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In this edition of ⚗️ DistillED, we’re focusing on Habits of Attention, drawing on the work of Doug Lemov in Teach Like a Champion to explore how attention can be explicitly taught and practised.
In this edition
📊 Do Now: Quick Poll!
When you think about SLANT (or STAR) in classrooms, which best describes your current view?
What are Habits of Attention?
Habits of attention are routines and behaviours that help students deliberately direct, sustain, and signal attention during lessons. You’ve probably heard of Doug Lemov’s (often controversial) technique SLANT (Sit up, Listen, Ask and answer, Nod, Track the speaker) or more recently, STAR (Sit up, Track, Appreciate, Rephrase), as common expressions of this idea.
Contrary to some views expressed on X, the intent of these acronyms is not to enforce a tyrannical culture of compliant automatons. They’re actually routines that shape culture about where students look, how they listen during lessons. They work on the fact that that attention is not automatic — it must be taught, practised, and supported.
“Habits of Attention focus on the small, visible behaviours that allow students to sustain focus and show one another that learning matters.”
Securing students’ attention does not happen by magic. It must be deliberately engineered. In any classroom, building habits of attention helps establish shared expectations for what attention looks like and feels like, creating the conditions for learning to take place. This is articulated clearly by Lemov in Teach Like a Champion:
Essentially, building habits of attention in the classroom are about:
Directing Attention → So that limited working memory isn’t wasted on deciding what to focus on.
Sustaining Attention → So that students can engage in extended explanation, modelling, and hard thinking.
Signalling Engagement → So that attention becomes shared, social, and self-reinforcing.
Building Routines → So that attention becomes habitual rather than effortful.
Here’s a bullet proof list of what habits of attention ARE and ARE NOT:
👎 Habits of attention ARE NOT:
Compliance Theatre → Requiring rigid postures or eye contact for their own sake, without a clear learning purpose (“Sit like this because I said so.”)
Behaviour-Management Shortcut → Using SLANT as a quick fix for off-task behaviour rather than as a support for learning and thinking.
A One-Size-Fits-All Posture Checklist → Enforcing low-value rules (feet flat, hands folded) that add friction and cognitive noise.
A Substitute for Clarity → Expecting attentional routines to compensate for unclear instruction (“They weren’t tracking” instead of “I didn’t explain it well.”)
👍 Habits of attention ARE:
Purpose-Driven Routines → Each attentional behaviour has a why: to focus working memory, support listening, or signal that ideas matter.
A Way to Reduce Cognitive Load → Removing uncertainty about where to look and what to attend to so students can think harder about the content itself.
Social Signals That Build Belonging → Tracking, nodding, and facing speakers communicate value, safety, and encouragement.
Explicitly Taught / Gradually Faded → Modelled, narrated, practised — and reduced over time as habits become internalised.
Why do Habits of Attention Matter?
Attention is the gatekeeper of learning. Before students can be motivated, remember, or understand, they must first attend to what is in front of them. For that reason, attention is not a preference or a negotiation; it is an expectation, because without it students are denied equitable access to learning.
This is echoed in Peps Mccrea’s famous words:
“What we attend to is what we learn. Because what we attend to is what we end up thinking about, and what we think about is what we end up knowing about.”
Research from cognitive science reminds us that working memory is limited. When students have to work out where to look, what matters, or whether it’s safe to contribute, their cognitive resources are sapped before learning even begins. Building habits of attention help by reducing extraneous cognitive load, freeing up mental capacity for thinking and learning.
Lemov also makes a really important point: attention is social. Eye contact, body language, nodding, and orientation signal belonging and value. These cues shape classroom culture and determine whether students feel safe enough to speak, think aloud, or take risks.
Each time students orient their attention deliberately, they’re not just following a routine — they’re practising what it means to be a learner in your classroom. As James Clear reminds us, “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become” (Atomic Habits, 2018). Over time, these repeated actions accumulate to shape a healthy, inclusive classroom ethos.
Ultimately, establishing consistent habits of attention matter because they:
Culture of Learning: Create classrooms where attention, listening, and thinking are visibly valued and socially reinforced.
Cognitive Efficiency: Reduce unnecessary cognitive load by removing ambiguity about where to focus and how to engage.
Equity by Design: Support all learners by teaching attentional habits explicitly, rather than assuming self-regulation.
Autonomy Over Time: Lay the foundations for independence by making attention habitual, predictable, and transferable.
Every teacher needs a method for attention because attention, focus, and hard work are central to teaching. Just look at the focus, participation and success experienced by students in Pritesh Raichura’s class in this clip.
So, how can we introduce carefully chosen habits of attention in our schools and classrooms in ways that make them lived, not laminated?
Let’s dive deeper and explore the process.
How Do I Build Habits of Attention?
Before deciding on an acronym (or using Lemov’s SLANT/STAR), it’s important to recognise that habits of attention don’t work in isolation. Like other high-leverage practices, they depend on culture, clear expectations and consistent follow-through.
Habits of attention work best when four conditions are in place:
Condition 1: Made Explicit: Students know why attention matters, what it looks like for them, and when it’s needed.
Condition 2: Applied Consistently: Attentional routines shape behaviour only when they’re used routinely, not selectively, not punitively.
Condition 3: Reinforced Calmly: Teachers follow through with clarity and warmth, keeping attention normal and non-negotiable.
Condition 4: Rehearsed, Then Faded: Habits are practised until fluent — then prompts are reduced as students self-regulate.
Any shared routine has to allow for reasonable adjustments. If a student genuinely can’t meet certain elements (for example, Tracking due to ASD, sensory needs, or neurological differences), schools are both legally and morally obliged to adapt.
In fact, habits of attention like SLANT often surface these needs rather than create them. They make barriers visible. For example, if a student finds it hard to sit upright, the response isn’t to abandon the habit but to provide support — such as a wobble chair — so the purpose of attention is preserved, even if the form looks different.
Below is a six-step ⚗️DistillED approach inspired by Teach Like a Champion:
Step | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
1. Introduce the Habit (Not the Acronym)
| Introduce habits of attention as tools that make listening, thinking, and discussion easier — before naming SLANT or STAR. | “Before we begin, let’s talk about how we listen in this room. When our attention is in the same place, learning is easier for everyone.” |
2. Teach the Habit
| Introduce only the habit that matters most for the lesson phase (e.g. Track during explanation). Layer others later. | “Right now, I’m just looking for tracking. That helps your brain lock onto the explanation. We’ll add more once this feels automatic… Some of you might track slightly differently, and that’s fine.” |
3. Model the Habit
| Demonstrate the habit, practise it quickly, then return to the learning task. Keep rehearsal short and purposeful. | “Watch how I track the speaker — eyes and body together. This makes listening easier. Let’s practise once, then we’ll get straight back to the work.” |
4. Reinforce the Habit
| Use short cues and positive narration to signal the norm. Correct early, quietly, and with warmth. | “Track Ava, please — her idea matters.”
|
5. Apply the Habit Selectively
| Turn habits on when they support learning (explanation, discussion) and off when they don’t (reading, writing). | “Track me for this part — this step is important.”
|
5. Internalise the Habit
| Reduce reminders over time so habits become internalised. Attention becomes a default, not a constant instruction. | Non-verbal cue:
|
Habits of attention are about creating the conditions for learning, reducing cognitive load, and helping students participate with confidence — not about compliance, posture, or control.
— Jamie
If you want more:
👉 Explore the Attention and Classroom Culture CPD resources in the DistillED+ Hub
👉 Read the DistillED edition on Signalling for Attention
👉 Explore the The Attention and Hard Thinking one-page guides
👉 Get the DistillED Playbooks for practical, evidence-informed classroom practices
📥 Free One-Page Guide
Habits of Attention One-Pager
To help you put these ideas into practice immediately, download the Habits of Attention One-Page Guide — a classroom-ready summary designed to help you secure attention with purpose, reduce cognitive load, and build shared routines that support listening, thinking, and participation over time.
Subscribe for FREE to get this one-page guide
⚗️DistillED+ Exclusive Content
This week, ⚗️DistillED+ members get access to a Habits of Attention CPD PowerPoint and a Printable Habits of Attention Checklist, breaking down how to introduce attentional routines with purpose, reinforce them calmly, and fade prompts over time — so attention supports learning without becoming compliance or constant correction.
Upgrade to DistillED+ to get this content!
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