Mid-semester slump?

Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire. —William Yeats (1865-1939)

Many instructors are now facing what I call a mid-semester slump. At this point, many students appear to have become less motivated to come to class or go online. They might feel they know their instructor by now (or think they do) and what he or she is going to say or do in the class. The instructor might find it more difficult to develop interactive student collaboration (online or on-site). What can instructors do to spice up their classes yet still maintain their learning objectives? Here are some suggestions, some from hard work and experience, some from the experts.

• Break up classes into different segments. If you lecture, give student groups a chance to present on specific topics or bring in guest speakers (You can do this online in the discussion forum, as well). If you use PowerPoint slides, slip in a couple of slides with multimedia or a video the students might not expect! Interject an impromptu survey on a course topic and count the votes as to whether to use these questions on the final exam.
• Give students additional options for graded assignments, such as portfolios/e-portfolios, projects, or presentations.
• Instead of one class lecture, offer a library research or a WebQuest project to further their learning on course topics.
• Let students create their own final exam questions and present them to the class. If students in the class agree, add the questions to a database for instructor use in creating the final exam. (This gives students input into the assessment process.)
• Do frequent course/instructor evaluations—perhaps every couple of weeks. Online you could use the survey tool so students can give suggestions anonymously (Course management systems such as WebCT or Blackboard offer this option), and in the classroom use half-paper sheets with just one question (e.g., What course comments or suggestions do you have for us this week?). These impromptu evaluations give instructors valuable feedback and allow greater student participation. You might even get some great suggestions about how to combat mid-semester slump!

Please feel free to submit your suggestions on how to combat mid-semester slump!