Many professors use the following techniques to get students’ attention and keep them engaged during class.
- Greet students at the door when they enter the classroom.
- Start the class on time.
- Give a pre-test on the day’s topic.
- Start the lecture with a puzzle, question, paradox, picture, or cartoon on slide or transparency in order to focus on the day’s topic.
- Elicit student questions and concerns at the beginning of the class and list these on the chalkboard to be answered during the hour.
- Ask the person who is reading the student newspaper what is in the news today.
