Promoting Student Attention

Outline

• Content and engagement: The content presented introduces the 3 types of attention, the 4 interferences to these types of attention, root causes of these interferences, and how to match strategies for attention to these root causes. They will receive a graphic organizer leading them through each of these topics that build on each other as a process to select strategies to create conditions for classroom attention. The audience will be engaged with questions about these topics, and in an activity for each topic with attention reflections about the activities, as shown in the 4 sections and related times below.

• Time: The first two components of what attention is and attention interferences will be addressed during the first 20 minutes. The second 20 minutes will address how to identify root causes of inattention. The last 20 minutes will be dedicated to aligning root causes to strategies for creating conditions for classroom attention.

• Process: Individual reflection, peer-to-peer interaction, and whole group discussion are included in the process listed below.

1. What are three types of attention?
:00-:04 - As participants enter the room, they will see the question on the screen, “what is attention?” along with cards on their table with the same question and an invitation to write their answers to the question on the card.

:04-:07 – Participants will conduct a “swap meet” strategy, where they share what they wrote on their card with another person, swap the card with them, then share with another person 1 or two more times.

:07-:10 – The presenter will show and describe with an example the three types of attention and acknowledge that what everyone wrote will fit into the three types and how they fit. The presenter will ask for any examples from the cards and share how they fit into the types and where they fit in areas of better fit (e.g., answers about inattention).

2. What are 4 attention interferences?
:10-:17 – The presenter will show four attention interferences and ask individuals to recall the swap meet activity and identify which of the 4 interferences they may have had as they started, conducted, or finished the activity. The presenter will define the interferences, and connect the examples from the audience to the 4 interferences. If there is time, the presenter will also tie the 3 types of attention to the activity to enhance understanding of the three types.

3. What are 5 root causes of inattention?
:17-:20 the presenter will direct the participants to a handout that lists inattention assessment steps of identifying an off task behavior, hypothesizing an attention interference, observing, and finding a root cause of inattention. The presenter will walk the participants through an example from their own inattention example, then an example of a student. The presenter will ask participants to follow along with their own self-example or an example of a student that they have in mind, whichever is most accessible for the exercise.

:20-:30 The presenter will direct the participants to jot down their initial notes in the 4 steps, then have a peer discussion their steps.

:30-:40 The presenter will either choose a participant to share or lead a participant in sharing their assessment steps. The presenter will fill in the blanks with what the hypotheses on the steps mean, ways to observe, and how to find the root causes.

4. What are principles of attention and associated strategies that match the root causes of inattention?

:40-:45 The presenter will share the 5 principles for promoting attention and how each aligns to the root causes of inattention, sharing examples of how to select the principle and associated strategies within the principle.

:45-:51 The presenter will provide individual and peer time for participants to plan on trying the assessment approach and / or a strategy for creating classroom conditions for attention. During the last 20 minutes, some participants may also elect to ask questions and comment on the first three topics as they are the foundation for the forth. The presenter will facilitate differentiated interests and questions during the last activity and close with a summary.

Supporting research

The session is based on the research-based book on Promoting Student Attention. https://ascd.org/books/promoting-student-attention?variant=122014