As a student, having the ability to maintain their focus is paramount. Teachers consistently work to help students build this important skill from the Preschool/Elementary years to the high school level. What does a child need to develop this skill? Let’s explore.
First let’s look at what Dr. Mel Levine created with his Table of Neurodevelopmental Constructs. I find it really helpful to look to his research when breaking down and thinking about how students, age-appropriately, regulate their attention.
Neurodevelopmental Constructs for ATTENTION:
Preschool and Kindergarten through Grade One:
*Need for activity modulation
*Being able to delay gratification
*Being able to conform to classroom routines
*Being able to concentrate in group settings
*Need for bottom-up processing (as in reading))
Grades One through Three:
*Greater demand for sustained concentration
*Need for enhanced filtration of distraction
*Call for persistence and task completion
*Initial stress on reflection, task planning and self-monitoring
*Stress on consistency control
Grades Four through Eight:
*Growing social distraction
*Demand for planning and self-regulation
*Stress on extended mental effort
*Need for attention in low-interest contexts
*Reemergence of importance of bottom-up processing of information
Grades Nine through Twelve:
*Increased potention for mental fatigue
*Stress on previewing, pacing, and self-monitoring
*Heightened attention/memory and attention/language interactions
*Multiple degrees of saliency in information
*Flexibility of bottom-up/top-down processing
The primary word that comes to mind when thinking about focus is engagement. When a student, at almost any age range, is feeling connected, attention comes more readily and they often participate more substantially. This can be more challenging if the content is difficult and/or requires a sequential understanding. Usually when a student is wholly engaged, they will gradually learn the skill and/or subject matter taught. For older students, it is also about being salient and building the astute awareness of what they don’t understand. Being self-aware in your learning is the critical piece as a student matures and their learning becomes more and more demanding.
Thinking about the importance of focus, I am still smiling about the Zamboni driver, David Ayres who was the emergency back-up ice hockey goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes over the weekend! Talk about the ability to focus with about five minutes to prepare mentally! He saved the day and got his team a victory – an experience he will never forget! You go David Ayres and cheers to being attentive on the ice!
Laine
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