Surprise, surprise! (Re-)grabbing the attention of students in the university classroom through creative touches

Visit any Higher Education institution, ask students how they are feeling, and questioners are likely to be surprised by a common response: “Bored!”. This controversial claim is substantiated when lecturers honestly reflect on observed ‘bored’ learner behaviours in their own classrooms; these include heavy sighing, dull facial expressions and poor posture. The negative effects that boredom, specifically academic boredom, can have on student attendance, learning and academic success collectively serve as the trigger for this Opinion piece, which advocates surprise as a stimulating approach to (re-)grabbing the attention of students in the university classroom. I passionately argue that surprise can be inspired through the use of creative touches, which is defined and exemplified with both real and imagined practice to aid reader understanding and appreciation. A suite of stimulating surprises, in the form of practical ideas, is offered in the latter part of the Opinion piece for reader reflection, selection, adaptation and implementation, the aim being to stimulate impending/future practice that helps readers (as lecturers) to (re-)grab the attention of university students in their respective classrooms.