Daniel T. Willingham: “Whatever students think about is what they will remember.” Why Don’t Students Like School? p 41.
The second post in this series on Cognitive Load Theory starts at the beginning - attention. Delve into the various media on why attention is important and how to secure attention in the classroom.
Podcasts
on the go
#170 How to secure 100% student engagement with Pritesh Raichura on Mr Barton Maths Podcast
This episode with Pritesh Raichura and Craig Barton changed my whole thinking on classroom instruction and engagement. The engagement strategies that were once so foreign to me are now embedded in everything I do in the classroom.
The Science of Paying Attention with Mike Hobbiss, Mind the Gap, Ep.107 (S6,E5) starting at 13:09 with Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner
This great episode with Mike Hobbiss digs deep into the many aspects of attention. His post on attention is also linked below.
Articles
quick reads
Series on attention by Peps Mccrea on Evidence Snacks
This series of posts on attention are perfect for quick but “nutrient” packed highlights on different aspects of attention.
Checks for Listening: 100% Participation | Bunsen Blue by Pristesh Raichura
Checks for Listening an easy to implement strategy to quickly build into your instruction and help your students become engaged participants in their learning.
Computers in the Classroom: “Pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things” by Brett Benson SOL in the Wild
This is something new I am trying this year in my classroom - chromebooks only for district and state assessments. My biggest struggle has been figuring out high quality resources and activities for my students to use when they have extra time. But it has been well worth the effort. And most of the extra time is filled up with reading.
Limited capacity attention – what are the implications for education? – The Hobbolog by Michael Hobbiss
This is a very interesting piece about the first “bottleneck” to learning - attention. Similar to working memory, attention also has a limited capacity. This post also links to several other posts and video that Michael has written or recorded about attention.
Video
mini courses
Sit Up, Look, Listen: The Controversial Classroom Method with Emi Horbach and Peps Mccrea
This is a great video on SLANT from Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion, “Habits of Attention”. One piece that stood out to me was how SLANT can create equity in the classroom by providing an optimal learning environment for all students.
Episode 1 — Harnessing Attention from Steplab’s “Great Teaching Unpacked”
I cannot say enough about the absolute brilliance of these videos. This first episode in the “Great Teaching Unpacked” series focuses on attention. Watch amazing teachers secure attention in elementary and secondary classrooms.
Books
settle in for a good read
Teaching One-Pagers: Evidence-informed summaries for busy educational professionals by Jamie Clark
One of my favorite go-to books, Jamie has an entire section devoted to attention with each One-Pager focusing on the more nuanced aspects of securing attention.
Do I Have Your Attention? Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning by Blake Harvard
An absolute must have in your education library! This book is very accessible for teachers and packed to the brim with practical classroom application for securing attention.
I love the idea of students using chrome books just for testing. Where I'm at, we are expected to have students use certain programs for reading and math a certain number of minutes per day/week. I limit it to the minimum number of minutes and pull my friends who need the most support during that time because they tend to get stuck if just left to working on a program. And as a parent, my 4th and 6th graders are required to use their chrome books all day and I don't like it!!!!