in my class my class startsd @ 6:15am and you have to have alot of stories as they apply to the lesson.
Hi Clifton,
Wow, this is early! I know you really have to be energized and filled with excitement yourself in order to get your students motivated.
Patricia Scales
I teach science classes and the information can seem dry. I find that if I can relate the information to everyday life, the students are more interested. Of course, this is difficult to do with some topics and sometimes the 'relatedness' is a stretch!
I agree that the lecture needs to be energized to keep the students attention and that the instructor should enter at a high energy level. We know that most students will lose their attention span at about 10 minutes so it may be beneficial to plan your lectures to account for this and outline when to interject activities to keep the students alert and interactive.
Hi Errik,
Enthusiasm definitely begins with the instructor. Excitement is contagious.
Patricia Scales
One thing I do to get the students "warmed" up is share a quote of the day from a famous person that applies to our lesson. I tell them they should be thinking about this quote/person as we move through the lecture. It helps for the long courses!
Hi Lisa,
I love it! I like to share a positive quote for the day to get students in the right frame of mind to learn and to be open to new horizons.
Patricia Scales
I start at 6:00 a.m. and the students are almost trying to stay asleep. I think of class almost like acting in a show. Every audience is entitled to my best performance. I know the information sometimes drags, but if they see you are having a good time with it, even after many, many "performances" they can at least try to relate.
Hi Paul,
Absolutely! Instrustors must be great entertainers in the classroom!
Patricia Scales
In my case, it isn't as much a matter of the information being boring, but mathematics is a subject that most would like to avoid at all costs. I have used a mixture of approaches that have been referenced in these discussions; using personal experiences, connected the material with how it is used in the "real world", having the students answering questions frequently, and using humor whenever possible. However, of all of the tricks of the trade, the one aspect that I feel is the most important is the energy and enthusiasm that we have in front of the classroom. If students don't see and feel the enthusiasm, passion, and energy from their instructor, they will not see the need to be interested in the material. It does not matter if the class I am teaching starts at 8:00 AM, a 2:00 - 4:00 class after teaching the last 6 hours straight through, or the 8:00 - 10:00 PM class, the energy, passion, and enthusiasm has to be there for all students.
Hi Philip,
You are right! You have to give all students the same amount of energy and enthusiasm, regardless as to the time of the course. ALL students deserve the same level of teaching from an instructor!
Patricia Scales
Thanks,I like the idea of the pre-test. Some lectures just cannot be spiced up with hands on or even stories. HIPAA as an example. But the pre-test would at least let me know if they are getting the material and they can earn points for right answers.
Hi Virginia,
Trying playing games to add spice to the course. Students love it when learning is made fun!
Patricia Scales
Hello, Our classes start at 5:55AM. It is challenging to keep lecture interesting and interactive at that time of the morning, I usually have our most energetic instructors teach at this time. Getting students immediately involved in Lab projects is the key.
Hi Harold,
Active learning and enthusiasm are a must this early in the morning. The instructor has to be in FULL gear to get the students going.
Patricia Scales
I teach at the same facility as Mr. Robar and students are tired and quickly fall asleep whether its 6 in the morning or 12:30 in the morning when our night class ends. While the boring lecture is sometimes a necessity, I try to keep students active by asking a lot of open ended questions during the lecture. Most of our lecture has a power point that students follow in their books. During this time I also add my comments and explanations in writing on the board.
I'm never surprised to turn around and see everyone taking notes. Doing Q&A with a nerf-ball where students ask questions and throw the ball to who should answer is a good "Pep-up" and giving small rewards (candy, pens, pencil toppers from the Dollar store) always keeps my students going.
Hi Lawrence,
It sounds like you do as much as you can to keep the lecture exciting. I have learned that even adult learners like small prizes. Sometimes I take in a bag of Smartie Candy and give each student a Smartie. I allow them to eat the candy in class as I am teaching.
Patricia Scales
