A colleague called me recently because he was frustrated about a student who was constantly sleeping in his class. The Instructor had a private conversation with the student who told him that he works at night to pay for school and doesn’t want to “miss the class”. The student is carrying a B average in the course and the Instructor does not know how to respond.
Have you had a similar experience in your class and what words of advice can you offer the Instructor?
This is a very difficult situation. Because of the constant rising cost of college, this can be a very common situation. There are several things I think you have to consider, but the goal is to ensure the well-being of the student and helping him make the decisions that will be best for him.
At our school there would first be an attempt to determine how well the student is performing in his other classes. If the problem seems to be localized to the one course, there may not be a serious problem and then it may be up to the indivdual instructor to discuss how sleeping in class is going to impact his grade in that class.
If it is determined that the student is struggling in other classes, there should be an attempt to reach out to the student. This could indicate that the student is really headed for a situation that could get out of control quickly.
Most important, is the question of the student’s (and his familiy’s) ability to handle the financial burden of paying for college. If he’s attending a school were the tuition is higher than his ability to pay, or paying the tuition means the student will have to borrow in excess of $50k over four years he really needs to speak with a financial aid professional to determine if there’s any additional grant / scholarship aid availible. If not, he really needs to consider a more affordable option.
It sounds like the student’s workload may be the primary problem. But sometimes our teaching methods put people to sleep. When we lecture for 50 minutes straight, students are more likely to nod off. It’s harder to sleep in a class that requires involvement: asking and answering questions, talking in pairs or groups, in-class writing or problem solving activities. . .
I agree with “Anonymous” and would like to add that cooperative learning activities whereas each group does a short presentation as a culminating activity usually provides enough stimulation to “wake-up” the “sleepiest” of students.
Sounds like the student is in over his head. I think the teacher needs to have a heart to heart conversation with the student to see how realistic working and going to school at the same time is for him. Maybe a push in the direction of the financial aid personnel is the best solution. They can probably find him a better way to finance his schooling so he can attend class and stay awake.
I assume almost anyone who teaches extensively has had a student fall asleep now and then. Of course, many of our students are working too much as well as taking too many courses.
I have sometimes sat next to the student who soon wakes up from the louder sound of my lecturing, in which case the class laughs as does the sleeper, seeing me smiling as well. The slight embarrassment factor sems to keep anyong sleeping in that class to a minimum.
I have considered trying out using clickers with numerous questions throughout the class period, that I would think can keep the entire class involved. Has anyone had any experience with them?