Sitting in a classroom for hours at a time has got to be one of the most draining experiences that a student could go through.
The feeling of disappointment that rushes over your body as you are signing up for classes only to find the class that you want to take is two hours long is a feeling that many of us have experienced.
It is a given that you will have plenty of tasks to accomplish when attending college, but to add extra time to classes that you are already required to take seems absurd.
Classes that are longer than the usual hour and fifteen minutes are not the best solution when it comes to your education. By spending multiple hours in one classroom and being lectured on the same subject is a mental overload.
According to Tenney School: “Even college-level students only have an average attention span of about ten minutes, particularly when it comes to sitting in a chair and listening to instruction. Any lecture that lasts longer than that is sure to end with students missing a chunk of the instructional material as their minds wander.”
While it is almost impossible to squeeze an entire lecture into just ten minutes, it is not a great strategy to lecture for hours. Finding a solid middle ground is the best solution.
Another important aspect of shortened class periods is there’s so much information to cover, there is no time to spend on useless discussion, therefore having a better chance of keeping the class session on track.
“Learning time is maximized as teachers work quickly to incorporate the day’s necessary instruction,” Tenney School said.
Since I have begun college, the longest class that I have had was two and a half hours long. While I greatly enjoyed the subject and everything I was taught, it was definitely a struggle to do the same thing for such a long period of time.
Therefore, class periods should not exceed an hour and fifteen minutes.
It becomes common to see students drift off and not engage in the lecture in classes that are so time-consuming. It is also frequent to see students miss class quite often or not even bother to show up after just a few weeks of the start of class.
Some may argue that because we are now in college, we need to just endure it and realize that is what it takes to be in the level of education that we are currently at; however, by saying this is just something you have to inevitably go through, potential students may turn away from particular classes despite how great they are.
While I do understand some information needs a more in-depth description, I do not think teaching for long periods at a time is the best way for students to further their knowledge on the subject matter.
“It becomes common to see students drift off and not engage in the lecture in classes that are so time-consuming.”
Cammie Johnson, DSN Staff
Instead of these long classes, Dixie State University should replace classes that have a longer time frame with classes with a shorter meeting period and are pushed out between more days.
Students can also take the initiative to talk with their professors about possible ways to make a longer class period far more appealing.
Asking if there can be a set time for breaks throughout the class or setting a designated portion to have a discussion on the related topic are a few possibilities to bring up to your professor when presenting your concerns about the class time.
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