Active and Engaging Lectures

When you attended college, did your professor lecture for the entire class period? Did you have trouble paying attention? When you're in a meeting, how long do you normally pay attention before you start to drift off? What happens if you aren't actively participating in the meeting?

The reality is that human attention spans are limited--whether you are a 20 year old college student or a 50 year old professor sitting in a faculty meeting. Studies suggest that even in classes where they like the professor/content, students are attentive during the first five minutes of a lecture, become more focused for next 5-10 minutes, and then lose focus rapidly thereafter.

How, then, do you keep their attention--get them engaged--and still achieve your learning objectives?

The key is understanding this ebb and flow of attention and using it to craft a great lecture. Rather than trying to barrel through your content, try thinking about your lecture in terms of blocks.

  • BLOCK ONE: Start with a story and/or problem that captures the overall learning objective.
  • BLOCK TWO: Use the next 5-10 minutes of prime attention to cover key concepts
  • BLOCK THREE: Use an engagement break to get students interacting with the material and reset their attention clock.

What is an engagement break? In an engagement break YOU STOP TALKING and find ways to get the students actively processing and engaging with the material. Some great options for engagement breaks:

  • Think-Pair-Share: Students pair up to reflect on and then discuss a specific question. Give a set period of time and then ask for students to report back. The benefit of a think-pair-share is that every student in the room must actively engage. When you ask a question of the whole room but don't do this first, only the speaker is actively engaging with the material. Others can zone out.
  • Reflection/reaction: Ask students to individually write 3-4 sentences that summarize the material they have just learned, reflect on a problem you give them, or react to some hypothetical.  
  • Hypothetical/problem to solve/case study to discuss: Once you provide the tools for addressing problems, give students a real world example and ask them to try to solve it. Use a think-pair-share to ensure everyone is engaged.
  • Sample test questions (objective): Give students sample T/F or multiple choice questions. Have them write answer on a piece of paper, or use Top Hat for automated system. (More on Top Hat below.)
  • Muddiest point: Ask students to identify the part of the material you are presenting that they find the most confusing or complex. Don't ask, "Does anyone have a question?" Ask, "Write down a question that you think someone might have about this topic."
  • More ideas for engagement breaks Download HERE!

Top Hat is an automated program that integrates with Canvas and provides you with a way to get students to interact with material using their own electronic devices. You can use Top Hat as a graded function (to score participation/attendance) or as a survey function (so you know what students are thinking and how they are performing).

  • For more about Top Hat, check out this Download short PPT deck.
  • NOTE: Students in the College of Business are required to purchase a Top Hat license, which is good for all their classes. As a result, there is NO additional charge for you to use Top Hat with your classes.