The Science of Attention: How To Capture And Hold The Attention of Easily Distracted Students

This article explains the complexity of students and attention-span, offering some useful strategies to keep students actively engaged. "We can see that it’s effective to “break-up” lectures with periods of active learning, not only because of increased attention during such activities, but also because of the indirect boost in attention that can occur during lecture periods immediately following such activities." Some strategies listed here:

1. Change the level and tone of your voice.

2. Use props or visuals.

3. Make a startling statement or give a quote.

4. Write a challenging question on the board.

5. Choose relevant examples.

6. Teach at the right level of difficulty.

7. Involve students in lectures.

8. Use humor.

9. Establish the routine, task, and time limit.

10. Plan carefully and fully; make the plan apparent to students.

11. Divide target skills into manageable subskills.

12. Establish clear roles.

13. Introduce change and surprise.

14. Stress relevance and concreteness.

15. Tell stories.