So often in high school and already in my college experience, I have found that I, along with many of my peers, cannot focus for the entire scheduled length of a class. I find myself looking at my phone, doodling, or day dreaming not because the material in class doesn’t interest me, but because I actually cannot focus for the entire 50 minutes-1 hour 15 minutes classes that I have.
W. J. McKeachie talks about in his book, McKeachie’s Teaching Tips, how unless professors create something interactive for the students to participate in during class, that they will not be able to pay attention for the duration of class. Other professors, like D. A Bligh, say that students will not be able to pay attention during the first five and the last five minutes of class. Even other people, like D. A. Sousa say that “students’ processing of information during lecture is dependent upon their motivation. The more motivated students pay attention longer than the less motivated. He suggests that unmotivated students pay attention for an average of 10-20 min. This means that a teacher may see the beginning effects of attention decline after 10 min of lecturing. Sousa suggests that lectures be broken up into 15-20 min segments to address this problem”pub.acs.org.
According to Bunce, D.M., Flens, E.A., and Neiles, K.Y., “Students consistently reported fewer lapses when teachers were using non lecture pedagogies, including things like demonstrations, group work, and clicker questions”. This means that students were more likely to pay attention in class and keep that attention longer if professors were using different teaching methods other than lecturing. Creating a change of pace for students helps with their attention span, something that I have learned from being taught in many classes over the years.
Professors from Indiana University — Joan Middendorf and Alan Kalish concluded from previous studies that“Having established that students’ attention maxed out at around 10 or 15 minutes, they did not question whether hour-long lectures should be the dominant use of class time. Instead, they recommended that teachers insert “change-ups” at various points in their lectures, “to restart the attention clock.” This may have been a pragmatic incremental step, but if attention lasted 10 or 15 minutes while passively listening, it is questionable why valuable time in classrooms with teachers and peers should be devoted to lecture at all”.
Overall, teachers can easily fight the science behind why students cannot pay attention for long spurts of time in lectures. Breaking up the lectures and setting aside time for students to focus their attention on something different than just taking notes and listening to a lecture can be very beneficial to the students. As a result, teachers will begin to see marked improvement in the interest of the students. Hopefully, the teachers will also see a marked improvement in grades!!
Coming from a high school with an hour and thirty minute classes, I find it easier to pay attention in my 50 minute classes! However, I do agree that the attention span of students is very short. According to this article, a student’s attention span ranges from 10 to 15 minutes. Professors should try to make classes interactive for students, so that it’s easier for us to pay attention and get involved. I am not a fan of just hearing lectures!