Attention

While working on a literature review, I stumbled on a little article by Lisa Lucas in theThe National Teaching and Learning Forum that I want to remember. It has two tips for maintaining engagement in a classroom.

First, "intentional closure." By that, the author means wrapping up a class in a way that makes the student try to glean the essential meaning and important points from the class. To do this, Lucas suggests having students write down two questions that try to get at the important points of the class. The questions will be used at the beginning of the following class period to help students recall and reengage in the subject. By letting the students know they will have to write questions at the end of each period, the students become more engaged and take better notes on the subject matter.

Second, "writing responses." Rather than asking questions and having students raise their hands to answer (which often leads to awkward silence), Lucas will ask the question and then will have students write down an answer instead of taking an answer verbally. She gives them a time limit and a specified length to write to.

These seem like useful tools to remember for engaging students.

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