Maintaining students' attention

This section includes the following pages:

Maintaining students' attention - (this page)
Prompting audience interaction
Incorporating activities

Methods for maintaining students' attention

Whether you like it or not, as an instructor you must compete with many other stimuli that may distract students, such as the sight of a classmate coming in late, the sound of a lawn mower outside the classroom, or the smell of another student's coffee. There are different theories about "selective attention', but most point to the fact that we humans can only handle so many pieces of information before we have to choose between them. One way to maintain students' attention is to use attention grabbing techniques (McGlynn, 2001, p. 76):

Start your lecture with an interesting story or anecdote that grabs students attention.
Begin the lecture with a provocative visual, such as a cartoon.
Pose a problem or ask a question that is the center of the lecture, so that students will be motivated to stay tuned in.
Limit the major points of your lecture. Present key terms and concepts on an overhead transparency or chalkboard to help students remember them.
Use plenty of real-life examples and comparisons, and try to relate your information to your students' prior life experiences.
Wherever possible, use transparencies, flip charts, and handouts to give your students a visual as well as an auditory channel of learning.
Periodically, stop lecturing so that you can ask students to give examples of the concepts you've presented so far.
Present a problem or question for students to address based on the information covered in the lecture.
Give students a test or quiz on the topic covered, toward the end of the lecture.
Ask students to compare their notes with each other in order to review the lecture and clear up any questions they may have.

Activities