It's that time of year when spring fever seems to spread quickly from student to student and even reaches an educator or two (I've definitely had a few attacks over the years). Symptoms include: lack of concentration during classroom discussions; looking longingly out the windows; and a tendency to put less effort into tasks.
While the only known cure is summer vacation, here are strategies I've devised over the years that help limit the damage spring fever causes in my classes.
1. Get students outside whenever you can
This might be an obvious solution, but it can really help. If you are teaching in an environment that allows the class to be held outdoors, do so. PowerPoint presentations are difficult to share, but in my experience as a teacher, having students sit in a circle on the grass can foster better classroom discussions.
This method is well suited to the liberal arts, but can work for science as well. One of the most memorable biology labs of my college career occurred when the professor took us on a warm spring excursion along a campus walking trail, pointing out some of the flora and fauna we were studying in our textbooks. text.
2. Give students opportunities to be active
Especially in cold winter climates, it can be difficult to stay still and stay indoors during the first warm days of the months. That's why this is a good time of year to reveal the most active activities in the classroom and get students up and doing activities on their own.
In my classes that means more writing assignments and some scavenger hunt-type campus explorations. For example, you could send students out of the classroom for 20 minutes to do some reporting on people on the street with others on campus, and then come back and report the quotes they received. (This, of course, doesn't work in all educational settings, but you can adjust it as needed.)
3. Let class out early
Some educators will be embarrassed by this, and I debated not including it. But I can go on record as saying that leaving a class a few minutes early is perfectly fine, especially on beautiful, warm days. After all, time is a poor way to measure learning, and for the subjects I teach (writing and journalism) I think the most important lessons take place outside the classroom, when students research and write their stories.
On the other hand, as a student, nothing bothered me more than when I realized that a professor had reached the end of class and was letting time run out with irrelevant comments.
Of course, early dismissal is not plausible in many K-12 settings, and even in college, you want to avoid doing it so often that students expect it.
4. Reward certain students by eliminating assignments
This might be another controversial idea, but nothing can reduce spring fever symptoms like telling a student they can skip an assignment. This “treatment” should be used in moderation and only with caution.
For example, I only use it for students who have earned it by demonstrating subject matter proficiency and having them complete a term paper or assignment seems like nothing more than a monotonous, required task.
A variation of this technique is to modify an assignment so that it focuses more on an area in which the student still needs improvement. For example, perhaps a student of mine in a journalism class has demonstrated that he can write good summaries of events but still has difficulty with one-on-one interviews. Instead of telling them a complete story, he might ask them to interview someone else and discuss that experience with me.
Students really appreciate this individualized treatment and, in my experience, learn more as a result. They also get to spend a little more time outdoors doing something they enjoy, and that's important to offer to our students when we can too.
