While reading James Lang’s newest guidebook for college teachers, I shared one of the ideas with my English 1 students: “Attention is a gift that students and professors give to each other.” I asked them how their teachers cultivate and sustain their attention. I got an earful – and their observations align perfectly with the strategies in this book. For example, the students said that they like interactive classes, when teachers demonstrate interest in what students say instead of “monologuing” too long. Lang recommends strategies that address all of these, which, as it turns out, often result in better learning outcomes.
Lang, James M. Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It. Basic Books, 2020, p. 15.