1. How to Deal with Varying Attention Spans in a Classroom Claire Ferguson University of Cincinnati, Middle Childhood Education in Language Arts and Mathematics
Why I Chose This Topic
I chose this topic because as a child I often struggled to pay attention in class because my teachers always taught in the same way. Lectures, note taking, and homework may have gotten me A’s, but I was never really interested in learning and I never enjoyed going to school. As a teacher, I want to be able to inspire my students so that they look forward to coming to school and grow up with a passion for learning.
How can I adapt a classroom in order to deal with the rapidly developing attention spans of students?
The purpose of this study was to investigate how to adapt a classroom of pre-adolescent students with varying attention spans. I wanted to focus on how students at different ages will be able to focus in a classroom and find new ways to help students learn based on learning styles and interests. Some of my research had to do with stages of development from Exploring Lifespan Development, which taught me what students’ minds and bodies are experiencing. I also used observation and outside research to think of ways to apply my learning to a future classroom.
Results
Through my observations and research, I have found that attention levels in 6-11 year-olds are always developing. Younger children can pay less attention than older children so it is important to understand this in a classroom setting in which children are in the same grade, but may be up to 12 months apart.
There are many ways that you can vary lesson plans to make it more useful and interesting to young kids. Physical activity is one very effective way of engaging students throughout the day. Another way is to add examples to lectures or math examples that are relevant to students lives because they will bring their attention to a subject if they find it is useful to them. Group work is very helpful in helping students to learn, but it is crucial that students are grouped with others who are different than them so that they can broaden their way of looking at certain problems.
It is important to test out the waters to see how well your students can pay attention and go from there. If a class has a higher attention span, less variation in lesson plans is needed, but if a class has a lower attention span it is important to change up the lessons to help them keep up instead of being drowned in lectures or individual assignments. It is extremely important to teach students at all levels new skills to pay attention, retain information, and learn more. As a teacher and role model, it is crucial to not only teach students textbook materials, but also to teach the necessary skills needed to succeed in life.
Observations
For my observations this semester, I observed the children who were customers at my job as a waitress at Skyline Chili. Sunday’s are “Kid’s Eat Free” day. There are many children who come in every week with family and friends whom I’ve gotten to know pretty well over the years of working there. However, doing observations in order to relate my experiences to what we have learned in class and in relation to my inquiry question really showed me things that I had never paid attention to before.
Through my observations, I found that gender differences often play a big role in what students are interested in. Many children that came in with big groups sat with either all girls or all boys. The girls talked and played in ways that were very different to that of the boys. This showed me that as a teacher, I need to make sure I incorporate lessons and activities that are interesting to both genders. If students are not interested in a certain subject or activity, they will be less likely to pay attention to what they are supposed to be doing. I also need to keep in mind that when picking their own groups, students will most likely stay with those of their own gender. Although this may keep students more interested in the activity because they feel that they are with others with the same interests as them, it can be distracting and not always helpful. Teachers should also make groups with a mix of boys and girls in order to broaden students thinking which will lead to better attention in a classroom.
I also found that physical activity is very important to pre-adolescent children. Many kids came in from sporting events and retell the events of their games. It is obvious how important these sports are to the lives of young kids. Teachers can try using examples about sports teams and games to help students not only pay attention to a lesson, but also retain the information. In relation to this and regarding more closely to attention span, many kids, especially younger ones, had trouble sitting still through dinner and got up to run around, play, and interact with employees that they liked or friends that they saw from across the room. This showed me that in a classroom, students from ages 6-11 will struggle paying attention throughout an entire day without physical activity. In order to adapt lesson plans according to this physical need, teachers can incorporate movement using games or interactive stations.
Background Literature
Important Terms:
Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage: Children can reason logically about concrete, tangible information
Memory Strategies: Rehearsal, organization, and elaboration; combine with age
Traditional Classroom: the teacher is the sole authority for knowledge, rules, and decision making
Constructivist Classroom: teachers encourage students to construct their own knowledge
Self-Concept: how an individual views him or herself
According to Exploring Lifespan Development, middle childhood students have rapidly developing attention spans. They become more selective and can adapt and plan more easily. They can use organizational memory strategies, but often have trouble using these skills to pay attention, which is so crucial to succeed in school.
Wilson and Korn’s article “Attention during Lectures Beyond Ten Minutes,” explains that after the first ten minutes of a lecture, students’ attention levels decrease enormously and then fluctuates throughout the lecture according to their interest in the subject and the presentation being given. This being said it is important to change from the traditional classroom set-up in order to keep the attention of students. According to L. Sagan’s article, teachers should use feedback from students in order to meet the needs of students in the classroom. When students feel that they are being heard, they are more willing to comply and work with teachers. B. Boller’s article suggests that teaching middle school students organizational skills will help them get more assignments done, which obviously leads to success in a classroom. Finally, N. Jackson’s article, “End on a High Note,” gives examples of projects that keep students’ interests and learning styles in mind to keep the attention of middle school students towards the end of the year. e
Professional Implications
This experience of observing and researching my inquiry question has really prepared me for my future career as a teacher. I now can understand more of what to expect in an actual classroom. All students learn in different ways and it is important to understand this as a teacher. By using differentiated instruction according to different learning styles, I will be able to incorporate the interest of students in order for them to pay attention more easily and learn up to their full potential.
References
 Berk, Laura E. "9-10." Exploring Lifespan Development. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Print.
Boller, B. (2008). Teaching Organizational Skills in Middle School: Moving toward Independence. Clearing House, 81(4),
Jackson, N. (2013). End on a High Note. Instructor, 122(6),
Sagan, L. L. (2010). Students' Choice: Recommendations for Environmental and Instructional Changes in School. Clearing House, 83(6),
Wilson, K., & Korn, J. H. (2007). Topical Articles: Attention during Lectures--Beyond Ten Minutes. Teaching Of Psychology, 34(2),