As an educator or a teacher, you want your students to excel. Did you know that teaching is the one and only profession that teaches all other professions? As a teacher, you have a responsibility on your shoulders. Mismanagement of time can cause problems for students and teachers.
Time management is vital in the education business. If you want the student to excel in life and their career, you ought to manage your time efficiently. That’s why we have two solutions: short sessions and long sessions.
In this post, we will talk about the perks of long and short sessions. But our main focus is on how to make students smarter by managing class time. Let’s dive into the article.
The Pros of Short Sessions
It is a myth that students want longer sessions. Why do schools and colleges offer break time? There is recess for a reason.
A human being’s attention span is 20 minutes. If they sit in a class for more than 20 minutes, it is possible that the student will lose interest. After 20 minutes, they will start looking at their watch or simply look at the ceiling or find another activity to do.
If the teacher is indulging in instruction-based learning (a classroom setting where the teacher does most of the talking), it should not be more than 20 minutes.
Hold that thought! Does that mean that long sessions are not productive? Read the next section to find out why long sessions are as good as short sessions.
The Pros of Long Sessions
You may think that long sessions are boring and how could one sit in the class for more than 20 minutes. Longer sessions are ideal for deep learning, but it does not mean that they will last for 1.5-2 hours.
Teachers can give 10-minute breaks in between. Native speaking language tutors and classroom teachers usually conduct a 2-hour lecture. But they give breaks in between for students to catch their breath, eat some food, chat with their friends or whatever their heart desires.
Longer sessions allow teachers to showcase their creativity. It also gives rise to group activities.
Thus, a longer session can be interesting wherein a teacher gives you activities or some worksheets to fill up. After explaining a concept, ask the student to write the theory in their own words or translate a paragraph into another language.
You could also show them videos, pictures, and other visual representations to captivate their attention.
After a 45-minute long intense teaching session, give a break to the student and let them discuss the topic with their friends or just relax their mind.
Are there any cons of longer sessions?
There are no cons of longer sessions as long as you are giving students a break in between.
However, if a student misses the class, they have a lot more to catch up on.
Shorter sessions are easier to grasp. In case you are giving a longer lesson, make sure you include a lot of activities and include student-teacher interaction as well.
You should not give a lecture for more than 30-40 minutes. Simply listening to you for an hour can be tiring and monotonous. Consider adding some fun and mind-boggling activities.
Concluding Thoughts
Now that you are aware of the pros and cons of long and short sessions, we would advise you to think of several activities that could keep the student engaged.
In online classes, you have to win the attention of a student. It is easy for them to turn off their video and record the class to watch it later. But if you are giving long lessons, give a break to the student and grasp their attention by adding fun activities. This helps to make students smarter and sharper!