Attention Please!

⚗️ Hello, and thanks for opening the first edition of DistillED! In this issue, we’re turning our focus to the foundation of all learning: attention!

At our school, we're about to embark on our new professional growth journey. Our Growth Foundations all-staff workshops are designed to deepen our collective understanding of the learning process. Establishing a shared grasp of the key elements in our learning model provides a strong foundation for building consistent, evidence-informed practice across the school.

The Simple Model of the Mind (visualised below) offers a clear framework for how learning works. It includes:

• Attention and Environment – filtering out distractions and attending to learning

• Working Memory – the mental space where active thinking happens

• Long-Term Memory – the destination for knowledge that sticks

• Learning – the result of hard thinking and memory retention

• Remembering - the act of retrieving information to strengthen memory

What is the big deal about attention?

Attention is important because it is the gateway to learning. To secure students’ attention is not easy—students don’t always focus on what we want them to. This can be down to distractions in the environment—from classroom displays, poorly designed slides to off-task chatter—compete for mental bandwidth.

Educational psychologist Daniel Willingham explains that students actively learn what they think about. In other words, if students are thinking about what’s for lunch or how to sharpen a pencil or how pretty your PowerPoint images are, that’s what will be remembered—not the learning intention. Educators must carefully design lessons that promote hard thinking.

Why does attention matter?

Research from cognitive science tells us that working memory is limited—we can only juggle a few pieces of information at once (Sweller et al., 2019). If students’ attention is divided or directed at the wrong things, they simply don’t have the cognitive capacity to process new information effectively.

Without attention, even the best-planned lesson falls flat. So, how can we manage the environment and actively secure attention to ensure that learning occurs?

How do I secure students’ attention?

Here are five practical ways to help students focus on what matters most:

1) Start strong with a ‘Do Now’
Begin lessons with a short, focused task that activates prior knowledge and sets the tone. Make it routine, visible, and independent. For example, a short retrieval quiz or question as students enter.

2) Minimise distractions
Simplify your slide decks. Reduce the clutter. Seat students strategically to avoid distractions. Small tweaks to the environment free up attention.

3) Build attentional habits
Develop an attentional cue to signal for attention. For example, you might say “1, 2…” and students respond in unison: “Eyes on you”.

4) Use accountable questioning
Keep students cognitively on the hook. Cold call or use “turn and talk,” to ensure all students know they may be invited to share.

5) Use visuals to direct attention
Highlight key content with arrows, bold text or text callouts. Use deliberate pauses and gestures when explaining or modelling processes.

Where can I find out more?

Below are three places to find out more about securing attention!

Teacher CPD Academy Online Course
If you have an InnerDrive Teaching CPD Academy membership, I’d to take the course Improving Attention by Blake Harvard.

One-Pager Guide
Read my A3 guide: Securing Attention: Strip Out Classroom Distractions and Maintain Cognitive Focus.

The Classroom Management Handbook
I’d recommend to check out Mark Dowley and Ollie Lovell’s book to find practical ways to manage and guide attentional in the classroom through clear routines.

Until next time — stay curious, stay clear!

Jamie

P.S. If this issue sparked something useful, feel free to forward it to a colleague.