Get Your Students Hired
Hi Chyrisse,
I strongly recommend frequent breaks. I give my students a 10 minute break every 50 minutes. They come back reenergized. In the workplace breaks are taken and employees are expected to stay until it is time to get off. Let's focus on taking breaks and not leaving early as we do in the workplace.
Patricia
I used that trick of standing up my self. While attending architecture school, I was only getting about 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night, and sometimes even less. When I had to read articles for Theory, sometimes they were quite difficult to get through, so I would go out to the breezeway and stand up. You can't fall asleep when you are standing up!
Hi Juan,
What great ways to keep your students active. You must be an entertainer to teach this early in the morning and to keep your students motivated.
Patricia
I have kept activities and certain assignments until the start of class. My students start at 6:40 a.m. and it does become difficult to keep them awake. I constantly bring up why you need to know this, because you make X amount of dollars. This will interest them and wake them up. I also have them stand up one at a time and throw a dart on the whiteboard, the white board has sections that when hit will require them to answer a question.The student can not ask for help and must answer the question to receive the points, once I make it into a Team effort they dont let themselves fall asleep.
Hi, Patricia..Do you recommend frequent breaks? I usually try to mix it up (lecture, film, discussion) and have one break only (so we can get out earlier). What do you think?
Hi Allina,
You have some very creative ways to help with tired students. Most of our students have full-time jobs while going to school full time, and we have to make things exciting to help keep them awake.
Patricia
I also teach later classes. I find that if you lecture for a small amount of time and then give them an activity, it really helps. Also, you can give them short reasearch assignments in class, with short presentations on what they found. If they are physically and mentally involved in finding information, I feel that it keeps them more engaged. If I still notice that they are tired, I will get up and move them to a different location in the school, if it is an option. During nice weather, you can move outside the building to finish lecture or a group assignment, but everyone has to be on board for that.
Allina
Hi Ellen,
Yes, some of our students are maxed out with their schedule. Have a firm conversation with these sleepy heads so that they understand you are being serious when trying to keep them awake.
Patricia
Hello Kim
Wow, this is late! You must be very energetic as well as motivating to keep the interest of your students.
Patricia
Because I teach a 9:20 to 11:00 pm class, I try to motivate through class interaction. Lecture only will not work.
Students falling asleep seem to happen more often when lights are dimmed for computer screen use. I ask those sleepy-heads to stand up (as occasionally one has done) but they take it more ask a joke. Some of these folks have given themselves very tough and hectic schedules. We must keep reminding them that there is light at the end of the tunnel but to get rest so they don't get sick from burning the candle at both ends.
Hello Eric,
Wow! Perhaps, you can help the student come up with a schedule to better manage his or her time.
Patricia