Say goodbye to bored students

Educators can’t just blame classroom boredom on students’ lack of interest. Through time, energy and planning, we must find ways to emotionally engage our students and ensure that they are learning what is being taught rather than just regurgitating information back at us for an exam. It is our role as educators to create a stimulating learning environment, and research is showing that this is beneficial for both our students and ourselves.

Academic boredom is detrimental to academic success as it hinders learning. Bored students are easily distracted and more likely to skip class and so ultimately miss out on deep learning.

Boredom is common but not a given. To counteract it, educators can foster emotional connections between their students and learning to increase engagement and mitigate its negative effects.

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In this, the second of three articles about how emotions can promote greater student engagement and learning, we look at practical actions teachers can take to tackle student boredom.

What exactly is boredom?

Boredom stands out as a predominant reported emotion among students, as the research on emotions in classroom settings continues to evolve. Boredom is the negative experience of being uninvolved and wanting to withdraw. It is typically expressed physically, in gestures such as facial expressions, posture and sighing. In an academic setting, boredom is expressed in students not being able to engage and focus on a task – they might struggle to pay attention to a lecture, participate in class discussion, complete assignments or do the required reading. When students are bored, they tend to daydream or zone out or they shift their attention to other things.

It was once believed that boredom could drive students to be more motivated and strive more. However, growing research demonstrates the opposite, showing that higher boredom is associated with poorer academic outcomes. While it used to be accepted that emotions had no place in classroom settings, we now understand that meaningful learning cannot take place without an emotional connection.

How can university teachers decrease boredom and increase student engagement?

Student boredom is often related to teaching characteristics, lack of interest in the class content and lack of stimulation. Here are eight actions that turn boredom into engagement:

1. Use students’ interests to build intrinsic motivation. Ensuring that the learning materials link to relevant, real-world applications will emphasise the value and relevance of the course for students and support their motivation to learn. Provide a stable course structure that gives students choice or control based on their interests.
2. Teach with enthusiasm. When you exhibit emotional investment in your lecture, your students are more likely to reciprocate this feeling, triggering greater interest and engagement. If you notice that your students lack engagement, try upping your level of genuine enthusiasm and consider shifting the lesson plan.
3. Create stimulating lesson plans. Engage your students rather than just lecturing at them. Provide opportunities for classroom discussion, cooperative learning and reflection.
4. Keep expectations realistic. Content should be cognitively challenging but not so difficult that students lose interest.
5. Ask your students how they feel. Pay attention to and care about your audience. If your students appear to be bored, try to find out why. Communicate and collaborate with your students to make class more enjoyable for everyone.
6. Break up long lectures. When giving a long lecture, include short breaks to allow students (and yourself!) to stretch and reset. Be mindful in your approach to re-engage students after a break.
7. Actively engage students in the learning environment. Involve your students in the learning materials through discussion, choice and group tasks. For example, provide topic options for assessment; opportunities to show understanding through different methods; or choice of readings. Encourage them to reflect on how they connect with the learning materials.
8. Seek feedback. Student evaluations, teacher-peer observation and informal avenues are ways to gain feedback on your teaching. Use it to find out what worked well and how you can improve and make it more engaging for future students.

Bored students don't learn effectively. Students need motivation and emotional engagement to successfully learn and apply that knowledge to the real world. Reflection of your own teaching characteristics, learning activities and student feedback can help you best capture the interest of all your students. This will allow you to shift your teaching or provide a brief break to refresh and re-engage your students. Ultimately, it will create a more positive learning environment for everyone and will provide greater opportunities for student success.

Annemaree Carroll is head of the Science of Learning Research Centre Learning Lab; Amanda Bourgeois is a research fellow in the Learning Lab; Alexandra Osika is a research assistant in the Learning Lab working in higher education, all at the University of Queensland. The Science of Learning Research Centre Learning Lab at the School of Education at the University of Queensland brings together multidisciplinary researchers and interprofessional partners with the aim of transforming learning across the lifespan.

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