this is part of the problem in culianry arts students with diverse interest offten want to "hijack" the lecture to focuse more on what they are interested in
I agree with Asha. I think anything that allows active student involvement should be rewarded, even if the class is slowed. I feel learning is an active conversation between the student, the instructor, and the other students in the class, and the more the student is involved in that conversation, the better. Yes, it is annoying when we don't cover as much ground as we would like, but the fact that one student has questions, and the confidence to bring those questions to light means there are more students with the same issues who have had experience, where, perhaps, those questions were ignored or belittled that keeps them from sharing, and therefore learning.
So, yes, I, myself, have always been fine with the annoying "hand in the air" student. He or she is bringing student involvement into the lecture, and that can be a very good thing.
having read thru several of the feedback re:raised hands.for me this is the best reply and goes along with my way of thinking and instructing. as long as it doesn't stray too far from the content of the lessons presented in the lesson plan
Hi Jason,
This is a good way to deal with student questions while keeping the flow of the lecture going. What you can do is acknowledge the student and say you will answer his/her question at the end of the lecture and then add "Please jot down your question to make sure neither of us forgets it when we come back to it." The student will write it down and the class knows you are going to come back to it and that you are not just brushing off the question.
Gary
I often find that if a student has a question, and I am still in the middle of a thought in lecture, it is better to acknowledge the student and come back to the question. Eight times out of ten, I have answered the question they were about to ask. If not, the question will often renforce the given lecture. I do not simply let a student sit there with their hand up. In most cases, they are now concentrating on the fact that their hand is up, and not concetrating on note taking.
Acknowledging the student, than going back to the student, I find helps maintain the pace of the class period.
The only real concern I have, is when the student "forgets" their question, when I go back to answer the question.
Hi Rachelle,
Your last statement is a good one in relation to reinforcing what has been taught. It does not hurt to go back and revisit an area because by then the students will have had a chance to think about the topic and internalize their understanding of it. Then they are ready to raise a question or make a statement about it from a more in-depth perspective.
Gary
I enjoyed the video because the instance where a students hand has been raised for an extended period of time has occurred to me a number of times in my classroom. Due to the time constraints, curriculum, and other variables that arise each day in class it is sometimes impossible to answer every question raised in the room; though I do my best to answer each and every question sometimes I feel guilty of losing a students question whether it be from the subject of the moment or the idea presented in the past.
Though I do agree that it is critical in our time together to follow the curriculum to its extent and not "go back"; I feel that returning to or giving previous topics a second attempt is more beneficial than harmful in the end...
Hi Asha,
Glad you enjoyed the video clip and that you are making applications from the course to your classroom. This is what professional development is all about.
The use of discussion sessions really help the students to arrange the content in their mind and then make it a part of their working memories so the more opportunities they have to talk about the content the stronger the retention factor is going to be.
Gary
