Asking questions of students not paying attention
I am guilty of asking questions of students that were not paying attention in class.
Many times when a student isn't paying attention, I'll pause and then repeat the question. Usually, this will regain the attention.
If more than one student is not paying attetion I will pull out the role sheet and start questioning with names.
Hi Robert - Welcome to ED 103! I'll bet the sight of your role sheet snaps them all back to attention. Best wishes - Susan
I do the same as well, I have noticed that if the students are not listening or talking while I am talking I take a pause and wait for them to stop talking. If that doesn't work I do a quick review of the material I just went through.
I agree with reveiwing the material.I also include the class in adding to the delivery of the material.
Hi William - Sometimes, especially if a student is tired to begin with, a lecture can have a lulling effect. As you mention, pausing creates a sudden silence that can bring the student back. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
When I notice that the students are talking to each other and not listening,I stop and take out the roll sheet an hit them with all kinds of questions
Guilty also. I'll call on students to break up a conversation and refocus them on the lecture. It only works once or twice though in one class with the chattier students, particularly with long 4 hour classes it's a challenge to keep their attention. I find the calling names randomly from the list works better.
I tell the students at the beginning of the course that I will be using a questioning technique throughout the course. I also tell them that i will call on them unexpectedly but that I'm not trying to humiliate or embarass them. I give them time to respond before asking someone else to respond. I then ask that first student another question to help draw him in.
Hi David - Welcome to ED 103! It is a fine line between embarrassing a student and getting them to participate in the classroom exchange. It sounds like you have that under control! Best wishes - Susan
I will also stop lecture when students are being chatty. This usually will let them realize they are not paying attention and get them back into the swing.
I often ask a question of the class and after I have received a few answers I will ask the student who is not paying attention which answer he/she leaned towards the most, and why. I never want to embarass a student infrot of their peers, but I do want them to be etting the most out of my class, and that means paying attention.
i am the same way, I believe they should be aware that it is being noticed. I can tell when someone is oaying attention and one who is not. I pick on the ones that are not so they get there act together, and learn something
I tend to either call on the student not paying attention or I like to put emphasis when talking to kinda give them a hint that they need to know the info being given. When all else fails, I will ask them if they would like to leave until they are ready. Many times, this one gesture seems to work on the entire class & from that point on during the day they tend to be very attentive.
I do the same type of questioning and most of the time it pulls them back to the subject.
Yes, I think we all are guilty of this, as it works to wake them up and sends a message to the class that they all had better stay "zoned in." Unfortunately, it's been my experience that doing this often creates ill will and ultimately weakens the teacher-student relationship. Once "caught" not paying attention, they may be awake to the learning, but may also be seething inside. No one likes to be embarrassed.
I agree that the hurt feelings are very dangerous and it changes the other student's attitude toward the instructor also. In response to the material in this course, I'm going to try a two-step approach. When I notice a student disengaged, I will call his/her name, give a short introduction to the question with some helpful information, and then put the question out. For example, "Jake, we've seen that merging two files requires reading from each until the ends are reached. How would you write a test to check that the merging process is finished?" If I can give a short catch-up for the student and still ask a question to get him/her involved, then the student gets reconnected and hopefully in a non-threatening way.
Hi Tom - Thanks for your post to the forum. our students disengage for all sorts of reasons - worrying about a sick child at home, a work project they will need to complete when they get home from their night class, etc. You are using an emphathetic approach to getting them back into the class without embarrassment - Great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
