You have the opportunity to speak to a group of high school and middle school students! How are you going to keep their attention for 45 minutes?
You know they never seem to be still for a moment and even when they are they are listening to their MP3 player and on their PS3 at the same time. Here are 6 tips to keep your students interested.
- Use multiple presentation mediums- use audio, video and engage them in discussion all in the same presentation, give them a worksheet to complete, lecture for only short amounts of time, actively engage their brains
- Keep the content moving fast- that is what they are used to and it will keep them interested, don’t focus on a specific point for too long
- Talk to them- not at them, not as the all-knowing adult
- Make sure all of your content takes into account their age and experience level- don’t talk about Jimmy Carter, they have no context for who he was, use content they are comfortable with even if you aren’t completely; be specific about your ideas – the leaps of logic we make they may not only because of the difference in age and experience
- Be willing to flex with them- they may move in a slightly different direction than you originally planned and that is OK, find the connections and you will get them going in the right direction
- Ignore the fidgety, attention seekers- there is always one, and as long as they aren’t disrupting the entire group let them fidget and talk to themselves; remember it is not about you, focus on everyone else in the room
I presented to 16 high school and middle schoolers last week and kept their attention. Using all of these tips I listed, we had a productive, rewarding discussion- that worked for all of us. Even Mr. Fidget was paying attention.
Good luck!
