Pay attention !

Pay attention !

Hey I got an idea where I test my students’ attention once in a while, to see whether they are paying attention or otherwise.

The normal way is to test them on what you have delivered. It means we test their understanding on what they have heard.

My way is quite simple, when I see a few of my students in class were doing something else, in front of others who are paying attention, I would open my right hand and show them, holding a small piece of chalk with my left hand finger, I put it on my right palm, and close my right hand into a fist.

Then I ask them, what is in my hand?  To a student who pays attention to me all the time , this will be a silly question, but to a student who is not looking at me while I talk this question is very baffling.

When they just could not answer,  they are going to look awkward in front of 24 students.

Then I ask others who are paying undivided attention to me, “What is in my hand?” The answer is chalk.

Then you ask him/her, why did you get it wrong? The answer is you don’t pay attention to the class.

And you can add a few more harsh sentences afterwards.

Then you continue with the class.

After that, there is a clear message drawn, You pay attention to the lesson, and I pay attention to you.

If you don’t I am still going to pay attention to you after all.