Day Three: Teaching Evening (or Extended Time) Classes

In Day Two, I listed several challenges that can occur in an evening (or extended time) class that affect students’ attention and engagement. We explored ways to help students shift gears when getting to class. Today, we’ll take a look at another one on that list, mental fatigue…its impact on your evening students and a variety of easy-to-implement ideas to reduce its potentially negative effects on learning.

Of course, some mental fatigue may already be in place when some of your students arrive. They may have a demanding job, a full day of childcare behind them, a long drive to class, something stressful going on in their personal lives, or even incomplete nutrition. Other types of mental fatigue may set in during class as a result of intense prolonged concentration, emotional reactions to not understanding something or not being interested in the class’s topic that evening, or physical fatigue, among other things.

Psychological research tells us that mental fatigue effects the human brain in several ways that can impact a student’s ability to get the most out of class:

• Normal tasks may appear to be more complicated.
  
• The process of exploring solutions to problem-solving tasks is less systematic and more inefficient.
  
• Concentration is more challenging, increasing distractability (i.e., daydreaming, looking around at irrelevant things).
  
• Ability to recall prior learning is reduced, increasing errors.
  
• Reactions to normal tasks may prompt more emotions, such as impatience, fear.
  
• Sustained effort is more difficult.

Knowing that we have some students who arrive with mental fatigue or develop it during an extended-time class, what can we do to structure the learning environment in ways that would reduce the fatigue or at least minimize its impact on student learning? How about some of these tips?

1. Evening focus: At the beginning of class, outline what the 3-5 things are that you will be focusing on this evening, and some of the ways they will be experiencing this content. Several of the ideas in Day Two reveal this information in active ways. Then, revisit this often throughout the evening in the form of short summaries, review “minutes,” and transitional or orienting statements such as “We have just completed an analysis of _____ concept, as I mentioned at the outset of class; next we’ll explore how that that concept can be utilized in…”
   
   
2. Presentations: Use the “bob and weave technique” of moving between facts, concepts, and stories or vivid examples, making the connections between them clear and frequent. When possible, use visual aids (images, video clips, graphs, maps, etc.) to anchor core ideas and provide variety (reducing distractability). Limit presentations to 10-15 minute chunks with alternating activities in between.
   
3. Core content scaffolding: Provide incomplete handouts, review sheets, worksheets, or other printed resources that students work with while listening or doing throughout the evening. Having something to complete keeps them engaged and focused better, plus provides a tangible prompt to assist in recall or homework applications of the evening’s learning outcomes.
   
4. Physical movement: Plan for regular moving around of the students (changing small groups, posting discussion results on newsprint on the walls, etc.). Even standing up and stretching every 30 minutes can make a huge difference in getting blood to the brain!
   
5. Pacing: Besides the “10-minute rule” for presentations, plot the evening schedule around logical sequencing of content focus, but frequent changes in types of activities, such as: present, pair and share a discussion question, watch a video clip and brainstorm “what to do next” in small groups (posting ideas on newsprint to the wall), dot vote on all solutions posed by all groups, short summary of learning outcomes so far, break, present again…etc. Change of any kind helps refocus attention! Complex or challenging tasks need to be broken down into smaller pieces with “report outs,” and potentially handled in the first half of the evening.
   
6. Questions: Allow time at several junctures during the evening for questions. Adult learners often have many and will be more engaged when they are given the opportunity to share and ask.
   
7. Food: If you discover that many of your students come to class without having eaten anything since lunch (or what they did eat won’t give them lasting mental energy), consider asking them if they’d like to take turns bringing something from your “brain food” list to share with the class.

Let’s hear from some of you who have noticed this mental fatigue in your students. What have you found seems to help prevent or alleviate the situation? Click the Comments link below to share your thoughts or ideas, or questions!