Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ever get stuck in a social event and start making small talk with someone and you can tell they are bored with what you are saying and want to make a quick exit. Hey, you thought it was interesting.
Well in the social setting the bored party can leave but students do not have the choice. As a College Teacher I do what I can to make the topic interesting, but I have to admit some of the things I teach can be a little dry. I look out into the sea of students and see people looking at their watch, yawning, day dreaming and just plain bored. While I understand that I can not always be interesting to every student, the look of boredom out there can destroy my self confidence as a teacher.
(Now before everyone calls me a boring teacher, I have to say that many of the students are interested and my reviews from students have been great and I do everything I can to mix up the class with a variety of activites but some lecture still needs to be done.)
How do you think a teacher should deal with bored looking students?
I think it depends on the level... being in college if they are bored, that is their own fault. If they do not care enough to be interested, that is really their problem. I would think that students at the college level should be relatively motivated learners since they have continued they education beyond high school. Of course the real possibility exists that they are in college because their parents make them attend, or they are avoiding the real world for a few years.
I would venture a guess to say that college students would be easier to motivate than secondary students because they are (mostly) at school by choice.
I think in the K-12 arena, student motivation is important. The teachers need to find a way to motivate students. I know I have spenta lot of time on this issue myself. I know infinite amounts of studies have been conducted, and what I know may be outdated by the time school starts next year. But I think that there is something to appealing to the different "learning styles" and "multiple intelligences". If a teacher tries to design lessons to fit the way students learn and excel, (in a perfect world) the students will be more willing to learn and more successful.
You might research some of the works of Silver, Strong, and Perini.... they were really pushing their stuff during my Masters program. Some of the ideas may seem too juvenile for college students, but others might be easily adaptable.
Ever get stuck in a social event and start making small talk with someone and you can tell they are bored with what you are saying and want to make a quick exit. Hey, you thought it was interesting.
Well in the social setting the bored party can leave but students do not have the choice. As a College Teacher I do what I can to make the topic interesting, but I have to admit some of the things I teach can be a little dry. I look out into the sea of students and see people looking at their watch, yawning, day dreaming and just plain bored. While I understand that I can not always be interesting to every student, the look of boredom out there can destroy my self confidence as a teacher.
(Now before everyone calls me a boring teacher, I have to say that many of the students are interested and my reviews from students have been great and I do everything I can to mix up the class with a variety of activites but some lecture still needs to be done.)
How do you think a teacher should deal with bored looking students?
and if the majority of my students look bored (yawning, glossy eyes, lack of interest, etc.) I change the pace and direction of my lecture. I will often stop what I'm discussing and divert to an activity related to it - perhaps the activity I had scheduled for later. Something to get THEM involved.
I know there are students who will NEVER be interested and I'm not advocating teaching should be a dog-n-pony show, but after 15+ years teaching, I still believe if most of my students don't appear to be interested, I'm not teaching effectively, they aren't learning and I need to change something fast.
Good ideas? But many times they do not want to get involved in an activity either. The students who are there because the class is requried just want to put in their time and look at the clock. They think the lecture is boring but at least during a lecture they can zone out and shut off their brain. If I start an activity then they have to actually think. You can't win for trying!
Quote:
Originally Posted by wyolady
and if the majority of my students look bored (yawning, glossy eyes, lack of interest, etc.) I change the pace and direction of my lecture. I will often stop what I'm discussing and divert to an activity related to it - perhaps the activity I had scheduled for later. Something to get THEM involved.
I know there are students who will NEVER be interested and I'm not advocating teaching should be a dog-n-pony show, but after 15+ years teaching, I still believe if most of my students don't appear to be interested, I'm not teaching effectively, they aren't learning and I need to change something fast.
Last edited by Weekend Traveler; 07-29-2009 at 06:33 AM..
Good ideas? But many times they do not want to get involved in an activity either. Just just want to put in their time and look at the clock. They think the lecture is boring but at least during a lecture they can zone out and shut off their brain. If I start an activity then they have to actually think. You can't win for trying!
I don't just try - it usually works. It if didn't, after 15 years I'd have tried something else.
I work full time as a HR Manager and recruiter and work evenings and some weekends as a teacher at George Mason University. In my daytime job as a HR Manager, I rarely hire anyone but do coordinate the recruitment for over one hundred open positions a year and talk to many hiring managers and applicants. I am an insider in the game of employment. No troll here.
That's funny, I could swear on other posts that you said you taught in a transition-to-work program. You really need to write your plotlines down.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I teach 7-12 grades. . .
