Capturing student attention
What are some ways you can capture the attention of inattentive students?
Some students are afraid of being wrong. So will not speak out or speak up. If I see them moving their lips and they have given the right answer, then I tell them good job. I also speak with them after class, to let them know that they are on the right track and we need their input.
After we learn sections of the lecture, I have instructional videos of what we just learned to captivate the class.
I'll play a quick game of "hangman" on the white board. The word will be relevant to the discussion or lecture. Then I will have the student who guessed it put a word up.
I always try to have student take the lead when the time is right. I like to have them get into small groups to help each other.
When I talk about my personal experience working in the industry students who may have drifted immediately begin to focus on what I am saying.
I like to ask inattentive students what their opinions are on topics we've just covered in class to try to "bring them back" to where the rest of us are. Most of the time I get some type of answer from them that I can expand upon to help them answer the question more effectively so they don't feel embarrassed. If I don't get any kind of answer I like to relate the topic more directly to what they'll be doing in the field. Whether I get an answer or not, inattentive students now know that they are required to pay attention, because they never know when their opinion might be asked and because they can see a long-term benefit from paying attention and learning the class content.
One technique I use is to wander over to the inattentive student while I am lecturing and gently rest my hand on his/her desk. This gets the student's attention, and he/she stops texting, etc.
As an instructor of students from all walks of life (young adults just out of high school, single mothers, veterans), it has become incredibly important for me to have a connection with each of my students. This also assists with inattentive students. These students feel as if I care about their future in the class and their current progress. I make an effort to check in with each student. We have meetings with our students monthly to assess their progress in addition to less frequent formal meetings. These less formal sit-downs allow me to assess how the students are doing and what their thoughts are on the class. They feel as if I am concerned about them personally, and they make much more of an effort to be attentive during class.
I believe a good way to capture the attention of inattentive students is to do a group project in class and get them involved.
I feel like engaging students in group settings is a great way for the student not to zone out. The support of other students will help them and motivate them , thus being successful. Many students want to impress their peers instead of the instructors.
I try to keep them involved with what is going on in the classroom by involving them in activities and discussions. I want them to know that their presence matters in my classroom.
One thing I always do is move closer to them as I lecture. I will stop speaking sometimes or begin a question and answer session. I will engage directly with them.
I like to observe the student to see why they are inattentive. Sometimes they are distracted by outside issues such as family crisis, work, life...etc. Sometimes the student becomes focused on their fellow classmates and not the work. I like breaking everyone up into small groups and allowing each group to share their feedback with the entire class.
Hello Class:
There many ways to capture to capture student's attention in class, firstly by asking questions, discuss the benefits of the materials covering in class, especially relating it to a real-life situations.
I will either ask the inattentive student a question during the class lecture; or when we take a break I will suggest that they get a cup of coffee. Indicating that I am aware that they were dozing off.
On occasion i will then bring the student up and have them label a diagram that i produce on the board, then use classmates as phone-a-friend if they cannot label correctly. It usually breaks the bored or inattentive students habits because they don't know when it may happen again, forcing them to direct there attention to the lesson. Another method is to stop and ask can you find this part of the bone anatomy on the person next to you. Sort of a break from lecture, that still stays on learning by doing, not just listening
Hi FRANCIS,
Students enjoy it when we incorporate visual into our lesson plans. Visual adds better clarity.
Patricia Scales
I like to change the subject to a personal note how this will help you in the future. I then follow it up with a intro into tonight's hands on lab , so that they can see how the night is now structured.
