ATTENTION SPAN
I HAVE A FEW STUDENTS THAT NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY I CANNOT GET THEM TO PAY ATTENTION OR ATTENDANCE IS A ISSUE?
Linda, this is the hardest part of the job of teacher. Partner with other teachers who have found some success overcoming this barrier and try to change the methods you are using in class that does not get and keep their attention.
I tend to have a similar problem from time to time, however, I change my lecturing topics every 20-30 minutes and allow open discussion in between to keep the students focused.
Margaret, you are smart to change things up every 20-30 minutes. This can re-engage students when you might otherwise lose their attention.
As a technical instructor the majority of the students I teach have attention issues and have a very hard time staying engaged for more that 30 minuets. I tend to lecture for about 30 minuets and then apply the lecture principals in a short lab exercise.
Michael, you are smart to stop after 30 minutes and do some hands on application with lab work. I would cointinue that practice.
I feel adult learners are more challenging to teach than children because they are set in their ways. Also we have to take into consideration that adults also have learning disabilities. When I suspect one of my adult students might have a disability I think of other learning styles to use that might make more sense or is more rewarding for the student.
Kimberly, varying teaching approaches is the best plan.
I have learners of a large variation in age ie.50 yrs.and 18 yrs.!!
This means I really have to be alert to meet the learning styles for everyone in the class. I do that by keeping a close watch on their body language to see who is disconnected and losing/lost interest.This gives me the cue to shift my style and delivery of information for some time. Constant evaluation of your class keeps you informed of where you stand. Also the time I use is not more than 20-30 minutes at a stretch,because I have seen that is the time when you can keep their attention meaningfully.
It sounds like you have figured out how to be a successful teacher.
Besides all the great points that have been explained by many of the instructors, I have a particular point that I will like to present to you. Attention span time and retention of a particular topic may not depends on the time invested (20-30 minutes) before the breaks but the topic itself. For example, a math teacher will have complications to transmit and clearly explain to the majority of the class the concept of mathematical fraction. The difficulty comprehending this particular topic is predictable and the teacher can make special arrangements when is time to teach the topic. Some of the arrangements can include start the topic after a break, integrate visualization and kinetics, and connect the topic with concrete solutions of problems related to their future career. Maybe not every class is going to be an attention span challenge. Sometimes the retention percent is higher depending on the topic. The teacher’s skill to recognize and predict when a topic will cause attention span difficulties can save a lot of student and professor time and effort. Some topics can flow in an easy way and you may be able to invest long periods of times without any napjerk of pezhead present. Other times just the mention of the topic (examples: cell neurophysiology or bio-molecular mechanism) can immediately get the student in a state of stress and compensatory distraction. To me is important to profile the topics and predict the bumpy ones in order to be more academically effective.
Carlos, I agree that the best instructors anticipate the difficulty and engaging nature of the content they teach. And plan teaching methods based on that.
Michele Deck
