Attention & learning

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Attention & learning
For learning to take place, attention and memory have to be in place (Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2014). As a teacher, we have to carefully plan by choosing topics or means that most effectively lead to the desired outcome. Sensorial input, especially with young learners, has to be cleverly used by designers so that the process of perception gets amplified (National Geographic, 2014).
For success, count on “emotionally charged stimuli (to) capture attention” (Chun, Golomb & Turk-Browne, 2011, p. 89) and this is what a fellow teacher did when preparing a class on hot/cold concepts for a group of 2 year-olds learning English.
To capture their attention, she brought to class ice cubes and a hair drier. She presented the concepts unitarily using a different location corner in the room. Students felt the stimulus while the teacher enunciated the concept out loud many times (Ex.: Can you feel the cold? Is it too cold for you? Do you like the cold?).
Later, she blindfolded them and asked them to say out loud what stimulus s/he was getting. Students were so attentive, focused and ecstatic, so completely absorbed in the task that the memory retrieval was easily accomplished. The class unfolded into different settings and challenges for students to practice and consolidate the material, but the key factor was orienting students’ attention to the stimuli in a engaging student-centered way that allowed such young minds (with short attention span) to stay focused and maintain their interest throughout the class.
How attentive are you to the sensorial input you can explore in class?
References

Chun, M. M., Golomb, J. D., & Turk-Browne, N. B. (2011). A taxonomy of external and internal attention. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 73-101. Retrieved from http://www.iapsych.com/articles/chun2011.pdf

National Geographic, Discovery, & History TV. (2014). National Geographic Test your Brain 1 of 3 Pay Attention Part 1. [video] (8:54). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEjHmyYJl9c
Tokuhama-Espinosa, t. (2014). Making Classrooms Better: 50 Applications of Mind, Brain and Education Science. New York. WW Norton & Company

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