Lacking attention span of current students
Have you ever observed that you quit reading articles before they reach their conclusion? Or the fact that professional development books are shorter in length? Are email and Twitter affecting your attention span? Many people notice these changes in their own behavior as well as the behavior of their students in class. This attention reduction alters the way information is gathered and, as a result, will have an impact on how students perceive education.
We all know how easy a sound from our smartphones may distract us, and how tough it is for most of us to ignore it. How many times have you let your mind wander during a meeting or a conference, and a phone check has become the norm? After all, we do have the capacity to control our attention, thus we use the word “allowed.” Most things receive only a fraction of our attention. Students who listen while texting divide their focus between their physical location and their mental location. Videos that currently appear on Facebook and Twitter are the most recent adaptation of short attention span education. There’s only one notion, one idea, and one instruction…no reading required.
How information is communicated in the world outside of school has an impact on pupils’ attention spans. The distraction from the present is growing, thanks to buzzing in pockets and peer pressure to be always connected and ready. Even if it isn’t yours, the beep acts as a magnet, drawing you into the world beckoning from your smartphone. The level of student participation has dropped dramatically.
The requirement to strengthen an attention “muscle” must be balanced against the declining capacity to focus. We don’t want the focus to be lost as a result of shortened lessons and less time on task in the name of “responding to the students’ needs.” Refusing to acknowledge our distractibility, on the other hand, puts us in a lose-lose situation. Focus and time on task, both critical elements, are in jeopardy. It is the role of educators to attract and hold students’ attention, regardless of their level of interest or attention when they walk through the door. How can teachings evolve overtime to capture students’ attention and inspire them to learn? What considerations do instructors and the leaders who supervise them make to help their students develop greater attention spans? How should educators in charge of lesson preparation and school activities attempt to catch and hold the attention of the kids in their charge if their own attention span is at risk?
Now is a great time to look at what students are being challenged to do as learners across the board. Inquire about how and where their various abilities and interests, as well as distractions and limitations, affect their ability to learn. What can we do to counteract the societal effect that has influenced how we do business in our personal lives as well as in our professional lives? It’s a crucial aspect of how schools think about the subject.
