How to Recognize and Counteract Student Inattentiveness in the Classroom.

How to Recognize and Counteract Student Inattentiveness in the Classroom. When school days become tediously repetitious rep��e��ti��tious?adj.Filled with repetition, especially needless or tedious repetition.repe��ti students drift ofinto a world of daydreams. These momentary mo��men��tar��y?adj.1. Lasting for only a moment.2. Occurring or present at every moment: in momentary fear of being exposed.3. Short-lived or ephemeral, as a life. lapses or "drifttimes" give students the opportunity to explore their feelings,their personal thoughts, and the everyday experiences that make up theirlives. Unfortunately though these periods of "drift time"result in lost of much needed teaching time. Good educators know thatcontinuing a lesson when students are neither attentive at��ten��tive?adj.1. Giving care or attention; watchful: attentive to detail.2. Marked by or offering devoted and assiduous attention to the pleasure or comfort of others. nor responsiveis a sure fire formula for failure, however, most teachers are alsounder constant pressure to complete curriculum requirements. This meansthey face major time constraints In law, time constraints are placed on certain actions and filings in the interest of speedy justice, and additionally to prevent the evasion of the ends of justice by waiting until a matter is moot. . It is therefore imperative thatteachers formulate a plan to effectively deal with this lost time. Thisplan though must do more than simply provide a temporary fix to theproblem. Therein lies the dilemma. How can teachers successfullyactualize the major objectives and goals of the curriculum whileminimizing lost classroom time? This article explores the concept of"drift time" and provides teaching strategies andmethodologies for combating its deleterious deleteriousadj. harmful. effects. It discusses howteachers can modify their teaching styles and methodologies in order tomaximize their classroom teaching time. Every teacher has seen that look in their students' eyes. Itis that far away frozen gaze that comes over students when they are nolonger paying attention Noun 1. paying attention - paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people); "his attentiveness to her wishes"; "he spends without heed to the consequences"attentiveness, heed, regard to what the teacher is saying. The warning signsare quite visible. There is only minimal interaction between the teacherand students. Classrooms become sluggish. The air seems heavy andstifling. Time appears to drag on Verb 1. drag on - last unnecessarily longdrag outlast, endure - persist for a specified period of time; "The bad weather lasted for three days"2. endlessly. Lessons sound like teachermonologues. School days are long and often tediously repetitious. Theroutine and the mundane are often constant classroom companions forstudents. It is no wonder that during the course of the day thatstudents' minds "drift" off into a world of daydreaming.Very often these momentary lapses, or "drift times," allowstudents to escape into a more exciting world filled with excitement andhappiness. Here undisturbed un��dis��turbed?adj.Not disturbed; calm.undisturbedAdjective1. quiet and peaceful: an undisturbed village2. , students can explore their feelings, theirpersonal thoughts, and the everyday experiences that make up theirlives. Here they are able to relive re��live?v. re��lived, re��liv��ing, re��livesv.tr.To undergo or experience again, especially in the imagination.v.intr.To live again. past joys or dream of future glory.In many ways these drift periods work as coping mechanisms coping mechanismPsychiatry Any conscious or unconscious mechanism of adjusting to environmental stress without altering personal goals or purposes to combatclassroom boredom BoredomSee also Futility.Aldegonde, Lord St.bored nobleman, empty of pursuits. [Br. Lit.: Lothair]Baudelaire, Charles(1821–1867) French poet whose dissipated lifestyle led to inner despair. [Fr. Lit. . They serve as mini rejuvenating respites. Sinceteachers must accept the fact that these drift periods willinevitability occur, it is crucial for the everyday educator toformulate a plan to effectively deal with this lost time. Many teachersdo not do so. Typically when faced with this dilemma most teachersattempt to counteract this situation by trying to "snap thestudents out of it" and "bring them back to reality."This is usually accomplished either by calling out the inattentive in��at��ten��tive?adj.Exhibiting a lack of attention; not attentive.inat��ten students' names or by directing questions at the students. Thissecond strategy very often places students in the unenviable position ofnot only realizing that they have been caught daydreaming, but inaddition placing them in the position of having to face the reality thatthey are also unable to correctly answer questions because of their lackof focus. It is a lose/lose situation for the students. Although forcingthe students to refocus Verb 1. refocus - focus once again; The physicist refocused the light beam"focus - cause to converge on or toward a central point; "Focus the light on this image"2. their attention on the lesson may be a momentaryvictory for the teacher, this is often just a temporary fix. In the end,students in most cases return to their dream worlds once attention is nolonger centered on them. Sadly, even though this is true in mostclassrooms, regardless of the level of the students' participation,the teacher then continues the lesson as if everyone is listening. Thisis a major error on the part of the teacher. Students who are lost orunaware of what is occurring during the lesson have a tendency andinclination to remain so. Continuing a lesson when students are neitherattentive nor responsive is a sure fire formula for failure. In the longrun it means that teachers will be forced to once again re-teach thevery lessons they had assumed they had completed. What then shouldteachers do in these situations? The first step in combating student"drift time" is to pinpoint just when these episodes occur. Dothese daydreaming periods occur at different times for differentstudents? Are there common periods, such as just before change of class,or before lunch or dismissal, when the majority of the class drifts offas a group? This information can be ascertained through a myriad oftechniques. Teachers for example, can observe their students'facial expressions facial expression,n the use of the facial muscles to communicate or to convey mood. or body language. Distant and bored students are easyto identify. Teachers can also gage the pulse of the lesson. What arethe levels of student participation? Is the class actively involved inthe lesson and in what the teacher is doing? Teachers can also observestudent to student interaction. Are the students more involved withtheir classmates Classmates can refer to either: Classmates.com, a social networking website. Classmates (film), a 2006 Malayalam blockbuster directed by Lal Jose, starring Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indragith, Sunil, Jagathy, Kavya Madhavan, Balachandra Menon, ... than in the lesson? On the secondary or college levelteachers can even solicit this vital information by asking the studentsthemselves to track their individual periods of "drift time."No matter which technique is utilized, this is crucial information togather. If a teacher for example determines that specific students havea tendency to drift off at specific times each day, then strategies canbe prescribed to counteract this problem. On the other hand, if teachersare able to determine that whole classes are by and large drifting offat approximately the same time, then the teacher must devise alternativesolutions to the problem. In either case when teachers have the abilityto recognize and quantify these times they have the opportunity toadjust their teaching styles and methodologies to compensate for them.These adjustments may mean developing activities that will make thestudents more involved from a hands on perspective. Teachers can easilyaccomplish this by changing from a lecture format to one that employs agroup cooperative methodology instead. Making adjustments may also meanthat teachers will need to alter their normal classroom routines. Thiscan be successfully accomplished by changing the order of when subjectsare taught. English does not always have to be the first lesson of everyday followed by Social Studies, Math, and then Reading. A little shakeup shake��up?n.A thorough, often drastic reorganization, as of the personnel in a business or government.Noun 1. shakeup in the schedule can often provide the variety that is necessary to keepstudents on task. A slight variation on this strategy is to combine twoor more subject disciples along the lines of an interesting and relevantthematic approach. Since it is a well known fact that students are moreinvolved in lessons that pique their interest, this approach can proveto be a viable tool for capturing student interest and guaranteeing moreinvolvement. If all else fails, it might just simply mean that teachersmay have to stop what they are doing and allow the students some"down time" to physically and mentally regroup re��group?v. re��grouped, re��group��ing, re��groupsv.tr.To arrange in a new grouping.v.intr.1. To come back together in a tactical formation, as after a dispersal in a retreat. . In the end, ifteachers are to be effective educators they must be willing to rethink re��think?tr. & intr.v. re��thought , re��think��ing, re��thinksTo reconsider (something) or to involve oneself in reconsideration.re and revamp re��vamp?tr.v. re��vamped, re��vamp��ing, re��vamps1. To patch up or restore; renovate.2. To revise or reconstruct (a manuscript, for example).3. To vamp (a shoe) anew.n. their teaching styles in order to provide a more stimulating,challenging, and more exciting environment in which to complete theirlesson objectives. Understanding this concept of "drift time"will help teachers to realize that although "drift time" isinevitable, it is possible for good educators to adjust their lessons tocompensate for its deleterious effects. However, it is also quiteevident that until the average school day no longer is comprised of sixor more hours of endless routine, until students' days are made upof more than just schedules and rigid and often mindless activities, anduntil classrooms become more inviting, exciting, and stimulating placesfor learning, students will drift off into their own little worlds ofdaydreams. In the final analysis, when teachers understand thechallenges that face them, and in turn are willing to work to minimizelost classroom time, then "drift time" will no longer be amajor obstacle to learning. Joseph S.C. Simplicio, Ph.D. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr.Joseph S. C. Simplicio, P.O. Box 877, New Monmart, N.J 07748.