet and cell phones.
Renuka,
these are great suggestions & I agree with you that floating around the classroom is a key way to help maintain focus & control of the class.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have found that floating around the classroom is very effective. I have very large classes so with many students, it is difficult to control the chatting and cell phone usage from accross the room. I use the classroom as a tool to get students to focus and pay attention. Part of floating around is to become comfortable with the room. You might want to sit in a student's seat to see what the students feel, put yourself in their shoes. That gives you a better understanding of how they see you as an instructor in front and around the classroom.
I agree that moving around brings in students from the back of the classroom as well. This is especially important sometimes for those students who want to "hide" in the back. While some students want to hide because they're not engaged in the classroom, some choose to sit in the back because they're just not comfortable in the classroom setting. By moving throughout the room, you break down some of those space barriers, making every part of the classroom a zone of engagement, inclusion, and learning.
Walking around the classroom makes every student in every corner of the room feel that they are an integral part of the class.
An instructor who doesn't move around and stays in front of the class only is sending a message that will make the students feel that only those in the front row are getting the attention so people in the back row tend to lose interest, therefore they build a "world of their own" where they have their own discussion and activities that may not even be related to the lesson. This is one of the worst classroom scenarios.
I'm a little jealous of those instructors that are afforded the opportunity to move about their classrooms during lectures. As a culinary instructor, my lectures usually run concurrently with a cookign demonstration, which really ties me down to my station at the front of the lab. I think moving about would definitely help to build some rapport with those students that, despite my best efforts, continue to be wallflowers in the back of the class.
I also found this to be true that test scores improved and students attention to the details of the topics were heightened. I found to that the students in the back of the feel like I am paying attention to them instead only those in the front of the class.
I have found that floating around the classroom not only improves student attention, but improves their test scores. They are more likely to pay attention and retain information this way.
I need to get a clicker so i can do that..
I always move around the room. It prevents students from using cell phones and it keeps the "talkers" from engaging in non-topic discussion with their friends who are sitting next to them.
Tonia,
I agree as a clicker is my "best friend" in the classroom. It allows me to be mobile and to engage all of my students by not tying me to the podium. As a matter of fact, if I don't have my clicker, I feel handcuffed and it limits my effectiveness in the classroom.
