Students energy level
Hi,
A lot of students work, have families and go to school.
Exausted.
How can we help
Mark,
The single most effective thing we can do is to keep our energy level as high as possible, Enthusiasm is contagious, so showing passion for both our subjects and our students should make a difference.
We also need to plan and facilitate great lessons, with lots of variety that reaches multiple learning styles every class meeting.
Most everyone have a fulltime life that includes work, family and school. We can help by being versitile with class lessons and working with those individuals by helping them to put their priorities in place. Let them know we care and that we are all in the same boat.
Give them praise. Find something concrete to praise, and praise it. It might be their attendance, or their helping another student, or their always having their supplies, or how quickly they're grasping the material and moving ahead, or their sunny disposition. Praise keeps people on track and ambitious. Think about yourself. When was the last time somebody gave you a sincere compliment? How did it affect you? Well, the same is true of the students.
I'm the Student Services Coordinator at an Audio Engineering school, and I try to get our part time students (those who work 9-5 jobs, then come to class) to think of things in an "audio" sense all day long. A big part of the industry is radio obviously, so the other night I saw a part time student who was moving like a zombie (understandable, double shift then class, who wouldn't be tired). Knowing his taste in music, I asked if he had heard a certain song over his workplace's PA system. He replied he had, and after a few distasteful comments about the song, I asked him what he would have done to make that song sound better. Hearing his enthusiasm in his explanation sounded like he had gotten a second (or third) wind for the day, and when our conversation was over, he seemed to move a little quicker.
Try to connect the course material with their real world lives. I think it adds a sense of depth to what they're learning.
Laughter. I have found through my own experience as a student, and instructor, that if you keep them laughing, you can keep their attention.
Thanks, Robert.
Appropriate humor is essential to a good educational environment. What are some things that you do to be funny without offending sensitive students.
Praise is a big part of it. When they are working and going to school away from home it can be tough. I praise them for being on time because thats what a lot of employers want to see is thier attendance more so than anything else.
Thanks, Larry. Our students are really not that different from those at any level of education. They need recognition and praise regularly. I was taught in school to "catch students doing something right."
Jeffrey Schillinger
I teach mathematics, and I find that using humor is a good way to keep both those who are already comfortable with the material and those who struggle interested in the material. One example I use - since I teach a lot of students who go into the medical field - is reminding students that labeling answers is important by mentioning "there is a difference between 500 mg and 500 kg ... 500 mg is an Extra Strength Tylenol ... 500 kg Schwarzenegger isn't going to lift ... so I don't want to see the UPS truck coming with my medicine."
I know there are times my attempts of humor isn't necessarily considered funny by my students - and I have some students who will tell me that a certain comment wasn't funny - but that at least tells me that the student was paying attention.
Philip,
Humor is a very effective teaching tool. Studies have shown that students recall things tied to strong emotions. Laughter creates similar chemistry.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Bingo! I teach during the evening, so a lot of my students appear tired by the time they get to class after working all day, etc. I have found when I find a way to interject humor into lectures, it really has a big impact on their level of energy.
David,
Thanks. Humor is essential to learning.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Robert,
I must admit I was amazed at the energy level of my students. They are much younger than I am however, there energy level is very low. One way I have tried to change this and recharge them is to keep them moving. I have them doing different group activities which are timed and they seem to like this upbeat pace. I also use humor a lot! I laugh at myself and they seem to like that I am a real person who does silly things. I also seem more approachable to them this way. It helps to tell real-life stories that happen to me and this allows them to realize that everybody makes mistakes sometimes but we survive and get a laugh at the same time!
Try to encourage them best possible. Keep them focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, about how it will all pay off in the end. The end of the road is worth the travel.
My student survey comments usually state I had fun while learning .
Mark,
What are one or two of the keys to "fun" in a classroom.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I have a lot of young students that do not work and have their parents paying for their education. They tend to go out and stay out later then my students that hold a job or have busy families. Still, it tends to be the students who have the busy lifes that are the better students because they push themselves through the exhaustion.
Sarah,
There is an old expression that states that if you want something done, give it to the busiest person. When I was a high school coach, i noticed my players got better grades during the season than in the off season because they had to be organized when they had only a little time to do do school work. When they had fewer responsibilities, it was easier to let things slide until later, which sometimes did not come. A similar thing may be going on here.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I have the same thing. I have given up on the idea of long lectures for sure. I now given them something to do while I lecture. There was a time when I would have said that does not work, but it does. They have a study guide at the start of each week. I lecture for a bit on 1/2 the subjects and they are allowed to find that answers as I go over the material in power points or in group talks. I let my ego go once I learned about different learning styles too. Some students need to "do" to learn.
